The Last Sip!

Solyndra for sale: Inside company's vacant production plant

By Claudia Cowan

For sale: manufacturing and office facility with 411,618 square feet, state of the art electrical, air, and power distribution systems -- and a troubled past. As part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Solyndra is reportedly very close to landing a buyer for its California plant. Fox News toured it to see what the new owners will get for their multi-million dollar investment.

Though partly covered up by sheets of paper to filter the sunlight, the glass windows of this very "green" building create an atmosphere of gleaming newness. Indeed, Solyndra built the facility from the ground up, spending $300 million for a project that was completed in October, 2010. During a visit that year, President Obama heralded Solyndra as "proof that the promise of clean energy isn't just an article of faith."

For a time, assembly lines hummed as Solyndra launched its unique technology, producing cylindrical panels of CIGS thin-film solar cells. Work abruptly stopped last September when the company declared bankruptcy, 1,100 people found themselves out of a job, and FBI agents raided the compound. The federal investigation continues into how a start-up that had received a half-billion dollar federal loan guarantee could suddenly fail.

Read more                                                       Reach Out to Hispanics                          Shop CaritoCaró