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[Lotto123]

Perfect, another one bites the dust...How far down does this rathole goooooo....we are so fvkd.........

DOE Gets Another Black Eye With Beacon Bankruptcy.
Venture Capital Dispatch

By Russ Garland
Sunday’s bankruptcy filing by Beacon Power is the latest headache for the Department of Energy, which already faces scrutiny over its handling of a loan to Solyndra.

Beacon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday, asking to spend the cash that backs $39 million in debt from a loan guaranteed by the DOE. The loan was for a pilot plant in New York that would recycle excess power from utility grids.

It’s a similar deal to the one the DOE struck with solar company Solyndra, which is also in bankruptcy. The White House has ordered an independent review of the loan-guarantee program.

Last week, VentureWire’s Yuliya Chernova reported in The Wall Street Journal that Beacon had said it needed to raise more capital to continue operations into next year.

Beacon, based in Tyngsboro, Mass., has built a plant in Stephentown, N.Y., that takes unused power from the electric grid and stores it using a spinning wheel that can send the energy back to the grid when wanted. The company received a $43 million loan guarantee from the DOE and has drawn down most of it.

At least venture capitalists aren’t on the hook for this one, unlike Solyndra.

A 1997 spinoff, Beacon went public in 2000. Its flywheel technology was originally designed to supply backup power for telecommunications, but when that bubble burst Beacon turned its attention to the energy markets.

It trades on the Nasdaq as BCON and on Oct. 5 received notice from the exchange that it was at risk of being delisted because its stock had traded below the $1-per-share minimum for 30 consecutive days.

As of noon, its price was around 12 cents.