Another expensive green energy failure

Washington Post:

Solyndra, a California solar company backed by a half-billion dollars in loan guarantees from the Obama administration, on Wednesday announced it was shutting its doors and laying off 1,100 employees.

The unexpected announcement raised questions about whether taxpayers would be responsible for the entire $535 million in loans that the company used to build a Silicon Valley factory. The wisdom of loan guarantees granted to the company by the Obama administration had already been questioned by government auditors and been the target of a subpoena from House Republicans.

The start-up venture has long been an administration favorite, and its Fremont, Calif., factory received visits from both the president and Energy Secretary Steve Chu. Both used their visits to praise the company for creating jobs and leading the way into a new economy fueled by green energy businesses.

The company was backed by venture capital from Tulsa billionaire and Democratic fundraiser George Kaiser. Its political connections had been been criticized by Republicans, who questioned the administration’s focus on the company.

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How many more of these boondoggles is Obama going to push onto the backs of US taxpayers.

The facts should be obvious. These energy "solutions" are too inefficient to survive even with significant help from the government. They are a waste of money and they kill good jobs. If Obama would get out of the way of traditional energy the industry could create hundreds of thousands of real jobs and produce trillions of dollars in revenue to the government. It would reduce our dependence on imported oil at the same time.

This administration has to get beyond its carbon phobia and get out of the way of domestic energy production. If someone can build a more competitive source of energy, the market will be there for them without government financing.