Epic Failure
Hey, we got a new story in the news today, but before I share the link… Let’s put it all up front, here’s what I predict:
- Amonix never did have a viable 7700 8th generation product, the power plant in Spain will prove to be Junk that will never pay for itself… ever!
- The Hatch power plant is junk, and it will never be rehabilitated
- The Alamosa power plant is junk, and it will never be rehabilitated.
- Congentrix released a report to the media that all the tests were complete, and the Alamosa power plant was on line and meeting congentrix’s expectations, just what does that mean? My guess… someone in government encouraged them to lie.
- And NextEra, just imagine, they’ve been watching a failing power plant for months, but it’s far worse than what many think. The plant was bad to begin with, but grows worse every day. It’s not that there’s a few things wrong, it’s that many things are wrong, and even the wind protection scheme is a lie. A bright eight grade kid interested in science could easily pick apart the whole concept of stowing the trackers, and returning them to service. The plan does not embrace any kind of science, and it’s a fact that the Amonix 7700 and Hatch New Mexico should have never met. the damage is there in the field, all the evidence you need!
- All that stuff on the NREL website? As I say, they stopped just short of hiring dancing girls to promote Amonix.. why is that, and shouldn’t they have at least verified the basics? And that performance from Martha, will you ever forget how nervous she was?
After Months of covering this story in detail here at Utterpower, you should know that I had tipped off the Las Vegas Sun long ago, talked to reporter ‘Connor’, and even made the effort to share all this with Jon Ralston.
Here’s a little more of the story.. but it is soooo much worse than this.. do note how the article attempts to defuse the politics.. and how Harry Reid wants you to think that it was the death of the CEO that derailed Amonix.. ANYONE who is a tech knows the death of a CEO doesn’t turn the product into a pile of junk. The story was Amonix had a viable product long before this CEO got there.. Do note, there’s one commenter that visited the Amonix Head Quarters and got a sense that things were never quite right.. I think he’s on to something, and fact is.. there were a lot of employees drawing a paycheck form Amonix that felt the same way.. “just how in the hell is this all gonna work?” but hey.. it was a paycheck, and they held on to it till they were laid off.. The article is a bit of a shame. They attempt to sweep a bunch wrong under the rug. Maybe it’s what they do in Las Vegas?
Here’s second story..
Do keep your eye on the Ball.. the equipment is in the field! There’s no sleight of hand that will hide the truth, no pile of money large enough to turn a pile of junk into a viable product.
And.. those former Amonix employees, the ones who said all this stuff works so great.. like Guy Blanchard for instance.. where is he now, and what’s he up to? Do watch him bob his head and say what a proven product Amonix is.. show me one Amonix site that will pay for itself. Can anyone afford the labor and parts to keep the 7700s on line? I think not..
It’s all part of the record.. the Amonix website is a GEM to study.. shallow, and void of much at all that would hold the attention of a Technician..
And to think.. there were Clowns reporting that Amonix was ready to be the Next IPO! Best you go out and look who those clowns were and make sure you never listen to them again.. they’re likely whores for hire.. and speaking of whores, well.. no matter how bad this stuff is.. they seem to find work elsewhere.. just how many are working on new scams?
Oh… can’t you see the stories that will come out of this! Harry says.. ‘too bad the CEO died, that’s what did it…
The Tech, he might say… “It’s really no ones fault really.. .. you see.. it was an automatic floor polisher at the plant that bumped into robot number three’s cpu control panel and changed the program.. In turn Number three programmed errors into the construction of every 7700 that left the plant, you know… shit happens sometimes and besides, it was only millions of the public’s money that we gambled with. Some of those comments are gems, but people will think what they want to beleive I guess.. In the end.. this is more proof that Government has zero business picking the winners, they simply suck at it! It’s time the politicians allow us to manage their investments..
George B.
@George
You said,”Go ahead.. find an Amonix power plant that does work.. betcha can’t!”
Now with verbiage like that you are coming off as a rube. We can’t have a discussion if you frame statements in those terms.
You apparent don’t fully understand the whole conception behind disruptive technologies.
/sarc
LOL
OK… you made your point.. wish you were closer, we’d have a cool one, and discuss how your book is coming along.. I have plenty enough to write a good book on Amonix.. and.. by the way.. I took that line out 🙂
So is there a Amonix plant that works as hyped? If the design is flawed and underperforming should it be touted as the savior of the world or just another experiment that failed? Are there actually large solar arrays that do work? & where are they?
