I sense a Obama photo op here. Bush or Romney did it and they should pay.
"Amonix closes North Las Vegas solar plant after 14 months, heavy federal subsidies" "The Amonix solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, subsidized by federal tax credits and grants, has closed its 214,000-square-foot facility about a year after it opened.
Officials at Amonix headquarters in Seal Beach, Calif., have not responded to repeated calls for comment this week. The company began selling surplus equipment, from automated tooling systems to robotic welding cells, in an online auction Wednesday.
A designer and manufacturer of concentrated photovoltaic solar power systems, Amonix received $6 million in federal tax credits for the North Las Vegas plant and a $15.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2007 for research and development.
Rene Kenerly, a former material and supply manager at Amonix, said the plant has been idle since May 1, when he was laid off. At its peak, the plant had ramped up to about 700 employees working three shifts a day to produce solar panels for a utility customer in Amarosa, Colo., he said.
"I don't think they had a lot of training," Kenerly said. "There were a lot of quality issues. A lot of stuff was coming back because it had some functionality issues.""
Green to the core, that is money. Skill a juggling lemons helps .
"Solyndra figures attend swank Obama fundraiser"
"President Obama rubbed elbows Monday night with two men at the center of the Solyndra loan scandal at an exclusive fundraiser in California.
Steve Westly, a financier whose money-raising prowess helped to snag him a post on the administration’s energy advisory board, and Matt Rogers, a former Energy Department senior adviser who helped to approve the Solyndra loan, were spotted by reporters at the $35,800-per-person fundraiser for the president’s re-election campaign."
"Reporters traveling with the president saw Mr. Westly juggling lemons, entertaining kids at the party. He was seated later at one of the tables farthest from the president as he spoke."
Solar-cell manufacturer Solyndra became a household name when it collapsed, taking $627 million in American taxpayer dollars with it. It’s the poster company for the government picking winners and losers—or really, just losers—in the energy market. But there are 12 more “green energy†losers that have declared bankruptcy despite attempts to prop them up with taxpayer money—and the list is growing....
We'll have wait for a list of political contributors to match them up.
At a Tea Party meeting a few weeks ago, one lady spoke for a long time on the virtues of wind farms yada yada. She said she and her husband interviewed several residents living nearby wind turbines in Michigan and other states and couldn't find one person who disliked them, save one farmer that said he didn't need the money (yeah right).
A second woman spoke and basically said the exact opposite of the first without calling her a liar outright. Come to find out those residents living close to the wind turbines signed a non-disclosure statement agreement with the wind turbine companies agreeing not to say anything negative about them. Also she and her husband own 300 acres of land in 'wind farm alley'. Purely coincidental I'm sure.
I saw a few of the behemoths rolling through on my way home from work, to where I don't know. From an engineering standpoint they are a marvel, but in reality an albatross around our necks from an economic/energy producing perspective.
It really frosts my cookies listening to state Reps running for election or re-election trying to convince us how much revenue would be generated from these wind farms. At one "meet the candidate" meeting I submitted a question requesting data supporting their glowing accolades for wind farms. It didn't make it to the question and answer session.
Here's what's happening near my neck of the woods.
A number of years ago the township board tried to force an ethanol plant down our throats even after we held a special election to prohibit it. Wow; such arrogance, but considering 3 of the board members stood to gain financially it was obvious why they pushed it so hard. We recalled all but one of the board members shortly thereafter. The city that ended up with it already had a sugar beet factory which smelled to the high heavens, so maybe it was an improvement adding an ethanol plant, not sure; either way the odor is nauseating to say the least. I must admit I was in favor of the ethanol plant (and ethanol in general) save for the fact it was up wind of our home, until around 2005/2006 it became clear they are nothing but another government bridge to nowhere, not to mention it didn't make sense to burn our food after it was pointed out convincingly by someone in another forum.
Is there anyone left who still thinks burning food for fuel is a good thing?
magellan: The ethanol is not as simple as you state. 1. The by-product is DDG. DDG is becoming in short supply now, and soybean meal is trying to bridge the gap. The price of soybean meal has skyrocketed as a result of lower ethanol production. DDG is the preferred feed as the weight gain ratio is the best there is. Also, from a dairy perspective DDG produces more milk per lb of DDG than any other feed.
Also, it is well known that ethanol has resulted in lower gas prices. There is no longer a subsidy for ethanol, it is now a stand on it's own. As a pollution reducer verses MTBE it is a no brainer.
There are more reasons healthwise to produce ethanol than negatives.
I stopped growing corn a few years ago as it was no longer dependable because of our cold weather nor profitable. I do grow soybeans, so am happy with the increased price as a result of the decrease in DDG.
A lot more market interaction than most folks understand goes on here.
magellan: The ethanol is not as simple as you state. 1. The by-product is DDG. DDG is becoming in short supply now, and soybean meal is trying to bridge the gap. The price of soybean meal has skyrocketed as a result of lower ethanol production. DDG is the preferred feed as the weight gain ratio is the best there is. Also, from a dairy perspective DDG produces more milk per lb of DDG than any other feed.
