The Obummer administration has just scored another big crony-capital debacle in its thoughtless pursuit of clean green energy ... see: Breitbart Story. This time the will-o-the-wisp was biofuels and the cost to U.S. taxpayers looks like it will total something like $2.34 billion. The rat hole down which these funds were pored was Abengoa Bioenergy ... a Spanish firm ... showing that our government's poor financial judgement shows no national boundaries.
The project on which so much was squandered was cellulosic biofuels to be produced at the Hugoton, Kansas plant and six other U.S. locations. The Hugoton plant had a projected production capacity of 25 million barrels of ethanol. So far it has yet to sell its first barrel.
Of course this is not this Energy Department's first financial disaster. I have written in the past about a series of other bile green investments ... see: Frugal Green Energy. I choose not to add up the total taxpayer losses from the 13 failed green projects mentioned ... for I am afraid my head would explode. However, my best guess is that it is north of $50 billion dollars.
Perhaps, if the Department of Energy could have found 97% of all climate scientists (the magic number) to agreed on these investments, it might have had a better batting average ... but I doubt it.
Gosh! $20B squandered on trying to achieve clean green energy. That could give the military one month more of spreading our love and wealth across the Middle East while returning distorted bodies and psyches. That certainly isn't a 'thoughtless pursuit'...
ReplyDeleteNot $20B, $50B ... and killing bad guys (and girls) isn't cheap either in dollars or bodies. Bad investments in crony companies is lost, lost, lost ... with no benefit whatsoever.
DeleteAnd weren't the Dems complaining about $2 million spent on the Benghazi hearings?
DeleteI disagree. Striving to push forward technological evolution has always had merit. Look at Tableau as an example of multidimensional data analysis that evolved in the last twenty years. As a taxpayer, my allocation of the $50B is a few hundred dollars. The goal is clear as Germany and Denmark can attest.
ReplyDeleteTrying to suppress the zealots seeking a global caliphate, is an endeavor that is really in its first year for the 13th time in its eighth iteration. The cost to the USA has been $2T to $6T depending on who is counting. As a taxpayer, my allocation of that is at least $20,000 to as high as $60,000. What's the goal? There is still no clear indication of how to stop resolve the jihadi problem.
BTW, my allocation of 2M on Benghazi hearings is $0.02. Just my two cents...
You are making my point on the Benghazi hearing spending.
DeleteAll the money we spent on Iraq and Afghanistan went down a rat hole thanks to Obummer's lack of vision ... can I say pussiness?
As we have seen, the Saudis supply many of the terrorists. And when el Sisi of Egyth proposed an Islamic reformation, what did Obummer say? [crickets]
ReplyDeleteAs opposed to Obummer's gossamer ass?
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should have invaded Saudi Arabia instead of Iraq?
ReplyDeleteYeah but... http://www.http://chillfin.com/BushKissingSaud.jpg Then they held hands.... maybe smoked a cigarette...
ReplyDelete