Pat, I’ve studied this for a LONG time..thankfully, we have fields full of the so called proven Amonix 7700s in both Hatch and Alamosa. This is all real stuff we can investigate! the key is to compare CPV in space to what the DOE offered carots for.. this is important.. I discuss this a paragraph or two down..
Already.. Harry Reid, claims.. it’s all a shame the CEO died, and that’s why this all happened. It’s just another typical dumb ass statement he makes, but it works well among his support group because most are not technical, and don’t understand that Amonix had Engineers responsible for all this stuff.. where were they then, and where are they now?
To my knowledge.. there simply is NOT an Amonix 7700 installation that will EVER pay for itself.. as soon as Amonix employees turn their backs on them, they quit tracking, inverters pop breakers, and more. Bad cells short to ground, there’s no diagnostics that would program out a fault that I know of, and a lot of trouble shooting relies on the Tech’s eyeball to find a fault by looking at the MUlti junction Cell.
The 7700 was NEVER suitable for Hatch New Mexico, the weather there is way too severe, we already know there’s cracked gearheads, that’s equivalant to having transmisison cases in cars splitting and cracking in normal use. But even the wind protection therory is a con!
What’s coming is the proof that the NREL promoted and Hyped Amonix! It’s all over the Amonix website… all those who gave testament to how great this stuff is! Now consider what Spain bought, and of course they bought it on FAITH! Faith in the US Government, and if you read the website pages, and read Martha’s little piece on how an NREL person resigned to join Amonix and work on their most wonderful design using a most wonderful new Multi junction Cell from the NREL.. well, maybe that was why she looked like a deer in the headlights during her TED talk? Maybe she had visions of being on ‘wanted posters’ in Spain?
Let’s all be glad that Spain doesn’t have a big Army.. they should be mad as hell, and at least we won’t have to fight them on the battle field..
Now… let me remind you.. we do have a Pro Solar Guy who is totally capable of staying in touch with reality and reporting on what works and what doesn’t. He’s old fashioned, and unlike Harry Reid, Jon Ralston, the Lazy Reporters at the Las Vegas Sun, he owns a power meter! He does happen to have a Masters in electrical engineering and a Masters in business, but I doubt that’s what makes him so good.. it’s the fact he’s hands on, and can ask an intelligent question.. Go back to Las Vegas, and see if you can find one person who asked.. “So.. does this stuff really work?”
Richard Turner of El Paso Electric is an example of the type of people we need bring into these decisions.. no way this man would allow himself to be used, no way he’d whore for dollars either.
Want to know about CPV? Spend a day with my friend Robert K., a retired Areospace Scientist who can talk for hours, and literally draw out the vast matrix of reconfigurable batteries, CPV Multi Junction Cells, MPPTs, and far more. CPV abord space craft, it’s an environment free of many serious problems on earth, and nothing is cheap! Here you will find a very high price per KWH, as they have thought of nearly everything! Bad battery? send an order to cut it out of the string, and add a spare? Bad MJC? send an order to reconfigure.. run out of spares? program out a bad string, reconfigure the MPPT to operate with less. And behind the scenes, there are even tools to try and rehibilitate a bad battery cell!
Now.. let’s compare what the DOe was offering: We want to give money to those who will promise the lowest cost per KWH, we got buckets of promise notes here to hand out (you know we’re broke, so we can’t give you a better note). thsi si the reason that the Amonix product is dumb as a box of rocks! Auto configure? no.. switch matrix? no! fault diagnostics? No!
How to trouble shoot? Best way is to wait fo rthe right weather, so you can put the tracker vertical , and get in the manlift to eyeball things.
And is there CPV that works? well, we need define what ‘works’ means.. this is where richard turner comes in, he buys power from a CPV system, and you can watch the weather, the power output, the claimed power.. and compare it to other technologies he buys from.
Imagine that! A man smart enough to share information with his stake holders! Opps.. that’s a word Jon ralston says he don;t like.. stake holders..
Pat.. I think I shared links to El Paso electric, one power plant I like is called the road runner.. you can watch this power plant put out above 95% of it’s capacity under high scattered clouds, and the Amonix CPV system does poorly under these conditions.. Fact is.. high scattered clouds is pretty typical in places like New Mexico.. Also see the CPV system from another company.. it’s all at El Paso Electric to watch for free! Well.. maybe the DOE will force them to take it down? Maybe they’ll charge it’s just too much information for the Public to have access too ? God knows what our government will force on us next… here’s the site.. http://www.epelectric.com/renewable-energy/menu
Maybe all the constipated [sic] solar, wind, et al is just a high tech form of this:
Might be the case…people should be mad.. but you got to be awake to be mad I guess..