Another Heavily Subsidized "Green" Company About to Fold

"Look, there are some folks who say it's not the government's job to pick winning and losing companies. I say we're better than that. I say it's the government's job to sink incredible amounts of capital into trendy concept companies that than fold. Look, we know better than you."

Weird. It's almost as if "green" energy companies are just plain not profitable-- even with copious amounts of federal money.

ECOtality (catchy name there) is a company that builds electric car charging stations. Believe it or not, they're in a bit of financial trouble.

From the KPHO.com (h/t Mara Zabrest at Gateway Pundit):

ECOtality, the electric car-charging company that operates more than 600 charging stations in Arizona, may be about to close its door. 

Last month, the company disclosed a myriad of problems with the SEC. In that filing, ECOtality released the following statement: 

"Although the Company is currently exploring options for a restructuring or sale of the entire business and/or assets of the Company, the Company may need to file a petition commencing a case under the United States Bankruptcy Code as part of any such process or otherwise in the very near future." 

ECOtality was heavily involved in the federal government's EV Project, sponsored by the Department of Energy. The goal of that program was to install charging stations and electric vehicle infrastructure throughout the United States.  

 

In all, ECOtality says it installed more than 13,000 home and commercial charging units. The EV Project reimbursed the company for many of those installations, paying out nearly $100 million. 

In the filing, the ECOtality says the DOE stopped making payments to the company. It also claims that its charging stations are not making a profit. 

Additionally, the report says ECOtality has had trouble finding additional funding. It has also had to pay $855,000 in back wages and damages to settle Labor Department claims that it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and Davis-Bacon Act.

So the company's services and products are unprofitable and they can't get anymore free money from some patron, usually the feds, and so they have to close down. Doesn't that pretty much sound like the "green" energy industry in a nutshell? Thank goodness Obama continues to pour tax dollars to these poor companies... a little industry welfare, I guess.

The Arizona Daily Star adds:

Ecotality, the former Arizona electric-car-charging company that moved to San Francisco after being awarded $115 million in federal stimulus help, is near collapse. 

The company disclosed an array of problems, including defects that cause some of its chargers to melt, in a regulatory filing last month. 

It said the Department of Energy stopped making payments to the company. The stimulus funds were part of a program called the EV Project. The program’s goal was to help Ecotality and a variety of industry partners deploy electric-car charging stations across the country and study the most cost-effective way to roll them out as electric vehicles gain popularity. 

The program has faced its own struggles, but Ecotality’s problems extend far beyond that line of business. The company also conducted testing for government agencies and has a line of electric forklifts and other service vehicles.  

[...]    

The company also said that some of the electric-car chargers it has installed are overheating and melting the connection to the vehicles. The regulatory filing said it is unclear how much the issue will cost, and it may be forced to replace 12,000 of the chargers installed.  

[...] 

ETEC developed and tested battery power for cars, service vehicles and even boats and was the division within Ecotality that worked on the $115 million EV Project. The latest government data indicate about $96 million in stimulus funds had been spent on the project. 

The stimulus funds were used to provide free home-charging stations for thousands of people who bought electric vehicles, who are required to share their user data with Ecotality and the government. The money also covered several thousand public charging stations for cars in Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and other locations. 

In 2010, Read moved the Ecotality headquarters to San Francisco, but maintained the Phoenix operation formerly known as ETEC. 

In the regulatory filing, which preceded at least six law firms announcing they are suing or examining claims against the company, Ecotality officials said they are “exploring options for a restructuring or sale of the entire business and/or assets,” but may need to file bankruptcy “in the very near future.” [emphasis mine]

More expensive crap that you and I are paying for. And the result? A bankrupt company that made products that melted. Brilliant!

Add ECOtality to the list... oh, wait. They're already there.