The parent company of an electric car battery maker that received a $118 million grant from the Obama administration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday.

New York-based Ener1 said it has been affected by competition from China and other countries.

Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel received a $118 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department in 2009, and Vice President Joe Biden visited the company's new battery plant in Indiana last year.
Investigates first reported in October 2011 that Ener1 was facing financial troubles, after NASDAQ pulled the company from its listings, leaving the stock valued at $0.00.

Ener1 is just the latest company to seek bankruptcy protection after receiving assistance from the Energy Department under the economic stimulus law. California solar panel maker Solyndra Inc. and Beacon Power, a Massachusetts energy-storage firm, declared bankruptcy last year. Solyndra received a $528 million federal loan, while Beacon Power got a $43 million loan guarantee.

A CBS News investigation found earlier this month that a dozen green-energy companies - which in total received at least $6.5 billion in stimulus money from the federal government - have filed for bankruptcy protection. ( Click on the player at left for a full report on the CBS News investigation )

Solyndra, of Fremont, Calif., was the first renewable-energy company to receive a loan guarantee under the 2009 stimulus law, and the Obama administration frequently touted it as a model for its clean energy program.

Since then, the company's implosion and revelations that the administration hurried a review of the loan in time for a 2009 groundbreaking has become an embarrassment for President Obama and a rallying cry for GOP critics of the administration's green energy program.

Tax dollars backing some "risky" energy projects
Video: Romney calls Obama a venture capitalist with Solyndra
The chairman of a House subcommittee that is investigating Solyndra said the latest bankruptcy showed that the administration's clean energy program has failed.

"Unfortunately, you can now add Ener1 to the growing list of failed companies that went belly up after hundreds of millions of dollars in administration backing," said Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.

"One bankruptcy may be a fluke, two could be coincidence, but three is a trend," Stearns said. "Our investigation continues, and we are working to ensure taxpayers are never again stuck paying hundreds of millions of dollars because of the administration's risky bets."

An Energy Department spokeswoman said EnerDel had received $55 million so far under a program in which EnerDel matches federal investment dollar-for-dollar. Ener1 said in a statement that the restructuring would not affect EnerDel's operations. The company makes lithium-ion batteries for electric cars such as the Chevrolet Volt.

"While it's unfortunate that Ener1, the parent company, has entered a restructuring process," a recent infusion of $80 million in private investment "demonstrates that the technology has merit," said Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department.

"The restructuring is not expected to impact EnerDel's operations and they do not expect to reduce employment at the site" near Indianapolis, Stutsman said.

Battery maker Ener1, a DOE grant recipient, goes bankrupt

By Steve Hargreaves @CNNMoneyTech January 26, 2012: 7:19 PM ET

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/26/technology/ener1_bankruptcy/index.htm

" "...Sadly, the Department of Energy's jobs record seems to grow worse by the day," Florida Representative Cliff Stearns, a Republican, said in a statement. "It is American taxpayers who are paying the price."
But during his State of the Union speech, President Obama struck a defiant tone, refusing to apologize for the decisions his administration has made, which includes the funding of hundreds of clean energy companies or companies engaged in clean technology research.
"Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail," said Obama. "But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy." "

MO: It's our money those incompetents in Washington keep blowing. The technology is great, it's government involvement that isn't.  It's too bad, it just keeps getting worse with no end in sight.
Up side to all this is, no matter the outcome, Tim (clueless) Geithner stated he's done the end of this year. I personally believe he was done a day or two before his appointment.

Geithner says he doesn't expect to serve second term
By Michael O'Brien, msnbc.com
http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10236588-geithner-says-he-doesnt-expect-to-serve-second-term

I guess that green energy is just not the "thing" right now.

We need to get China out of the equation, the only thing sold here made in China should be fireworks!

First Solyndra and now this, Obummer sure has the magic touch.

Shows he has no business sense.

And Fortune Cookies.

China doesn't help matters , but imagine what would happen should our leaders suddenly get a clue .

What a business man he is.....

First off bankruptcy can be all kinds of different things in businesses. Many businesses use bandruptcy to reorganize and they stay in business.

Second, there is no way to know when you invest in a company whether bankruptcy is in their future or not. Making it impossible to predict.

Thirdly, in this economy many businesses are struggling so that isn't a shine on the president at all.

Poor man! Not smart enough to realize it was Bush who put him there not Obama.

Low intelligence is not a crime though, just an irritant for the rest of us.

Agreed

Extremely funny how some can throw stones without admitting both administrations remain horrible liars. Neither administration could get anything passed without the Senate and House voting. Therefore, Obama is just as responsible for placing the mess from the Bush Administration as the Bush Administration itself for voting for the mess that got the United States in the mess its in now.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/01/clinton-slams-o/

http://www.votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/9490/

We are given scapegoats as leaders while the central banks and wall street pull the stings and cash in.

Bush and Owe-Bummer are just the sacrificial lambs they lead to slaughter for the citizenry to chew on.

RON PAUL 2012! The ONLY candidate that comes without strings attached!