This Is Not A Positive Sign

Don Surber reports that a photovoltatic maker in eastern Idaho is about to get its electric power shut off for failure to pay its bills:

Idaho Power plans to cut off electricity on Tuesday to plant in Pocatello, Idaho, that makes material for solar energy, because the factory owes $1.9 million in unpaid utility bills. The dispute is with Honolulu-based Hoku Scientific, Inc., which is backed by Chinese financing and enjoys federal and state incentives.

Officials for the utility said Idaho Power agreed to hold off until March on collecting the $1.8 million Hoku already owed, providing the company stayed current in its bills. It didn’t. That’s a telltale sign of trouble as thanks to hydroelectric plants and thermal energy, Idaho enjoys some of the lowest electric rates in the nation. The Associated Press reported the company’s stock now sells at “well below” $1 a share, down from a 52-week high of $3.24.

A cynic would ask why a company building material for the future--solar power--can't pay its bills, or make its own power.  Perhaps because "the future is solar" has more to do with faith than fact?