Thread: World's Largest Solar Power Plant Goes Bankrupt

World's Largest Solar Power Plant Goes Bankrupt

by Whitney Pitcher12 hours agoOn Monday, yet another Department of Energy funded solar energy company –the world’s largest solar power plant—filed for bankruptcy. Reuters reports:

Solar Trust of America LLC, which holds the development rights for the world's largest solar power project, on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection after its majority owner began insolvency proceedings in Germany.

The Oakland-based company has held rights for the 1,000-megawatt Blythe Solar Power Project in the Southern California desert, which last April won $2.1 billion of conditional loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy. It is unclear how the bankruptcy will affect that project.

The Reuters story states that the company won the loan, but as the Washington Post reported that the company turned down the loan in late September of 2011. The CEO of Solar Trust, Uwe T. Schmidt thought that the loan was "too risky". The Obama administration was willing to loan more than two billion taxpayer dollars to a company who was unwilling to take that kind of risk.

The company's bankruptcy filings indicate they employed only nine people.

This $2.1 billion loan guarantee would have been equivalent to more than three Solyndra sized loans. Solar Trust is one of the companies Peter Schweizer mentioned in his book Throw Them All Out who were offered or received large Department of Energy loans or grants and also have ties to President Obama. Schweizer notes in his book that Citigroup Global Partners and Deutsche Bank have invested $6 billion in this project. Until recently, the vice chair of Citigroup Global Partners was Louis Susman who sat on the National Finance Committee for Obama’s campaign in 2008. In return, Susman left Citigroup to become President Obama’s ambassador to Britain.

Another partner in this project is Chevron, who favored candidate Obama over his 2008 rival Senator McCain in campaign donations.

In addition to the offer of financial benefits this politically tied company received, Solar Trust also received regulatory benefits.

The Bylthe Solar Power Project is located on federal land. While the Obama administration is decreasing development of proven energy sources like oil on federal lands, they actually fast tracked thisproject’s permitting process:

Solar Trust partnered with Chevron (NYSE: CVX) to develop the Blythe project, which is located on federal land. It and eight other projects were selected by the Bureau of Land Management for a fast-track program that reduced the time it took to get land permits.

Reuters reports that NextEra Energy has committed to provide some financial assistance and has expressed some interest in bidding on some assets of the company. NextEra Energy received millions of DOE dollars in loan guarantees last summer themselves.


NextEra Energy’s CEO is Lewis Hay, who sits on President Obama’s jobs council. The continued propagation of DOE loan guarantees from one politically connected green energy company to another brings a whole new meaning to Obama’s mantra of “spreading the wealth around”.


This debacle proves to be the epitome of President Obama’s energy policy—give preference to financially unsustainable, politically connected green energy companies over proven, revenue generating sources of energy. Sadly, as these green energy companies go bankrupt at the expense of the American taxpayer, it only further bankrupts the country.


Read More at Breitbart.com

Harry's project bears watching.

Feds OK Tonopah solar loan


Posted on20 May 2011.
By Mark Waite

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced Thursday the issuance of a $737 million loan guarantee for a 110-megawatt, concentrated solar power project planned by Solar Reserve right outside of Tonopah.

Kevin Smith, chief executive officer of Solar Reserve, said his company expects to start construction on the project later this summer. It will create 600 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs. Smith said he is now lining up contractors, there’s also a huge amount of documentation under the program.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in a conference call with reporters Thursday, said the project is moving forward thanks to efforts to preserve the loan guarantee program. It was on the chopping block at one point during discussions on the federal budget for the rest of this fiscal year.

In making the announcement, Chu said:

“We are in a global race to grab the growing market for clean energy technology and to win this race, Nevada needs the development and production of clean energy technologies. Nevada is helping lead the way, especially in renewable energy generation. Today we’re taking a big step in the right direction. I’m pleased to announce the creation of an innovative project that will create hundreds of jobs.”

Solar Reserve was granted right-of-way on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property on Pole Line Road 13 miles northwest of Tonopah. The project calls for building a 600-foot tall tower with a molten salt collection system that will allow the solar energy to be stored after sunset. It will be enough power to supply 43,000 homes, Chu said.

The energy secretary said the loan guarantee program is providing financing for 29 projects that will generate 62,000 jobs.
“Solar generating programs will generate jobs in Nevada, clean the air we breathe and help America be the leader in solar energy,” Chu said.
Smith applauded the support from Senator Reid for the loan guarantee program. He said Solar Reserve has a license for a system developed by United Technology Corporation.

Smith credited that storage technology with his company’s ability to sign a 25-year memorandum of understanding to supply power to NV Energy. Other solar companies are looking to California to execute agreements.

“We’ll create approximately 4,000 direct and indirect jobs in order to supply that facility with the parts it needs to build it. In addition, once we get into operation we’ll have a 50 person operating staff. We have a $10 million operating budget, which mostly will be spent in the region of the project and create $40 million in tax revenues over the first 10 years of operation,” Smith said.

Suppliers will be from throughout the country, but Smith said the manufacture of the 17,000 heliostats, flat glass on a pedestal he said are twice the size of a bus, will be done in the local area.

Solar Reserve will hook up to a transmission line from the old Anaconda mine. Ultimately the company will tap into a north-south power line planned in the western part of the state by NV Energy.

NV Energy filed an application May 6 for a Utility Environmental Protection Act permit to build a 538-mile transmission line of either 230, 345 and/or 500 kilovolts from the Fort Sage Substation in Washoe County to the Eldorado Substation in Clark County. It would roughly parallel Highway 95 through Esmeralda, Mineral and Nye counties. Smith noted that project is also being funded by the loan guarantee program.

Earlier this year NV Energy and LS Power announced the beginning of the One Nevada Transmission Line through the eastern side of the state from Ely to Las Vegas.

Smith is excited about what is referred to as the Crescent Dunes project. He expects to export the technology worldwide to places like the Mideast and South Africa.

Reid said he’ll try to extend the loan guarantee program after the end of this fiscal year.

“I feel comfortable something this good should be extended. It creates jobs and lessens our dependence on foreign oil,” Reid said.

Solar Millennium is planning a concentrated solar power plant in Amargosa Valley, but has applied for a loan guarantee for its Blythe, Calif. project.

Solar Reserve is north of desert tortoise habitat, which ends at about Beatty. Bright Source Energy will only be able to build phase I of its solar plant in Ivanpah, Calif. due to problems with the incidental taking of desert tortoise.

Reid didn’t want to comment on the desert tortoise hampering solar projects in Southern Nevada, preferring to stick with the announcement. But he did say the Solar Reserve project was very important for Nye County, noting the last census showed Pahrump with five-sixths of the county population.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Feds OK Tonopah solar loan | Pahrump Valley Times