12.04.2014

Bridgeport's Solar Plant That Never Was



In the 1970s, Bridgeport "flirted" with converting to 100% solar energy. Yep, you read that correctly. I know there was an article in Texas Monthly about it back in the day, and I'm almost 100% sure it was even a segment about it on 60 Minutes. So far, the only thing I found is this UPI article in a California paper.

The reason that this came up is that a loyal reader saw this news item from yesterday: "A federal district judge has ordered Waco-based Life Partners Holdings and two top executives to pay $46.9 million in fines for misleading investors about life insurance policies they had purchased from clients who were terminally ill, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed Wednesday . . . . Chief executive and founder Brian Pardo was ordered to pay a $6.2 million civil penalty . . . . "

It was Pardo who was the head of "Solar King" and the guy who tried to convince Bridgeport into believing that a solar energy plant was possible. Of course, it was not.