Solyndra, a Silicon Valley maker of solar power arrays that was started with high hopes and $527 million in loans from the federal government is ceasing operations. The company said it was laying off 1,100 full-time and temporary employees. Like others in the nation’s solar energy industry, Solyndra faced declining prices for solar panels, in part because of heavy competition from Chinese companies.
FBI agents recently raided the California headquarters of Solyndra, magnifying the Obama administration’s embarrassment over the massive loan guarantee the now-bankrupt company received as part of Obama’s push to create new jobs. The Energy Department has made more than 40 promises of such guarantees and Solyndra was the first. “This raid couldn’t have come at a worse moment for the administration,” says Ed Morissey. A federal bust on Obama’s ‘pet green-tech company’ on the very day when Obama was pitching his jobs plan to Congress? (1)
Solyndra was touted by the Obama Administration as a prime example of how green technology could deliver jobs. The President visited the facility in May of last year and said, “It is just a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism and the fact that we continue to have the best universities in the world, the best technology in the world, and most importantly the best workers in the world. And you guys represent that.” When the company broke ground in Fremont, CA, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was then governor, and Steven Chu, the federal secretary of energy, wielded ceremonial gold-colored shovels.
“Today Solyndra is a black eye for the program,” said Matthew A. Feinstein, an analyst at Lux Research.” “And that means bad things for the solar industry in the United States.” Two other American solar companies, Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt, also sought bankruptcy protection in August, and both said competition from Chinese companies had contributed to their financial problems. (2)
By the end of the year, 85percent of solar cells produced worldwide will come from China, the British market manufacturer IMS Research has calculated. (3)
Overseas
Deeply in red with hardly any demand, the German solar industry is the big loser of the green energy transition. The blame lies not only with competitors from Asia, but also German subsidies reports Patrick Kremer. He uses Q-Cells as an example. “A few months ago the company was seen as the industry leader and was honored for its strong growth in 2009 even as the ‘Business of the Year.’ Nowadays almost only bad news emerges from the headquarters of the solar cell manufacturer. In the second quarter of the year Q-Cells has made a loss of approximately 355 million Euros. The production of solar cells is going to be concentrated in Malaysia and half the capacity in Germany will be closed. “ (3) Q-Cells recently announced that it would make 500 permanent job cuts at its older-generation Thalheim production lines. (4)
Spanish module maker Solaria Energia reported it would lay off 400 of the 500 employees at its Puertollano PV factory for 10 months. (4)
Tim Blair notes, “It’s all over for local solar cells. The only Australian company, Silex Solar, which manufactures solar cells is cling the operation, with 30 jobs lost. (5)
Summary
In 2008 Reuters published one of those stories predicting that green power would be cost-competitive with fossil fuels in five years with the headline, “As Energy Costs Soar, US Looks to Solar.” Among the prophets was Richard Feldt, then CEO of Evergreen Solar, who said that ‘it’s not far away,’ and called for more green subsidies. (6) In August 2011 Evergreen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
References
“What the FBI’s Solyndra raid means: 3 theories,” The Week, September 9, 2011
Matthew A. Wald, “Solar firm aided by federal loans shuts doors,” The New York Times, August 31, 2011
Patrick Kremer, “Solar industry: The fat years are over,” the gwpf.org/international-news3625, August 15, 2011
“Investor splashed with red ink by European solar companies,” kleanindustries.com, August 1, 2011
Tim Blair, “Sundown,” Daily Telegraph, August 17, 2011
Jason Szep, “As Energy Costs Soar, US Looks to Solar,” Reuters, June 13, 2008
Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.
