We’ve all heard the expression “We get the government we deserve.”
Well, we got that with spades on Tuesday night but that’s not the kind of government I would hope for. Yes, we did prevent the majority from usurping the right of a Commissioner to represent their District's constituents (by a 3:2 vote), but we fell short on First Amendment rights and fiscal responsibility (more on that in the next post).
Let me make it clear that in 2021 I thought Plug Power was the type of small industrial business we needed in Camden County. It obviously would not make a big difference in employment opportunities (promised 24 jobs), but it would pay property and value taxes. As we’ve come to find out, the then high-flying company, already operating in Washington and New York is losing money big time. Their hydrogen fuel-cell department appears to make money, but it also looks like their foray into producing hydrogen has years to go before it stops losing money. Their September 2023 9 Month Financial Statement shows they lost up to $250 MILLION in hydrogen fuel sales in just nine months! They may not ever stop losing money until it is all gone.
Plug Power announced Tuesday it needed to sell up to $1 BILLION in new stock shares. They also announced Tuesday that they had ‘finalized’ terms for a $1.6 BILLION loan from the Department of Energy. So, they really need $2.6 Billion?? That's more than a spaceport.....
Note, it says "Closes In", not "closes." Nice play on words.
Then there’s this from Plug Power’s January 17, 2024 Prospectus about the risk:
Plug Power states they've LOST OVER $1,450,000,000 of investor value through last September but we need more, AND we need money from the US Department of Energy, too.
The Full Plug Power Prospectus Risk Section is here:
Is this the makings of another Solyndra scandal?
Plug Power has fallen in stature and investor confidence since the Camden 2021 Agreements were signed. If Peachtree remains viable, the Camden County Joint Development Authority will lease the plant to Plug/Peachtree for ten years. Meanwhile, Camden County and the School Board have agreed to NOT collect any ad valorem or property taxes for the next three years and will not collect full taxes for five years after that.
But as it turns out, we still have a lot of risk. Camden JDA owns the site. The risk to Camden County taxpayers is if Peachtree fails (new technology, new plant, already losing big money due to production costs higher than market price for the product) who will operate Plug Power’s Peachtree's unique plant? Is that even possible? Meanwhile, at a minimum, we’d have to pay for the security of the $90 million site, utilities, and maintenance of the buildings and equipment that can be used for nothing else other than the production of money-losing liquid hydrogen. Remember that the JDA is funded in the Camden County budget so, yes, it is “we”.
Before they voted on Tuesday night, Chairman Ben Casey, the other four commissioners, and the public had the chance to hear the facts questioning whether Camden should agree to transfer Plug Power’s now $90 million “investment” obligations to Camden County from Plug Power to their newly formed foreign corporation, Peachtree Renewables, LLC. You might ask: Who owns Peachtree Renewables, LLC? Good question. SEC records indicate a bunch of folks with Plug Power addresses just increased their shares in Plug Power.
How new? How about 7 days new. It was born last Thursday.
Had Ben Casey not removed me from the Commission Meeting on Tuesday night, he, the other commissioners, and citizens would have heard that Plug Power had previously created a 2013 Georgia corporation under the same name, but the Secretary of State dissolved that corporation in 2016.
I asked for SEVEN minutes on seven Agenda items rather than Mr. Casey’s previously declared three-minute limit. After exceeding Mr. Casey’s allotted three minutes by a few seconds, I was forcibly removed from the building at Casey’s order by a polite and gentle-handed Deputy Sheriff. I had not reached the Plug Power Agenda Item #5. I was never allowed to speak to the commissioners before they voted on matters related to Plug Power. I was denied my First Amendment right to speak on a public matter. Isn’t that EXACTLY why our Founders included that right in our Constitution? By the way, the entire meeting, without the extra four minutes I requested from Chairman Casey, lasted less than one hour and forty-two minutes.
Chairman Ben Casey didn’t even follow the County Commission’s own rules about public comment speaking time that were attached to Tuesday's agenda:
Casey's three-minute limit isn't mentioned in the County Code! Commission Chair Casey alone decided three minutes was “a reasonable amount of time” for the commissioners and public to hear what I had to say on seven Agenda topics. That comes to 25 seconds per agenda item. A Federal Court will decide if that is prohibited “Prior Constraint.” Bad move in more ways than one by Commissar Chairman Casey.
Plug Power, with the JDA's, School Board, and Camden County Commission's approval, off-loaded the $90 million one-of-a-kind facility to a newly incorporated foreign corporation. Has Mr. Casey read the articles of incorporation for Peachtree Renewables, LLC? Has Ben Casey seen any evidence that Peachtree Renewables, LLC. has assets or sufficient funds of its own? Since the latest Plug Power SEC 10K filing posted to the Plug Power website is from December 2021, how can Camden County determine the viability of the new plant?
Time has proven that the plant was pie-in-the-sky when Plug Power stock was valued at >$70.00 a share. The fact they need $2.6 BILLION more now was known when Camden JDA signed the deal. Does Peachtree Renewables have ANY money other than what Plug Power provides (stock price now $3.48 $3.32 a full week AFTER the new plant startup)? Had Mr. Casey allowed me to speak, or had he visited the Plug Powers website, he would have discovered that investors and Plug Power itself are uncertain about Plug Powers’ viability. Here’s what anyone can learn at Plug Power’s website (or Yahoo, or NASDAQ, or dozens of other investment sites):
Ben Casey prevented the Commissioners from learning these facts on Tuesday when he had the Sheriff's Deputy remove me from the podium and the building during the hearing.
District 5 needs to find a better Commissioner candidate for the March Republican primary. Mr. Casey cannot provide the leadership the county needs. I can say that in America because of my First Amendment rights.
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