Upside Down: Tech Group Agrees to Pay $90M for Solyndra Building That Cost $300M

When TheBlaze reported on Monday that a whole bunch of discarded Solyndra tubes had been turned into a modern art display, we wondered whether this "green" energy boondoggle could get any sadder.

Turns out, it can.

“Seagate Technology Plc, maker of hard drives and storage devices, has agreed to pay $90.3 million for the former manufacturing plant and headquarters building of bankrupt Solyndra LLC, which was financed by a controversial government loan, according to bankruptcy court documents,” Reuters reports.

So what's the problem? At least the Solyndra building is one step closer to being sold, right?

Well, considering that the building originally cost $300 million, we’d say this is pretty depressing.

“Seagate's offer will be considered an initial bid, or ‘stalking horse,’ which could be topped by a competing offer of at least $1 million more when an auction is held, according to court documents filed late Wednesday,” Reuters reports.

“Should a higher bid emerge, Seagate would be entitled to a breakup fee of $1.8 million, a little less than 2.6 percent of the technology company's offer,” the report adds.

And Seagate wasn't alone in its interest in the facility.

The Solyndra building “attracted interest from U.S., Chinese and European companies involved in industries such as solar energy, medical-related products, data centers and other technologies that need an ultra-clean manufacturing environment,” the report adds.

“The highest bid came from Seagate.”

Wait a minute. With more than just Seagate competing on the building, $90 million was the winning bid? Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey gives his take:

This was the best competitive price for the facility — only 30% of what the Obama administration gave Solyndra to build it in the first place. Perhaps Congress should dig further into the construction process at Solyndra to see why a facility built with $300 million of taxpayer money only had $90 million of value, because at first blush, it looks like a lot of money went elsewhere than the facility.

Of course, there could be a simple explanation that the people involved in the sale of the building simply aren’t telling us. The only thing that we know for certain is this: Taxpayers are never, ever going to get back the half-billion that went into this failed project.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter