China invested $30 Billion in credits for solar manufacturers in China. That is nearly 60 times the mere $535 Million invested in Solyndra. And it comes as no surprise that imports from China for solar technology is at a record level at $1.4 Billion in the first 7 months of this years, compared to $1.2 Billion in all of last year.
With that kind of government investment in startup businesses, it is no wonder that China is seemingly beating the United States at every turn, and especially in the new green technologies. The United States has been cutting costs on infrastructure and research and development while China has been making massive investments.
While Solyndra may have had other problems with their business model, I wonder if they would have been able to compete against such a large investment?
The other interesting thing about the Solyndra case is the "curved" cell technology. You can see in the picture (left) that the cells are not flat like traditional solar panels. They were made to be curved so as to get sunlight longer, by catching more of the morning and evening rays. Unfortunately, the flat panels were so much cheaper, and this is part of the issue. One might wonder if Solyndra could have offered both flat and curved if they had a similar $30 Billion investment. We may never know.