Solargate: Another “green energy” company which received stimulus money files for bankruptcy

  Ener1 is a company which manufactures the batteries used in electric cars. This company was awarded over $118 million in stimulus money as part of Barack Obama’s “green energy initiative.” When it was learned that the company was awarded this money this is what Brian Levine–one of Joe Biden’s policy advisers–had to say about the news:

The facility that the Vice President visited would not exist if not for a $118.5 million grant from the Department of Energy, which was part of a $2.4 billion Recovery Act investment in electric vehicles

  When Joe Biden visited the company he had the following to say:

Well, ladies and gentlemen, here at Ener1, we’re going to harness electricity and bring it to the world like Edison did more than a century ago,” said Biden. “We’re going to reshape the way Americans drive, the way Americans consume, the way Americans power their lives. And in turn, we’re going to reshape America itself. We may not make battery power so cheap that only the rich can afford to drive their cars on imported oil, but—but–with Enron1 (sic) leading the way, we’re certainly going to come pretty close.

  It turns out that Enir1 did not “come pretty close” to remaking America as Joe Biden had claimed, and while Brian Levine claimed that the “future looks bright” for Enir1 it turns out that neither of these predictions were close to being the truth because today the company filed for bankruptcy.

  Brian Levine and Joe Biden made their statements in January of 2011 and it was predicted that because of this government aid the company would eventually be able to add 1,ooo people to the workforce. Even if this ended up being true, $118 million to create 1,000 jobs seems like a high price to pay. But one year later the company which Brian Levine said would not exist without the stimulus money has filed for bankruptcy anyway and may soon cease to exist in the near future so it turns out that the taxpayers spent $118 million to prop up a green energy company for one year.

  What a bargain!