Taxpayers bet $9.6m on 'revolutionary' Chinese solar company Sunman

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The Government has invested $9.6 million in Shanghai-based solar company, Sunman, run by a former billionaire who is considered to be one of Australia's leading solar scientists.

The museum had, since 2015, wanted to install conventional solar panels on its Heritage Centre, located in the Sydney tourist hotspot, Darling Harbour.

"We came across a unique glass-free solar panel from Sunman," the museum's chief executive Kevin Sumption said in August, last year."The 5.5 kg lightweight panels could overcome the building's structural challenges and also have the same power output as 20kg conventional panels.

He soon became an Australian-citizen, and finished his engineering PhD at the University of New South Wales in a record two-and-a-half years. He was the world's first "green billionaire", and his net worth is estimated to have peaked at $4.1 billion in 2008.It didn't help that Suntech had racked up billions of dollars worth of debt as it tried to expand aggressively, and defaulted on a $US512 million bond payment.

 

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It looks like Australia is doing something to make China feels better.

Stop spending money in China - spend at home in Oz. We are too beholden to China trade, in and out.

I wonder if the team at Newcastle Uni developing flexible solar sheets is receiving similar support to keep the technology and jobs in Australia?

WITH BIDEN A LAME DUCK PRESIDENT IN WHICH TRUMP CONTROL'S THE SENATE & NO LAWS CAN PASS TO BRING HARMONY IN A DIVIDED COUNTRY OR LAWS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE, ALONG WITH AN EMBOLDENED & UNITED TRUMP BASE CIVIL VIOLENCE IS COMING. WATCH

Do they play March of the Volunteers?

The government's been 'betting it' on the future of coal for many years now (despite the writing being on the wall) and isn't that turning out great.

Calling it now, you'll do an a cost/benefit analysis, an expose into the materials used and an opinion piece calling for a corruption inquiry that mentions national security before this is over

Taxpayers don't have a say in their money. We didn't bet shit.

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