Amonix closes North Las Vegas solar plant after 14 months, heavy federal subsidies

[Trajan]

another one bites the dust............,note the quality control issues.

so, is this how we get to the 5 million greens jobs obama said he was going to create?

you know, if Bain had moved in under Romney, Amonix would have had a better than even chance of making it....



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."

The Amonix plant was highly touted by political leaders and economic development officials when it opened in May 2011. Company executives said they would employ as many as 300 assembly line workers paid $12 to $14 an hour, plus benefits.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Gov. Brian Sandoval were among the political leaders who lauded the company when it announced it would start making solar panels in the Golden Triangle Industrial Park.

more at-
Amonix closes North Las Vegas solar plant after 14 months, heavy federal subsidies - Business - ReviewJournal.com

 

[skookerasbil]

what a scam..............

and the k00ks talk incessantly about corporate greed. Im laughing.


More hosing of the taxpayers while trying to create US Disneyland

 

[hjmick]

Hey Obama, how're those "green jobs" working out? Thanks for wasting our money!

 

[Wiseacre]

I think these cases should be a campaign issue, if I was Romney I'd be talking more often about this kind of crap.

 

[Old Rocks]

And in the meantime, installed solar capacity in the US continues to grow.

Solar Industry Data | SEIA

U.S. Market Installs 506 MW in Q1 2012

The U.S. solar energy industry commenced 2012 with a strong first quarter. The industry installed 506 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Q1 2012, representing a 85 percent increase in deployment over the first quarter of 2011. There was considerable demand across each of the three market segments as residential, commercial and utility scale installations all increased in Q1 2012 compared to Q1 2011

......................................................................................
Solar Energy Is An Economic Engine

As the solar industry grows, so does its impact on the economy. As of August 2011, there were over 100,000 solar workers in the U.S., more than double the estimated employment in 2009. These workers are employed at 5,600 businesses operating at over 6,500 locations in every state. The increasing value of solar installations has injected life into the U.S. economy as well. In 2011, solar installations were valued at $8.4 billion, compared to $6 billion in 2010.

Now what we have here are people hoping that all solar businesses will fail, and even more Americans will be out of work. Not going to happen, for the day of the $1 a watt panel is here, and the homeowner that is a capable human being can install his own system for a fraction of the cost most quote. 5.8 kw for $6200.

Solar Panels from Wholesale Solar

 

[Old Rocks]

Solar technology is a technology that is just emerging, coming into it's own. As new ways of manufacturing and formulations for the panels themselves continue to be discovered, many startups will go out of business. After all, how many Whippets do you see on the highway?

 

[hjmick]

Solar technology is a technology that is just emerging, coming into it's own. As new ways of manufacturing and formulations for the panels themselves continue to be discovered, many startups will go out of business. After all, how many Whippets do you see on the highway?

Well, if Obama had been around to bail out Willys...

Solar Technology, emerging since the 1800s...

 

[skookerasbil]

Solar technology is a technology that is just emerging, coming into it's own. As new ways of manufacturing and formulations for the panels themselves continue to be discovered, many startups will go out of business. After all, how many Whippets do you see on the highway?

OK Ray........whatever you say!!! Its a fringe market all the way and you know it. And as usual, your growth % figures arent compared to anything significant. Anybody even paying half attention recognize that solar and wind COMBINED are about 7% of the market and I think Im being generous. So ...........what? That growth figure brings it from 3 1/2% of the market to 3.75. w0w!!!


Call me the asshole but excuse me if I dont thinnk 6% of the energy market share by 2030 is impressive.


--Wind, solar, bio-fuels and other renewables continue to grow strongly, increasing their share in primary energy from less than 2% now to more than 6% projected by 2030. Biofuels will provide 9% of transport fuels and nuclear and hydropower will grow steadily and gain market share in total energy consumption.


From USA Today............

BP: Renewable energy will outpace oil growth in 2030




Remember..........when the hard core AGW environmentalits say, "Renewables are coming into their own..............", ask yourself.........."As compared to what?"

 

[Katzndogz]

In any business there will be winners and losers (Ask Bain). The difference between a company that doesn't work and a company that the government supports that doesn't work is 20 million dollars that never belonged to the government in the first place.

 

[Trakar]

another one bites the dust............,note the quality control issues.

so, is this how we get to the 5 million greens jobs obama said he was going to create?

James River Coal tumbles as energy stocks ebb
Coal producers slide after Patriot’s bankruptcy filing
James River Coal tumbles as energy stocks ebb - MarketWatch

Alpha Natural Resources Inc, Arch Coal Inc and Peabody Energy Corp stock also fell between 6 and 7 percent each.

According to the Energy Information Administration, coal’s share of the electric generation market fell to 36 percent in the first quarter of this year from 45 percent a year ago.

 

[Truthmatters]

from you link

"Last year, Amonix CEO Brian Robertson was tragically killed in a plane crash and unfortunately the company was unable to recover from this difficult time,"


http://www.lvrj.com/business/amonix...months-heavy-federal-subsidies-162901626.html


gee I guess you think Obama should be able to tell the future huh?

 

[IanC]

the problem with emerging technologies is that you cant change the scale. if you give someone twice as much money they wont be twice as inventive. pouring money into a problem usually has the opposite effect because the people who are good at soaking up govt subsidies end up displacing the people who might actually make a difference.