Solyndra....how did they get the loan from DOE?

[Joe Bob]

Been reading up on this fiasco. Solyndra made a solar panel that cost them 2-3 times what they could sell them for. They used a difficult formula of copper, gallium, and iridium. They claimed, 12-14% but in field tests netted 8.5% efficiency.

In Solyndra's loan docs they were quoted as "Solyndra’s cylindrical design was innovative in the ability to take in sunlight from any angle, via copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) and thin-film technology. The real catch to Solyndra’s products was that they were made to use less silicon than standard flat-cell solar panels, an innovation which was potentially ingenious at the time, with silicon being a major price driver in solar technology development."

BFD, turn them a bit on roatating panels...

First Solar (FS) uses a cadmium telluride combo that exceeds 18% efficiency. Field tests are showing numbers that may exceed this. FS has a working field in Blythe, 2 under construction in CA, a number in operation in Germany and a solid rep. While not part of the collapse, their stock took a major hit.

Solyndra got the loan.....FS is AFIK working off of private funding....they are doing the work, Solyndra goes belly up when the Chinese start selling silicone based cells CHEAP before the US imposes import duties.

The DOE needs to get better loan officers.....

[Eric 88 Carrera]

Solyndra principals were Obama bundlers. It's just good old fashion corruption especially when you consider that the Dept. of Energy violated Federal law when they put the US government at the back of the line when the company assumed room temperature.

[Joe Bob]

While I agree that the loan went thru when "O" was on board but it originally started when 'w' was tending the candy store....

Exclusive Timeline: Bush Administration Advanced Solyndra Loan Guarantee for Two Years, Media Blow the Story | ThinkProgress

[sammyg2]

W's guys evaluated and said we gotta think about it, O's guys said hurry up so we can use it for propaganda ......

[mnewport]

I'm wondering how hard it is to get DOE approval to begin with...I've got a friend that runs a green tech/clean energy firm that specializes in DOE grants as well as venture capital for clean energy. Since I've got engineering infrastructure available to me, he pitches me projects. Every time I see him he's telling me about massive $$ that could be available to me if I'd only throw a proposal together.