New green jobs thanks to AB32? Not here. (Fremont: sale, 2013)

[jkbatca]

Fremont solar panel maker Solyndra scales back expansion plans

I thought voting no on prop 23 was supposed to prevent this?

[CarawayDJ]

Prop 23 will not prevent things like that, and I don't think Prop 23 can be attributed to what is happening to Solyndra. I'm not a fan of Prop 23, but I won't forcibly connect the dots either.

They could be having technological issues, and are simply using competition as an excuse. If we take them at their word, competition is the issue though. It's not difficult to imagine companies elsewhere in America, and especially in China having competitive advantages due to lower costs. There is a reason why even many big CA companies manufacture elsewhere.

A poster in the WA forums brought up a point many of us overlooked with regard to Prop 23, and all of the other requirements/costs CA imposes on business. Even if a business does not move, it does not mean that they will not choose to expand elsewhere. This is where the SE US and TX are making a killing right now. Why did Apple choose to build a large new data center in NC? They are hardly alone. That kind of flies under the radar. People can drive up and down Silicon Valley and see those big high-tech companies on large campuses still sitting there and think everything is great. How many of those companies created "new" jobs elsewhere recently, and not in CA? Why? Sometimes there are very legitimate reasons for expanding elsewhere. For example, it's not like a major retailer could have all of their distribution warehouses in one state. It's fair to say that the cost of doing business in CA is also one of the reasons. Prop 23 in and of itself will not be the sole determining factor, but it is just one more cost that businesses will have to take into account when they ask themselves, "we need to expand, where do we do it?". But hey, you get the government you deserve. That is true on so many levels.

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by jkbatca

Fremont solar panel maker Solyndra scales back expansion plans

I thought voting no on prop 23 was supposed to prevent this?

Prop 23 / AB 32 are unlikely to have any direct impact on the economy before January 1, 2012.

Re: Solyndra, there's much more to that story than meets the eye. Read here: Fab pragmatism: Solyndra's shutdown of Fab 1 may be just what the cost doctor ordered - Photovoltaics International.

"Solyndra will save at least $60 million in capex, by repositioning most of Fab 1’s gear—including one of those big, customized CIGS coating tools--in Fab 2... As for the production scale-up in Fab 2, Miller said that “next year it will be in about the 140MW [run-rate] range, and we would expect that to ramp up to about 300MW by 2013.”

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

Even if a business does not move, it does not mean that they will not choose to expand elsewhere.

Exactly. I've personally seen this happen with two "green job" local businesses in the last year or so.

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by esmith143

Prop 23 / AB 32 are unlikely to have any direct impact on the economy before January 1, 2012.

Re: Solyndra, there's much more to that story than meets the eye. Read here: Fab pragmatism: Solyndra's shutdown of Fab 1 may be just what the cost doctor ordered - Photovoltaics International.

"Solyndra will save at least $60 million in capex, by repositioning most of Fab 1’s gear—including one of those big, customized CIGS coating tools--in Fab 2... As for the production scale-up in Fab 2, Miller said that “next year it will be in about the 140MW [run-rate] range, and we would expect that to ramp up to about 300MW by 2013.”

After reading that, I still don't get any warm and fuzzy that Solyndra will still be expanding in CA. And the expansion plans and layoffs are still there.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by esmith143

Prop 23 / AB 32 are unlikely to have any direct impact on the economy before January 1, 2012.

If there's a cannon aimed at you, do you wait for it to start firing before you get out of the way? Businesses think long term and AB32 has been on the radar for a while now. To say its not already a factor in the relocation/expansion equation is naive.

[EscapeCalifornia]

The only "green jobs" I see California getting will be engineers designing stuff. The actual manufacturing will have to be done elsewhere as AB32 makes manufacturing that much more expensive. The California blue collar middle class takes it in the rear again.

[SacTown11]

AB32 is going to be hilarious to watch once it goes into effect. I'll be in Colorado by then. I'll be sure to come back with a big fat, "Good job voters!"

[native56]

Not too long ago a legislator proposed banning the sale of black color cars in CA. Black absorbs heat causing the A/C to be used more hence global destruction. The legislator could not get enough support for his bill so it went nowhere.

But this is the sort of silly nonsense we can now expect under AB32. And it will all be approved by governor Brown.

[ZhugeLiang]

AB32, killing off up to two million jobs to create a few hundred subsidized by taxpayers, now that's progress.