Also, it is well known that ethanol has resulted in lower gas prices. There is no longer a subsidy for ethanol, it is now a stand on it's own. As a pollution reducer verses MTBE it is a no brainer.
There are more reasons healthwise to produce ethanol than negatives.
I stopped growing corn a few years ago as it was no longer dependable because of our cold weather nor profitable. I do grow soybeans, so am happy with the increased price as a result of the decrease in DDG.
A lot more market interaction than most folks understand goes on here.
I don't have time for the rest, early day tomorrow, but
There is no longer a subsidy for ethanol, it is now a stand on it's own.
Nope, not true. It is still subsidized by legislative decree. The Renewable Fuel Standard requires at least 37% of corn in 2012 be used for ethanol production and blended with gasoline thanks to the Obama administration taking Bush's boondoggle to it's grand finale. The fine print. Always read the fine print.
My cattle farmer friends don't see it the same way as your explanation. They are buying round bales and selling their square bales (better quality). As we have been loyal customers we will get hay. They are turning others away. Higher feed prices translating to higher beef prices will not translate to higher profit margins. Prices already increased 10% last year. First a glut, then a crash, now the smallest herd in 60 years. Watch and witness how meddling by the government will totally screw up everything. I'm willing to bet on it.
I talked to two of our cattle farmer friends, one of which I work with who also raises chickens and pigs. We buy hay and beef from one of them. They, and those they know, don't share your praise for ethanol.
Both say ethanol production are killing their business because of artificially high corn prices, even without a drought. Add in the drought and we have the perfect storm. The amount of corn being converted to ethanol is enough to feed 400+ million people. It is causing mass starvation throughout the world as prices rise beyond the ability of poorer nations to pay for it. According to probability charts I've read, it is 50/50 corn prices will exceed $8/bushel by years end, and each month the trend is moving up.
There is no way DDG's can replace corn for feed. Beyond 40% mix the cows actually lose weight, and they say the meat is less marbled. Neither will use DDG; they say it is more of a filler. Both feed high quality hay they grow. Last year's 1st cutting hay 50 miles south where one of them live is going for $10 a bale; unheard of in these parts in 30+ years experience my buying hay and feed.
Ethanol byproducts yield 15-17 lbs (depending on who you believe) DDG per bushel of corn, so I'd like to know how burning corn for food makes one bit of sense. It is absolutely the most hideous politically driven policy ever devised in agriculture. It is nothing but a wealth redistribution scheme that only benefits a narrow segment of special interest groups.
Big Ethanol makes Big Oil look like rank amateurs. The beneficiaries of forced ethanol production of course see no problems. Now the EPA has dictated E15 be introduced. That is completely insane as even E10 is harmful to older cars. BMW is reporting E10+ is causing problems in their engines, and that testing various gasoline sources E10 fuel has been much higher than 10%.
Another issue rarely discussed is how ethanol mandates are artificially inflating land values, so here we have another government created bubble.
The above information is readily available, but being at work I don't have the data. So which is more believable, farmers being run out of business because of mandated ethanol production causing high grain prices, or the ethanol cartel that have nothing to lose no matter what the price of corn is?
Forty percent of the national corn harvest last year went to ethanol production under the federal government's renewable fuel standard, requiring petroleum companies to buy a minimum amount of ethanol to blend into gasoline supplies.
I recall the hard core corn burners assured everyone corn would not go over $4, but I read the tea leaves in 2009 and yanked out the corn burner after learning the details of the RFS. It was pretty obvious what the future was to be.
magellan not in the least. I just thought you were kidding about attending those Tea Party meetings. Most people would not admit to that on a public forum.
All together now. All together now. Blow your wind so hard. Blow your wind so hard. Spend the taxes now. Spend the taxes now. All together now.
"Spanish Rewable Lesson for Obama"
" Spain is planning to correct its renewable energy experiment gone wrong by spreading the pain, a powerful lessons for a White House with an incoherent energy policy that has often cited its model as one to emulate.
This week Obama’s campaign bashed challenger Mitt Romney for planning to end tax incentives for wind power if elected. “By opposing an extension to the wind production tax credit, Mitt Romney has come out against growth of the wind industry to support 100,000 jobs by 2016 and 500,000 jobs by 2030.”
Obama’s expectations though are based on European policy support models that are being revised and corrected. Ahead of November elections, both candidates must realize America’s energy policy more than ever demands a coherent policy based on its best interest not ideological imperatives.
Putting renewable on steroids can come to damage a country’s power sector, consumers, and the renewable industry itself, and in Spain’s case, even a national economy. "
magellan not in the least. I just thought you were kidding about attending those Tea Party meetings. Most people would not admit to that on a public forum.
Never insult an alligator until you've crossed the river.
An alligator? You're not even a grass carp. Easy is me bashing you on the other thread regurgitating another 1/2 truth about drilling on Federal land that was shot down by the Politifact. You should probably read more before you stick you're neck out.
