By Emerson Drake
6/29/10
Yes MID has allowed SunPower to create a wholly owned subsidiary called Solar Star VIII, LLC to build and operate the McHenry solar farm. This means despite the fact the public has been told all along that SunPower would be signing the contract , that is just not the case.A limited liability company is a way out for SunPower if they can't perform up to their contractual responsibilities.
Why has MID allowed this to happen? Your guess is as good as mine, but you have to wonder just how many free lunches it took before this switch was allowed.
Remember MID has been insistant with private owners that they pay for their individual projects before MID would agree to a power purchase agreement.SunPower/Solar Star needed a signed MID contract before financing could be arranged. Now we find out that we aren't dealing with a large corporation with ties world wide but a LLC designed to insulate them from potential problems.
Has the MID Board of Directors lead us down the path one more time, or should I say up the creek?Stay tuned for more information as it developes from the closed mouth MID.
Remember you heard it here first.
