Evergreen Solar Inc., indirectly received $5.3 million through a state grant to open a $450 million facility in 2007 that employed roughly 800 people. The company, once a rock star in the solar industry, filed for bankruptcy protection last month, saying it couldn’t compete with Chinese rivals without reorganizing. The company intends to focus on building up its manufacturing facility in China.
SpectraWatt, based in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., is also a solar cell company that was spun out of Intel in 2008. In June 2009, SpectraWatt received a $500,000 grant from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as part of the stimulus package. SpectraWatt was one of 13 companies to receive the money to help develop ways to improve solar cells without changing current manufacturing processes.
Let’ see. $5.3m for Evergreen… $500,000 for SpectraWatt… $535m for Solyndra… No repurcussions, and almost $550bn lost of YOUR MONEY.
When do we stand up and tell the government to stop trying to pick winners and losers?
Here’s the thing. If something is viable in the market, it doesn’t need a subsidy. If something needs a subsidy, it’s not viable in the market.
End. Of. Story.