In 2007, energy researchers at Colorado State University created AVA Solar, which became Abound Solar of Loveland, Colorado, with manufacturing facilities in Tipton, Indiana. The President of the United States, Barack Obama, touted Abound Solar as an example of the clean-energy future, claiming it would create 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs. Members of Congress urged the Energy Department to grant Abound Solar loan guarantees. They included Sen. Richard Lugar and Representatives Dan Burton, Mike Pence and Mark Souder, all Republicans, joined by Colorado Democrats and Senator Evan Bayh.
The U.S. Department of Energy duly approved up to $400 million in federal loan guarantees for Abound Solar. In June 2012 Abound Solar announced that the company would file for bankruptcy, having drawn down about $60 million of its loan guarantee. The failure left 125 workers without jobs, a familiar pattern. Solyndra, another company touted by the president, used almost all of its $535 million in government money before declaring bankruptcy and laying off all its employees last year. Solyndra has been memorialized in a Berkeley architectural sculpture, but Abound Solar may have a different legacy. To Read More......
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