MIT's Tech Review reports: "Abound Solar, which makes cadmium telluride thin-film solar panels, and had been awarded a $400 million conditional loan guarantee by the U.S. Department of Energy, announced yesterday that it is stopping production at its 65-megawatt factory in Colorado and laying off 180 workers."
Earlier examples of government subsidized alternative energy companies running into trouble include Solyndra, Evergreen Solar, Beacon Power, and Range Fuels. Failure is part of capitalism, and it may be better for some of these factories or companies to close than to continue operating with recurring losses and little or no prospect of reaching profitability. Still, there's a difference between losing money voluntarily as an investor and losing it as a taxpayer when your money is being taken by force and invested by government officials who imagine they know better than private investors how to allocate venture capital in the energy sector.