Another Of Obama’s “Green Energy” Projects Fizzles, Leaving Taxpayers $88 Million In The Hole
Feb 16th, 2015 by Chris Wysocki.
 Another green energy fail.
The concept behind the massive solar project sounded simple enough: borrow $88 million to install panels on public buildings in Morris, Somerset and Sussex counties and then sell excess electricity, using the revenues to pay off the debt.
The concept was called the “Morris model,” held up nationally as an example of how to produce renewable energy through public-private partnerships. It was the second project of its kind and the previous one was hailed as a success.
But now, nearly four years later, taxpayers could be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars the counties owe bondholders, after work ground to a halt amidst cost overruns and lawsuits.
What’s more, the $88 million that must be repaid to bondholders could cause “unmitigated disaster” to the three counties, according to court filings.
The ambitious plans called for a developer, SunLight General, to use $88 million in borrowed money to erect thousands of solar panels atop schools and other public buildings in the three counties. They would repay the counties with the future solar revenues and local governments would get cheaper electricity.
Except, and this is the key part, they weren’t actually selling electricity.
Nope, they were selling tax credits. And it turns out, the market for those tax credits dried up.
But the market for state solar-energy tax credits — a key part of the deal — plummeted in the months after the deal was struck. Cost overruns mounted, and the developer and contractor became embroiled in a dispute that ended in lawsuits, according to court papers. Work ground to a halt. And while the projects in Somerset were mostly completed, only about half were completed in two of the counties, Morris and Sussex.
Green energy is simply not viable without taxpayer subsidies. The subsidy either comes on the front-end via tax credits, or on the back-end as we see here. Either way the taxpayer is left holding the bag just so the ecotwits can smugly preen in their coal-powered Priuses.
There’s a reason private enterprise won’t build these boondoggles without government guarantees. They’re too risky, and the potential returns too meager. Remember Solyndra? Or the myriad failures of wind power?
Meanwhile environmental groups like the Sierra Club raise hundreds of millions of dollars from their deluded supporters, which they use to lobby government into wasting tax dollars on green energy. Here’s an idea. They should put up their own damn money. Pledge their $88 million instead of mine. Walk the walk. Stop blowing smoke up my ass.
They won’t, of course. Because they’re not stupid, and they know that green energy is Teh #
http://conservativehideout.com/2015/02/16/another-of-obamas-green-energy-projects-fizzles-leaving-taxpayers-88-million-in-the-hole/
http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2015/02/taxpayers_in_3_counties_could_be_on_hook_for_millions_after_solar_project_fizzles.html#incart_m-rpt-2
"Eco-twit." Like someone who proclaims daily on the internet that mankind needs to stop using fossil fuels, but hasn't done and refuses to do, anything at all to actually stop using fossil fuels himself. Yeah, people like that can be called eco-twits. There are at least a couple of those on this thread. |
