Remember all developed countries going green and clean energy being everywhere? When you hear this says Joanne Nova, think of Spain. It is so green it's just passed a tax on solar panel generation, so solar users finally pay for grid backup. (1)
Besides this tens of thousands of indebted Spaniards have found themselves lumbered with fields of expensive solar panels whose subsidies have been unexpectedly cut in the financial crisis. Around 62,000 ordinary citizens in Spain have been caught in the financial sun trap. (2)
The Spanish government has been building a renewable future with so much enthusiasm that their wind industry is described as 'stricken' and it's estimated that this has cost 65,000 green jobs. (1) The government had been absorbing the cost of the subsidies, contributing to what is called a 'tariff deficit' of 28 billion euros. (3)
Over the past two years the Spanish government has been slashing generous subsidies for the renewable energy industry. As a result the installation of new wind turbines has ground to a halt. Zero wind power megawatts were installed in Spain in the first half of 2015. (1)
Then there's Abengoa, a Spanish company that was another of President Obama's personally picked green energy projects. It is now on the verge of bankruptcy, potentially saddling US taxpayers with a multibillion tab and fueling the notion that the administration repeatedly gambles on losers in the energy sector, reports Ben Wolfgang. (4)
The renewable energy firm, which is constructing several large-scale solar power projects in the US and has received at least $2.7 billion in federal loan guarantees since 2010, has said it will begin insolvency proceedings, a technical first step toward a possible bankruptcy. The news sent Abengoa's stock price falling by about 60 percent.
Abengoa has a mountain of debt and provides the threat of becoming Spain's biggest-ever corporate failure. The Sevillian firm, which employs over 20,000 people worldwide, has been struggling for more than a year, with a net debt of 6.28 euros at the end of September. (5)
Abengoa's looming demise is eerily reminiscent of the fall of solar power firm Solyndra in 2011, a colossal failure of government investment that left taxpayers on the hook for more than $530 million. (4)
The company has received loans from governments around the world. In the US the administration awarded the company about $2.7 billion for two major projects—the Solana Generating Station in Arizona and the Mojave Solar project in California.
President Obama personally touted the company in 2010 in an attempt to justify to taxpayers why he was committing nearly 1.5 billion to the Solana project. As mentioned earlier, all this reeks of the Solyndra fiasco, same praise, same mistakes.
Jack Dini
Livermore, CA
References
1. Joanne Nova, “What green future? Spain adds solar tax, punishes the wind industry—loses 65,000 renewable jobs,” joannenova.com, October 198, 2015
2. “Spain: solar investors face bankruptcy,” Global Warming Policy Foundation, May 12, 2014
3. Paul Homewood, “Spanish wind power hits buffer as green subsidies are slashed,” thegwpf.org, December 18, 2014
4. Ben Wolfgang, “Obama green energy project Abengoa on verge of bankruptcy; demise recalls Solyndra,” washingtontimes.com, November 25, 20154
5. “Abengoa shares in free fall as bankruptcy looms,” jamaicaobserver.com, November 27, 2015
