The Gillard Green Energy 10 billion slush fund will create jobs alright ; but in China , not here. China exports 95% of it's solar panel output and if Labor thinks we will compete with our over-regulated and over-taxed high cost labor force they are in cloud-cuckoo land. Most of the slush fund will disappear overseas after lining the pockets of the local wind and solar agents with their fat commissions. Some examples of the US experience are below.
1.Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR), a maker of electricity generating solar panels, filed bankruptcy with plans to sell itself at an auction in order to pay creditors owed $485.6 million.
Investors who hold more than 70 percent of the company’s convertible senior secured notes have agreed to act as the so- called stalking-horse, or initial bidder, in a proposed auction for Evergreen’s assets, including new technology to make solar wafers at lower cost, Evergreen Chief Executive Officer Michael El-Hillow said in court papers today.
The company, based in Marlboro, Massachusetts, blamed the bankruptcy on increased competition from government-subsidized solar-panel makers in China and the failure of the U.S. to adopt clean-energy policies.
Prices for solar panels fell in 2010 and 2011 because of “massive overcapacity” in the industry at a time of lower subsidies, El-Hillow said in court papers.
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- General Electric Co. (GE) plans to shut down its only solar-panel manufacturing facility, as it found that prices for panels fell below production costs, Clean Technology Insight has learned.
"On October 23 we announced the restructuring of our solar business to employees and our intent to close the Newark [Del.] facility," said Milissa Rocker, spokeswoman for the company, in an interview.
GE's production facility is a victim of a rapidly evolving solar market, where older U.S. plants are shutting down, reducing production, or outsourcing abroad, even as some foreign manufacturers, like those from China, plan to open new manufacturing in the U.S.
3. California Solar Panel Factory to Close
After receiving billions in loan guarantees from the federal government and benefiting from high praise from the president himself, a Silicon Valley company that specializes in manufacturing solar panels plans to shutter one of its two factories and lay off hundreds of workers, according to multiple media reports.Solyndra announced on Wednesday that roughly 190 workers would soon become part of the nation’s millions of unemployed after a factory closing. The company blamed increased competition from low-cost manufacturers in China.
“There is a clear need for more aggressive pricing. This plan allows us to stay very competitive,” the company said in a statement. “We expect this plan will allow us to double shipments next year and take us to cash-flow positive by the end of 2011.”
In May, the company received praise from the president during a tour of a new, state of the art facility partially financed by the federal government through a Department of Energy loan.
"The promise of clean energy isn't just an article of faith," Obama said at the time. "It's not just some abstract possibility for science fiction movies or a distant future or 10 years down the road or 20 years, it's happening right now. The future is here."
When applying for the $535 load, which covered nearly 75 percent of the cost of the new facility, the company said that it had plans to expand its workforce. It also said that it would double its production in the next two years. Now, neither of those will occur. In fact, Solyndra’s production is expected to be around half of what was originally predicted.
According to the company, shuttering the factory and cutting the nearly 200 jobs would save the company $60 million.
The company blames much of its financial troubles on competition from Chinese competitors that have much lower production costs and may even be illegally subsidized.
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