Today, August 31, 2011, the well-publicized Solyndra LLC Company, a Fremont, California manufacturer of cylindrical solar panels for commercial rooftops, has faltered and gone down in financial ruin. Despite an infusion of $535 million in support money from the Department of Energy and a modern plant and facility the company has declared bankruptcy.
Green energy with major solar manufacturing and installation as components are important aspects of President Obama's U.S. green energy and job policies for the present and the future.
That vision is currently under a cloud.
Solyndra's corporate letter to the employees and public indicates reasons for plant's closure
The California-based company issued a short letter to almost 1,100 employees informing them of the closure of the plant and business while reorganization from declared bankruptcy is in progress. Employees, according to a Bay Area NBC report , were in shock and disbelief of the notification and letter.
Some of the important points and excerpts from the full letter issued by Dave Miller of Corporate Communications at Solyndra are reviewed below.
The following quoted corporate bankruptcy statements are a reflection of the highly-competitive international markets in solar technology and other venues: "global economic and solar industry market conditions have forced the Company to suspend its manufacturing operations. Solyndra intends to file a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code while it evaluates options, including a sale of the business and licensing of its advanced CIGS technology and manufacturing expertise." Thus, the proposed action plan of the company is a sale of the business and licensing of the CIGS technology.
An apparent oversupply of solar panels, price cutting on a worldwide basis and problems related to financial incentive programs hurt Solyndra's corporate bottomline as quoted following: "Despite strong growth in the first half of 2011 and traction in North America with a number of orders for very large commercial rooftops, Solyndra could not achieve full-scale operations rapidly enough to compete in the near term with the resources of larger foreign manufacturers. This competitive challenge was exacerbated by a global oversupply of solar panels and a severe compression of prices that in part resulted from uncertainty in governmental incentive programs in Europe and the decline in credit markets that finance solar systems."
The Solyndra communication also indicated and quoted Solyndra’s president and CEO, Brian Harrison as follows: “Regulatory and policy uncertainties in recent months created significant near-term excess supply and price erosion. Raising incremental capital in this environment was not possible. This was an unexpected outcome and is most unfortunate.” Therefore, here again, the Solyndra corporate letter and quotes indicate oversupply and price drops in solar panels, regulation and policy issues as well as the inability to raise additional capital and money were all significant issues that could not be overcome.
Solyndra indicates that those with further questions may contact: Dave Miller, Director Corporate Communications (510) 440-2979.
What is happening in the solar commercial world and what does the future of solar look like
These are important questions for scientists, investors, businesses and the consumer in general. To date the world of solar is highly competitive. Therefore, a large number of companies compete for a unique and emerging solar market. Although solar technology works, it is not inexpensive to install and requires periodic maintenance. Consumers are looking for solar energy subsidies with financial help and loans which are not uniformly available. Based on current conditions it is expected that the solar scene will continue to be turbulent and in flux. The U.S. Department of Energy issued the first guaranteed loan to Solyndra in September 2009 and since then Evergreen Solar also has gone bankrupt and First Solar has received three loans from the U.S. DOE totaling about two billion dollars according to The Street.
In conclusion, the current conditions for the U.S. solar technology industries look dimmer. How competitive and strong can America become in this area is questionable based on the recent demise of both Evergreen Energy and Solyndra.
Only time will tell the true and final story of the U.S. solar industries and their ability to successfully function in the U.S. and to compete globally.
September 8 Solyndra update: FBI moves agents into Solyndra to investigate facility & records
According to Bay Area NBC, the FBI has begun an initial investigation into the recently-declared bankrupt Solyndra which has received in 2009 over $535 million dollars of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) guaranteed loans. All of this guaranteed-loan money is now at risk and this loan default will be an additional burden on the highly-indebted U.S. government with a growing debt that exceeds 14 trillion dollars. Agents entered the facility to obtain company records and other items of interest to the current investigation of Solyndra financial transactions.
In another, somewhat related report by Amanda Carey of The Daily Caller, there were as many as 20 separate visits to the White House by Solyndra-interested personnel or investors prior to the award of the March 20, 2009 loan guarantee. The influence of special interest groups and certain government officials may lead further and more detailed investigations.
Donald Reinhardt - Think, read, write & live well always. DJR has a PhD in Biology/Microbiology & is a Fellow & Diplomate, ASM Amer Acad Micro.
