Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A Green Energy Update

From The Washington Examiner:

Solar panel company Solyndra, which went bankrupt after getting a half-billion subsidy from the U.S. government, is largely owned by Obama fundraiser George Kaiser, who has visited the White House 16 times.

And the Feds are raiding the homes of Solyndra's top execs as we speak.  Do you think some of your half-billion might have wound up in the wrong pockets? 




Al Gore acolyte Cathy Zoi was Obama's assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy while her husband was an executive at a company that received direct subsidies from the Obama administration and profited from the Cash-for-Caulkers bill Zoi's division implemented. Zoi has since left DOE to run a clean-tech hedge fund owned in large part by Democratic mega-donor George Soros.

A group of Democratic operatives have formed an investment company called U.S. Renewable Energy Group, or US-REG, which seems to exist for the sake of buying green-tech companies, and then helping them get subsidies. In at least one case, US-REG appeared to be a U.S. beard for a Chinese company seeking U.S. dollars to make wind turbines in China.

The Department of Energy's inspector general has repeatedly found that a loan program created by the 2005 energy bill and expanded by Obama's stimulus falls short on transparency and accountability.

The company with the biggest investments in green energy is General Electric, whose CEO is a top Obama advisor.

And last year, G.E. paid absolutely no taxes.  As The Aggie would say, "Good people to know, that Barack Obama." 

Treasury Department chief of staff Mark Patterson was a Goldman Sachs lobbyist advocating susbidies for cellulosic ethanol while Goldman was buying up a cellulosic ethanol company. Patterson never received a waiver from the administration's restrictions on former lobbyists, but the adminstration has never explained how a Goldman lobbyist could work at Treasury without working on issues affecting tax law, finance, banking, or Goldman.

Sometimes I have to sit back and admire The Ethanol Trifecta, as I've heard it called.  The government has subsidized it, mandated it, and now, protected it from foreign competition.  One day, I swear I'm going to start a "green" dachshund manure company and see if I can get some of the same loot. 

A Soperton, Ga., ethanol plant -- founded by major Democratic donor Vinod Khosla -- sucked up more than $162 in federal and state subsidies before shutting down without ever producing a drop of ethanol.

But with the same net benefit to the world as if he had done so.  You've got to love it. 

2 comments:

ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ said...

The "raid" on Solyndra was a pretty slick move by the "Justice" dept to shield the teleptompter jesus from congressional investigation of complicity in the half billion dollar green scam. Now, any and all documentation requested by congress will be with held due to an "ongoing criminal investigation" by the FBI. None of the video records of FBI agents in the "raid" include the SWAT team equipment and tactics utilized in the raids of dairy farms and guitar makers.

CenTexTim said...

ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ - good point. I was wondering how a rogue FBI field office slipped off Eric Holder's leash and actually investigated something bogus linked to this administration. I should have known better.