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**Written by Doug Powers

I’m currently seeking a government grant to develop my idea for creating “green” energy by harnessing the wind power generated by the doors of DoE-backed solar operations slamming shut simultaneously. By my calculations this plan would create enough electricity to power Paducah for almost a year… maybe more.

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The Amonix solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, subsidized by more than $20 million in federal tax credits and grants, has closed its 214,000-square-foot facility about a year after it opened.

Officials at Amonix headquarters in Seal Beach, Calif., have not responded to repeated calls for comment this week, but the company began selling equipment, from automated tooling systems to robotic welding cells, in an online auction Wednesday.

A designer and manufacturer of concentrated photovoltaic solar power systems, Amonix received $6 million in federal tax credits for the North Las Vegas plant and a $15.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2007 for research and development.
[...]
The Amonix plant was highly touted by political leaders and economic development officials when it opened in May 2011. Company executives said they would employ as many as 300 assembly line workers paid $12 to $14 an hour, plus benefits.

The R & D grant was given to the company during the Bush administration, and the 2009 stimulus covered the millions in investment tax credits to launch the now-closed Vegas area Amonix plant, which was one of Harry Reid’s pet projects in 2010. Flashback:

At the “flipping the switch” ceremony today in Henderson, Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced that 278 permanent green jobs will be coming to the Las Vegas valley at a new solar manufacturing plant, and construction will begin this year. Reid was joined by North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck and officials from the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), Amonix, Inc., TWC Construction, and the Environmental Protection Agency to celebrate the commercial operation of Amonix’s concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar system at the River Mountains Water Treatment Facility.

“This project will put nearly 300 Nevadans back to work in permanent green manufacturing jobs as soon as this year,” Reid said. “Amonix is taking full advantage of a tax credit from the Recovery Act and is helping Nevada lead the way in producing clean energy. I’ve pushed hard to establish a clean energy industry in Nevada that will diversify our economy and protect us from future economic downturns. Today marks another major step in the right direction for our state.”

Well done, Harry.

Here’s President Obama in 2010 touting the tax credits that led to the “success story” of the very solar plant that just shut its doors:

(h/t Right Newz)

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe