Ecotality Auction Goes To Florida’s CarCharging Group

Tell me if this story sounds familiar; a government-backed green tech company goes bankrupt, heads to auction, and is sold for a tiny percentage of what is owed the government. EV charging company Ecotality was reportedly sold on Friday for $3.4 million, leaving the government on the hook for more than $96 million.

Ecotality’s buyer is the CarCharging Group, based in Miami Florida, which paid an undisclosed amount for the charging network operator, though word on the street is that the winning bid was just $3.4 million. The government loaned Ecotality $100 million, so you can say goodbye to the rest of that cash.

CarCharging Group gets access to Ecotality’s nearly 13,000 EV chargers, though there are plenty of technical and location issues that led to Ecotality’s bankruptcy in the first place left to resolve. CarCharging Group also grabbed another charging company, 350Green, giving the company cheap access to thousands of different charging stations all over the country. Whether or not they can actually make money on charging networks remains to be seen.

This is the latest money loser for the government’s green loan program, with other companies like Fisker and the Vehicle Production Group bringing in bids worth just a tiny bit of the money they owe taxpayers. It certainly adds fuel to the fire of debate over the government’s role in promoting green energy.

Source: Plug-in Cars