![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.greenenergyreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/v1\/img\/cat\/solar.png\" "\\"Solar\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Should a green energy chief executive officer haul in a large bonus while his company struggles?<\/p>\n
Evergreen Solar Inc.\u2019s head Richard Feldt is spending some time on the hot seat today for receiving a $479,991 bonus for 2009 while his Massachusetts-based company posted a $98 million operating loss, The Boston Globe reports<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The debate over executive compensation at struggling companies raged throughout 2009, particularly in the financial sector.<\/p>\n But people expect better from green energy company executives because:<\/p>\n 1) many companies, particularly in the solar sector, have not yet posted consistent profits<\/p>\n 2) a large chunk of the money coming into renewable energy firms in 2009 came from government sources<\/p>\n 3) another large chunk of money is came from venture capital, who don\u2019t want to see executives rewarding themselves before VCs get their payday<\/p>\n 4) these companies are trying to save the world from global warming, and many executives use altruistic language to describe their companies\u2019 goals. Outsized bonuses are not altruistic<\/p>\n Evergreen, which makes String Ribbon silicon wafers, meets most of these of these criteria.<\/p>\n The company has received $58 million in state loans and aid to build its solar plant in Devens, Mass., The Globe reports. Evergreen will likely get another $5 million from a quasi public agency soon.<\/p>\n Evergreen has also been hurt, like many solar companies, by falling prices and an oversupply in the market.<\/p>\n But Feldt, whose overall compensation was about $1.8 million last year, has a contract that puts heavy emphasis on other metrics \u2013 such as operating cash flow and margins.<\/p>\n