Another example of the poor job government does in picking winners and losers is emerging. Solyndra, a solar panel company, was the first to go under, taking with it half a billion in taxpayer money.
Now we have the specter of another “green jobs company” that received guaranteed government loans doing the same. But this one seems to have consumed over twice the amount of money that Solyndra did.
http://www.qando.net/?p=11772
SunPower is its name and right now, bankruptcy seems to be its game.
How well did the government, via the Department of Energy, do this time?
The Energy Department says on its website that the $1.2 billion loan to help build the California Valley Solar Ranch in San Luis Obispo County, a project that will help create 15 permanent jobs, which adds up to the equivalent of $80 million in taxpayer money for each job.
. . . . .
Oh, and then there’s this:
The company is also politically connected. Rep. George Miller’s son is SunPower’s top lobbyist. The elder Miller, a powerful California Democrat, toured the plant last October with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and reportedly said, "We’ve worked hard to make renewable energy a priority because it represents America’s future economic growth. Today, businesses like SunPower are moving forward, hiring 200 people for good clean energy jobs in the Easy Bay."
It’s not clear what role, if any, either of them played in securing the loan. Miller’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
An Energy Department official denied crony capitalism was a factor in the loan guarantee.
(Entire article is at the link. Zim.)
| 
