Another example of Governments lack of accountability

The Cost Breakdown: A $2.2B Black Hole

• Upfront Hit: Total build cost was about $2.2 billion (2010-2014), way over initial estimates. That included $1.6B in federal loan guarantees from the DOE (under Obama's 2009 stimulus push), plus a $535M Treasury grant to "repay" part of the loan-basically free money for the developers. Add in a 30% investment tax credit, accelerated depreciation (treating it like a 5-year asset), and a 50% first-year depreciation bonus. Oh, and California's renewable portfolio standards forced utilities like PG&E and SCE to buy the power at premium rates, subsidizing it further.
• Ongoing Bleed: Annual operating costs? Around $100M for just 61 permanent jobs (down from 1,000 construction gigs). For context, a nuclear plant like Millstone in Connecticut cranks out 15x more power with the same staff size. Ivanpah's output averaged ~702 GWh/year from 2015-2023, vs. the promised 1M GWh— that's like paying full price for a Ferrari that tops out at 40 mph.
• Total Subsidies Stacked: We're talking $2B+ in direct and indirect taxpayer support, including that loan guarantee (which skipped the usual "credit subsidy" fee for expected defaults). Critics like the American Energy Institute call it "waste and inefficiency" in government-subsidized schemes.

The Loan Status: Still Hanging Over Taxpayers

• Unpaid and Unspecified: As of January 2025 audits, the full $1.6B DOE loan remains unpaid-NRG (lead owner) flat-out declined to disclose how much is left on the hook. With PG&E terminating two of three power purchase agreements (PPAs) in January 2025 (finalized by mid-year), revenue dried up fast. That leaves Uncle Sam potentially eating the default, just like Solyndra's $535M flop back in 2011.
• Shutdown Accelerates the Pain: Units 1 and 3 are closing in early 2026 (pending final regs), with Unit 2 limping on under an SCE deal but likely toast soon after. The plant was greenlit for 25 years (to 2039), but it's flaming out at 12-early exit saves PG&E $500M in overpayments, but DOE gets zilch. DOE defenders say the loan program's "performing well overall," but this one's a glaring outlier, reigniting calls to audit the whole renewable portfolio.
• Political Fallout: Trump's September 2025 rallies hammered it as a "green scam," and think tanks like AEl are pushing to turn the site into a "Green Madness National Monument." Even NRG admitted in 2025: Tech advancements made CSP obsolete-no storage, high maintenance, and it guzzled natural gas way more than planned.
In short, your frustration's spot-on: This was sold as a solar revolution but ended up a subsidized sinkhole that scorched birds (6,000/year) and left taxpayers holding the bag.