“Those ‘nattering nabobs of negativism’ will constantly point out irrelevant facts about how expensive alternatives are compared to fossil fuels, how inconvenient they are, and how undeveloped they are.” - page 29, Apollo’s Fire
Last week, ex-Congressman Inslee went live with his first television ad. In it, he pointed out his biggest accomplishment during his tenure in Congress – his book, Apollo’s Fire. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of reading the ex-Congressman Inslee’s book, which currently ranks #10,133,083 (down from #10,125,812 on Monday) on Amazon’s best sellers list, you can pick up your very own copy at Barnes and Noble for $0.01. Throughout the book, Inslee highlights several different green energy companies (each dependent on taxpayer subsidies) as evidence of how he believes green energy can “work” for communities. Only problem is that each one of these companies has since failed or is teetering on the brink.
Here is the third in a series of updates highlighting the irrelevant facts regarding the repeated failures of the companies Jay Inslee says will be the foundation of his economic strategy:
Exhibit C:
Grays Harbor County - Imperium Renewables, Grays Harbor Paper, and Pane Trek Paneling
In reference to Imperium Renewables - “Soon, the several hundred well-paid construction workers building this $60 million plant will be replaced by sixty-five to seventy-five refinery workers with steady, well-paid work displacing fossil fuels. Since manufacturing jobs of this quality spin off 7.5 indirect jobs each, this plant will generate about 500 new jobs, many in Grays Harbor. Hundreds of railway workers will deliver thousands of rail cars a year of midwestern soy oil, and scores of tug operators will barge biodiesel to Seattle. That's a lot of jobs in a small town, and the difference between a functioning community and a dot on a map.” – p. 123
“Grays Harbor is not a one-trick pony, however, when it comes to green industrial development. The biodiesel plant has attracted three other green industries: Grays Harbor Paper produces 100 percent recycled paper; Sierra Pacific burns "hog fuel," the sawdust from the mill; and the Pane Trek Company is building green paneling.” - p. 125
“Together, Imperium and those green companies now form the core of the future for Grays Harbor's economy.” – p. 125
Reality:
Imperium Renewables: Imperium Renewables has gone from 107 employees in 2008 down to 49 today. Exactly one year after Jay’s grand predictions published, the Seattle Times reported “Like many biodiesel makers around the country, the company's finances have been squeezed by the skyrocketing cost of raw materials and a weak market for their product. Imperium, which had raised $213 million in equity and debt, cancelled a planned $345 million initial public offering early this year and laid off many of its workers.”
Grays Harbor Paper: Grays Harbor Paper shut its doors last year, putting 240 employees out of work, citing “the continued high price of raw materials, lower than expected sales of high-value products, and accompanying cash flow considerations.” When they shut their doors, they did so with $25 million in debt, including $1 million owed to the State of Washington to “pay off a loan that helped finance the biomass turbine.”
Pane Trek Paneling – What’s worse than predicting success for companies that ultimately don’t succeed? Predicting success for companies that may never have existed. A search in the Washington State Department of Licensing business license database come up empty. Following this futile search, a call was placed to the Grays Harbor Chamber of Commerce – they had never heard of Pane Trek Paneling.
Despite all of Jay’s grand predictions of an economic boom for Grays Harbor, at 13.7%, they are currently suffering the highest unemployment rate in the State of Washington. Is this what he has planned for the rest of the state? It certainly seems that way.