Can we finally end green energy subsidies?

To the editor:

Slightly more than a year after its May 2011 opening, solar manufacturer Amonix, closed its doors in North Las Vegas. The plant, which at one time had 700 employees, has been idle since May 1.

The thousands if not millions of jobs that this industry was supposed to produce, as Sen. Harry Reid has proclaimed, have failed to materialize. In addition, this company received approximately $20.6 million in federal subsidies, taxpayer money truly wasted.

If these types of businesses do survive – and that is a big if – they employ a very small number of people, as the Solar One project in Boulder City and the Crescent Dunes project near Tonopah will reflect. More often than not, they end up like Solyndra, a California solar plant, and this one.

It is one thing if private investors, who are not exactly rushing to these projects, lose their money in these risky ventures.

It is entirely a different matter when the tax dollars of hardworking Americans are squandered.

Oh well, it is only taxpayer money, and we have plenty of that. This is the sentiment of the Obama administration and Sen. Reid.

Can anyone in their right mind support someone who wants to raise taxes so they can continue to spend money so foolishly?

When are the citizens of Nevada and the taxpayers of this great nation going to say, "Enough is enough," and stop this insanity?

Ray Kolander

Las Vegas

Money laundering

To the editor:

Another taxpayer-subsidized green energy company goes under. Amonix just announced that it has shuttered its 14-month-old solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas. It received $6 million in federal tax credits and a $15.6 million Department of Energy grant.

I would just like to know how much of this money was kicked back to the Democrat campaign coffers. I have lost count of how many green energy money laundering scams have gone under.

Sen. Harry Reid says Amonix’s problems started after its chief executive officer died in a plane crash in January, but that doesn’t explain why 200 people were slated to be laid off (and were laid off) prior to his death.

This green energy scam reminds me of the old dot com bubble. There was so much investment money floating around at that time that they were pumping money into almost any crazy idea. I even worked for one of these firms as an operations manager, and soon after employment, I realized that we were not going to last long. We were spending $750,000 a month and only bringing in $33,000 a month in revenue. It went under eight months later. Meantime, the chief executive officer and several of the senior vice presidents were spending money on new homes, summer cabins, boats, etc.

In this case, it is the Democrats who are spending our tax dollars on these similar types of schemes via government-guaranteed loans, federal grants and stimulus money. And, as payback, these companies kick back some of that money in the form of campaign contributions. It is nothing more than legalized money laundering.

Warren Willis Sr.

Las Vegas