Here's another for the list: GlobalWatt.
2006: Company founded in San Jose, California -- CEO, Sanjeev Chitre; Yogesh Rane served as Director of Emerging Markets from 2008 to 2011.
June 2009: GlobalWatt considering locating a $189 million, 400 full-time-employee solar panel factory in Corpus Christi, Texas providing the city’s Business and Job Development Group coughs up $2.8 million in incentives over five years, according to Caller.com.
December 2009: GlobalWatt claimed it would drive 500 jobs and $177 million to Saginaw, Michigan instead of Texas; received incentives from Saginaw, and set up shop in Michigan.
December 2010: GlobalWatt was found to be selling five solar panels on eBay. The panels were manufactured by Hindivac, an Indian PV and module supplier with cells that the firm claimed were made by Suniva, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
December 2011: GlobalWatt was evicted from its factory according to ABC12. GlobalWatt's Saginaw plant employed about a dozen workers, according to reports.
December 27, 2011: GlobalWatt claims it is moving manufacturing to Copemish, Michigan to be near its module distributor, according to this report on mlive.com.
According to reports at ABC12, the CEO "declined to comment on production or how many people have been hired" in the last year. Chitra then attributed some blame to Solyndra, saying, "Companies like Solyndra have dried up capital."
The company's website also features mobile solar power systems and water filtration systems. The firm has been looking to raise $5 million since September 2010, according to this filing. Other executives in the company, according to the same filing, include Rohit Arora, Michael Thompson, and Moji Zahedi. Phone calls to the Saginaw factory result in a disconnected line message, calls to the San Jose, Calif office are unanswered, and the company has not responded to emails.
The sooner the Solar Shakeout eliminates the uncompetitive solar companies, the healthier the industry will be in 2013 and 2014.
We've watched a growing list of solar firms throw in the towel (SV Solar, Solasta, Wakonda, OptiSolar, SpectraWatt, BP Solar, Stirling Energy, Senergen, Solon, Solar Millennium, Off-Grid Solar, Evergreen Solar, Solyndra, Soliant) and we'll see many more in the coming year. Companies currently at risk in 2012 include publicly held ECD and Hoku Solar, both in danger of delisting and bankruptcy.
What might be a GlobalWatt product (from GlobalWatt's Facebook page):
Claims of UL certification :