Here we are in December of 2010, where is Green2V which hasn’t broke ground this summer as promised? I was skeptical of Green2V from the very beginning. A company no one had heard of with no website (and still doesn’t have a website) decided to build a new factory in my hometown of Rio Rancho, New Mexico with a very aggressive schedule.
An article from Rio Rancho Observer says that the city is giving up.
On Dec. 15, the Rio Rancho City Council will consider two measures repealing the city’s incentives in trying to lure the green energy start-up company. “We think that based on where we are right now, it’s been eight months since we first received those assurances (of funding), the documents are a bit stale,” said City Manager James Jimenez. City Councilors are being asked to repeal the Green2V industrial revenue bond inducement resolution the city passed in April, and the city’s economic development act it had with Green2V.
The article goes on to say that the city was promised 3 times that the money was coming and that the city of Rio Rancho trusted former Intel executive Bill Sheppard. There’s a quote from City Manager James Jimenez that I think is true as well.
“We pride ourselves as being competitive when it comes to economic development and aggressively pursuing (projects). Frankly, I’m well aware that we would have been criticized heavily if Green2V had been able to get its financing together and locate in Arizona if we knew we had a chance to bring them here and didn’t – for whatever reason – aggressively pursue them.”
The Albuquerque Journal had an article in May titled “Betting on Solar … Again” about the poor track record of OCS capital who was supposed to originally finance Green2V.
OCS lists numerous clients and industrial revenue bond financed projects on its website that have never materialized, among them the $16.5 million Big Event Amusement facility and Beach Waterpark in Albuquerque; the $210 million Nuchick poultry processing plant in Artesia; and a $22 million project to build an aircraft manufacturing plant in Odgen, Utah. The website does not mention that none of these projects came to fruition. Although the OCS name appears on a letter included in the bond application Green2V submitted to the city, Housley said Green2V never paid OCS money and terminated its relationship because it found another company to work with.
Then Green2V switched from OCS capitol to GP3, Ltd. The New Mexico Watchdog couldn’t find that either OCS Capital or GP3, Ltd seem to exist.
New Mexico Watchdog has learned that no limited partnership called GP3 exists in California according to the records of the California Secretary of State. The only limited partnerships with the term “GP3″ in their titles have had their partnership status canceled. One was GP3 Asset Acquisition, LLC, which was formed in 2007. It traces back to an Ann Arbor, Michigan, address, but is no longer a recognized limited partnership in California. The other was entitled Walton 425 GP3 IV, and traces back to a Chicago address. But its status as a limited partnership in California has also been canceled.
I can’t blame the City of Rio Rancho going forward with this based on the recommendation of the governor but clearly all of those involved should have done more research on the company. It doesn’t appear that the city is out of a significant amount of money. Hopefully the City will do a better job in the future of bringing in high tech companies.
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