The first episode of the Investigative Economics podcast covers our recent stories on the high-profile bankruptcies in the renewable energy industry around 2011, when Romney accused the government of picking “losers.”

We’ll be covering the following stories:

Investigative Economics

China Flooded U.S. Silicon, Photovoltaic Market Before Collapse of Solyndra and Other Solar Companies

The story of Solyndra has been repeated often. A California startup with an innovative technology for solar power received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy only to collapse soon afterwards and default on the loan. The company and those government officials who made the decision to provide the loan were heavily scrutinized, wi…

a year ago · Llewellyn Jones

Investigative Economics

Solyndra's Solar Efficiency Was In Doubt

Solyndra—the California startup that fell into bankruptcy in 2011 following a flood of photovoltaic imports from Asia—earned a unique Department of Energy (DoE) loan guarantee for their innovative technology. That loan guarantee was at the heart of accusations levied at the Obama administration at the time for “picking winners” by subsidizing one comp…

4 months ago · Llewellyn Jones

Investigative Economics

What Stopped Lithium Production in 2010

Around 2010 to 2015, global lithium production plateaued. Demand for the main ingredient in lithium-ion batteries had been steadily growing over the previous five years as the technology became the de facto battery in the growing electric vehicle (EV) market as well as many portable electronics. Between 2010 and 2015, demand suddenly went from steady …

22 days ago · Llewellyn Jones

Investigative Economics

Podcast: The Renewable Industry Bankruptcies…