October 19, 2012

Volt no jolt: Stimulus-funded $300 million Chevy Volt battery factory has never shipped a battery

Everything -- every thing -- that is wrong with "green blow jobs" is in this six minute report.

HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) - Workers at LG Chem, a $300 million lithium-ion battery plant heavily funded by taxpayers, tell Target 8 that they have so little work to do that they spend hours playing cards and board games, reading magazines or watching movies.

They say it's been going on for months.

"There would be up to 40 of us that would just sit in there during the day," said former LG Chem employee Nicole Merryman, who said she quit in May.

Posted by gerardvanderleun at October 19, 2012 10:56 AM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Don't sully the "blow job" industry by linking it to Green scams, Gerard. At the very least, the commercial fellating industry has discernable inputs and outputs and, generally speaking, the contracted service is performed until a desired outcome is achieved.

Can you say the same thing for Green jobs?

Posted by: Callmelennie at October 19, 2012 12:30 PM

So, no income, and yet the employees (can't call 'em workers, now can we?) are getting paid.

Oh, wait... it's just another gubbermint (or union?) scam, er, job.

Posted by: leelu at October 19, 2012 2:39 PM

The problem here is that Obama is stupid, credulous, and lazy.

He believed the bovine dejecta that the so-called environmentalists* feed him about battery powered electric vehicles (BEV) being the next big thing.

He thought: "here is a chance for the Democrat party to own a major industry from the get go".

The problem is that, on this issue as they are on so many issues, the environmentalists are delusional.

The BEV is not the next big thing, it is obsolete technology. It failed to dominate the vehicle market a century ago. Back then both my Great-grandmother, and Mrs. Henry Ford drove BEVs. Since then internal combustion engine vehicles have gotten a lot better. BEVs have really changed very little. You want indisputable visual evidence? Go to curbsideclassic.com and look for this page: 2012-mitsubishi-i-1917-detroit-electric-there-and-back-again/

Please spare me the yak about Li-ion batteries. They 1. are still batteries, 2. are wretchedly expensive, and 3. hazardous. Anyone who has been forced to buy a new battery for a laptop or cellphone knows how much they cost. Here is the kicker, the BEVs use the same batteries, just lots more of them. (laws of physics require it) They won't get cheaper when a lot more are made. There is already a huge industry making them.

Obama is credulous. He believed them. He is stupid. He didn't know the history. What is far worse, he is lazy, he didn't check it out. Ever heard of due diligence? Obama thinks it sounds too much like work.

If he had checked it out, he would have discovered the above and lots more that would have convinced him there is no future in BEVs.

Besides the way, it isn't his money, and he doesn't care.

*They are rich white folks who have turned socialist out of guilt. Environmentalism works for them because it doesn't make them out to be the class enemies, and because it is a religion of pagan earth worship which gives their religious impulses a channel. They become technology fan boys to deflect the bitter clingers who are the real class enemies who worry about their jobs and how they can get to work if they don't own a G5. But the real attraction of environmentalism is the chance to sacrifice brown babies at the altar of "overpopulation". Environmentalism is the last socially acceptable form of racism.

Posted by: Fat Man at October 19, 2012 3:46 PM

A nice rant against BEV, but, as usual, the devil is in the details.

Pure BEV is, I agree, a niche market. That doesn't make them completely useless.

Hybrid BEV, OTOH, is a viable general solution to the problem of transportation efficiency: energy in vs miles (or ton/miles) out.

Keep this in mind: 41% of all the ton/miles of freight moved in the US in 2011 utilized hybrid technology. It's called "diesel-electric locomotive".

Improved battery tech is not a complete waste of resources.

Posted by: bud at October 19, 2012 7:48 PM

-bud. I'm no choo-choo expert, but I don't think a DE locomotive can go anywhere unless the diesel engine is running. As I recall, they simply have a diesel driven generator (or alternator) that supplies the current that powers the motors. i.e., no battery array that can power the wheels without the diesel running.

Posted by: BillH at October 20, 2012 7:51 AM

"Pure BEV is, I agree, a niche market."

Golf Carts, Fork Lifts.

It doesn't need 250 M$ of Federal Subsidy.

Bill H is right about Locomotives. The Electrical system is just a transmission. They are not battery operated

Posted by: Fat Man at October 20, 2012 1:10 PM
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