Yet Another Taxpayer Subsidized “Green” Energy Company In Trouble

03 Oct, 2011 by William Teach

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But, they just wanted to heal the planet, save it from evil mankind, which is killing the planet with trace amounts of a gas necessary for life! And, shockingly, the NY Times covers it: A U.S.-Backed Geothermal Plant in Nevada Struggles

In a remote desert spot in northern Nevada, there is a geothermal plant run by a politically connected clean energy start-up that has relied heavily on an Obama administration loan guarantee and is now facing financial turmoil.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, did the Fish Wrap just slap Obama with a dead fish for crony capitalism?

The company is Nevada Geothermal Power, which like Solyndra, the now-famous California solar company, is struggling with debt after encountering problems at its only operating plant.

After a series of technical missteps that are draining Nevada Geothermal’s cash reserves, its own auditor concluded in a filing released last week that there was “significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Well, shocker!

It is a description that echoes the warning issued in 2010 by auditors hired by Solyndra, which benefited from the same Energy Department loan guarantee before its collapse in August caused the Obama administration great embarrassment.

The parallels between the companies illustrate the risk inherent in building the clean energy marketplace in the United States, government officials and industry experts say. Indeed, the loan guarantee program exists precisely because none of these ventures are a sure bet.

So, private investors aren’t streaming to back projects which are extremely risky and will more than likely lose tons of money, then close shop and move to China? Shocker!

The amount of money the federal government has at stake with Nevada Geothermal – a loan guarantee of $79 million plus at least $66 million in grants – is much smaller than the $528 million investment in Solyndra. There have been no allegations of wrongdoing by Nevada Geothermal or its Blue Mountain, Nev., plant.

Only when we’re speaking of the federal government can $145 billion dollars be considered chump change.

This is the folly of the green energy mantra: it cannot survive without massive influxes of Someone Else’s money, it can’t turn a profit, and it eventually folds when things don’t go perfect right, and they have to be politically connected. Kinda like Air America, and we all knew how that turned out.

But, I’ll say it again: we do need to look at alternative energy sources, especially ones that will be cleaner and, if not cheaper, at least at the same cost as we have with coal, petroleum based, and nuclear. I have no problem with this. But, we shouldn’t dump money into projects and ideas that are not ready for primetime. Consider, from the NY Times, as well

This year, both California and New Jersey – two states that have aggressively embraced renewable energy – put their small-turbine incentives programs on hold, at least temporarily, after problems surfaced.

In New Jersey, the issue was defects in a few turbines, according to Mr. Flowers. In California, “some scammers figured out some loopholes in the program,” said Mr. Bergey, who is also the president of the Distributed Wind Energy Association. Effectively, he said, they found a way to qualify for rebates that were higher than the cost of the equipment. “The market has literally stopped there,” said Mr. Bergey, referring to California. “We’re hoping it will get going again shortly.”

So, the taxpayer subsidized turbines and projects were not built correctly and there are tons of scammers? Not that purely private projects are perfect, but, when government money, ie, some other chump’s taxes, is being used, issues show up.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach. Please sign the drill now petition.