The Solyndra saga continues, as the solar panel-maker that received a $535 million, taxpayer-backed loan guarantee was caught smashing millions of dollars worth of assets it was allegedly unable to sell. The contentious development comes after Solyndra executives requested hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses, despite owing half a billion dollars to taxpayers and private backers.
“First we learn of the ridiculous request for $500,000 in Solyndra bonuses. Now we find out that these employees are apparently destroying millions of dollars worth of equipment,” said Rep. Cliff Stears, R-Fla., chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
Stearns’ allegation stems from a story rolled out by CBS 5, a San Francisco-based affiliate, which reported Solyndra employees destroying thousands of glass tubes that were intended for the green-energy company’s solar modules. “At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week,” CBS San Francisco reported. “They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters.”
CBS estimated that the tubes were worth more than $2 million, and that Solyndra still owes the German-based company that manufactured them close to $8 million. So why would a company that owes a fortune to taxpayers and investors be destroying more than $2 million worth of assets?
Court documents indicate that the high-grade glass was of “inconsequential value,” because the cost of storing them far eclipsed their overall value. Heritage Global Partners, who is helping sell off Solyndra’s assets, told CBS 5 that despite an extensive search, they were unable to find a buyer for the parts.
However, some critics have disputed this allegation, as the tubes were not on the company’s asset list at two auctions last year. If they had been, some business owners claim they would have purchased them.
“We certainly would have bid on them, yes,” David Lucky, who owns several warehouses in Nevada, told CBS 5. “Our company has bought a lot of stuff over the years. Truck loads and warehouses full of inventory that companies were just ready to send to the dump, because they don’t want to take the time to find markets for it.”
Stearns, who has been investigating Solyndra’s controversial demise, said in a press release Friday: “Taxpayers are already on the hook for this half a billion dollar jobs program gone bad, and yet rather than try to recoup every dollar possible, the Obama administration stands by as Solyndra gets the green light to shatter millions of dollars worth of materials into oblivion.”