travel two hundred eighty yards before it ended up dead in the middle of the green. Jason glanced over at Brian and said casually, “You should save yourself a lot of grief and pay me now. If you do, I won’t say a word the rest of the round.”
Brian’s hands rested on the top of his driver. He laughed as he stuck his tee into the ground. “You haven’t beat me in two weeks, so why should I worry about you after one good shot?” He took a few practice swings and then laced his ball twenty-five yards past Jason’s. He put his club on his shoulder and walked past Jason, slapping him on the back. “See, it’s too early in this round for you to be cocky.”
They both laughed and headed to the golf cart parked on the pathway next to the tee box.
As Jason drove, Brian adjusted the golf glove on his left hand. “When do you think you’ll make a decision about Copper Mountain?”Jason asked as he sipped an iced tea. “Will it be right after the deadline or are you going to make all of us bidders sweat?”
Brian leaned forward and checked his cellphone. “It will be right after the deadline. I’m not going to string you out. I tell you, this green movement is getting bigger by the moment. You made a great move getting into it when you did.”
Jason turned to him and grinned. “Well, that was thanks to you. I didn’t realize how much money was involved. With that stimulus bill that went through Congress, there’s billions and billions of dollars lying around for the asking. Although I understand the construction and manufacturing side of solar farms, I don’t get the economic aspects of it. Why are these projects so coveted?”
“Let me explain it in a nutshell,” Brian explained. “I put together a large fund for my investors to develop these projects. The day we’re done, we can take a thirty percent tax credit on the whole cost of the project or apply for a thirty percent cash grant. Then we can depreciate eighty-five percent of the whole project cost over six years. Basically, the federal government is paying eighty percent of the cost of the solar farm, and after six years my investors have their initial investment back and start clipping big coupons of money when we sell the power we generate back to the utilities. It’s almost like printing money.”
Jason whistled softly. “Wow, that’s a pretty slick program. No wonder you people are always saying the money is green. Maybe when I save enough I could put some money into one of your projects.” Jason stopped the cart at the next tee. A creek meandered down the fairway on its left side, emptying out into a small lake at the front of the hole, where several Mallard ducks swam around lazily under the weeping willow that grew out of a small island in the middle of the lake.
“Would you at least give me a hint as to where we stand on the bidding?” Jason asked.
“Do you know who you’re competing against?” Brian asked nonchalantly.
“Yeah, it’s Earth-Sun, another Chinese company like Soltech.” Jason made a ninety-degree right turn and cut across the neatly mowed grass to where his ball rested. “They’re tough to compete against. I’ve lost a couple of bids on solar farms to them. If we lose this bid, my boss, Mei Chen, will not be happy. She might even take it out on me and fire me.”
Brian stepped out of the cart when Jason had stopped it. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re her golden boy, the one she’s grooming to run the company. Why would she fault you if you lose a bid fair and square?”
“She can do whatever she wants because she owns the company. Mei has made overtures about me running the company, to be the president of operations. It’s a great opportunity, but I’m not sure I want all the pressure that comes with it. Mei is such a ruthless boss. I don’t know if I told you much about my trip to Shanghai where I toured the main manufacturing facility. You talk about a sweatshop. The place has deplorable
Brian’s hands rested on the top of his driver. He laughed as he stuck his tee into the ground. “You haven’t beat me in two weeks, so why should I worry about you after one good shot?” He took a few practice swings and then laced his ball twenty-five yards past Jason’s. He put his club on his shoulder and walked past Jason, slapping him on the back. “See, it’s too early in this round for you to be cocky.”
They both laughed and headed to the golf cart parked on the pathway next to the tee box.
As Jason drove, Brian adjusted the golf glove on his left hand. “When do you think you’ll make a decision about Copper Mountain?”Jason asked as he sipped an iced tea. “Will it be right after the deadline or are you going to make all of us bidders sweat?”
Brian leaned forward and checked his cellphone. “It will be right after the deadline. I’m not going to string you out. I tell you, this green movement is getting bigger by the moment. You made a great move getting into it when you did.”
Jason turned to him and grinned. “Well, that was thanks to you. I didn’t realize how much money was involved. With that stimulus bill that went through Congress, there’s billions and billions of dollars lying around for the asking. Although I understand the construction and manufacturing side of solar farms, I don’t get the economic aspects of it. Why are these projects so coveted?”
“Let me explain it in a nutshell,” Brian explained. “I put together a large fund for my investors to develop these projects. The day we’re done, we can take a thirty percent tax credit on the whole cost of the project or apply for a thirty percent cash grant. Then we can depreciate eighty-five percent of the whole project cost over six years. Basically, the federal government is paying eighty percent of the cost of the solar farm, and after six years my investors have their initial investment back and start clipping big coupons of money when we sell the power we generate back to the utilities. It’s almost like printing money.”
Jason whistled softly. “Wow, that’s a pretty slick program. No wonder you people are always saying the money is green. Maybe when I save enough I could put some money into one of your projects.” Jason stopped the cart at the next tee. A creek meandered down the fairway on its left side, emptying out into a small lake at the front of the hole, where several Mallard ducks swam around lazily under the weeping willow that grew out of a small island in the middle of the lake.
“Would you at least give me a hint as to where we stand on the bidding?” Jason asked.
“Do you know who you’re competing against?” Brian asked nonchalantly.
“Yeah, it’s Earth-Sun, another Chinese company like Soltech.” Jason made a ninety-degree right turn and cut across the neatly mowed grass to where his ball rested. “They’re tough to compete against. I’ve lost a couple of bids on solar farms to them. If we lose this bid, my boss, Mei Chen, will not be happy. She might even take it out on me and fire me.”
Brian stepped out of the cart when Jason had stopped it. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re her golden boy, the one she’s grooming to run the company. Why would she fault you if you lose a bid fair and square?”
“She can do whatever she wants because she owns the company. Mei has made overtures about me running the company, to be the president of operations. It’s a great opportunity, but I’m not sure I want all the pressure that comes with it. Mei is such a ruthless boss. I don’t know if I told you much about my trip to Shanghai where I toured the main manufacturing facility. You talk about a sweatshop. The place has deplorable
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