It is Department of Energy policy to ignore the federal government’s own criminal investigations into companies applying for taxpayer funding. The admission came from a DOE official who testified at a congressional hearing Thursday. The hearing focused on federal support for Ecotality, a company that manufactures electric vehicle charging stations. …
Amonix, the solar panel manufacturer whose Las Vegas plant ceased operations in May, managed to secure millions in federal grants and potential tax breaks even though its product had quality problems and was never really economically viable, according to sources. The politically connected company had the backing of Senate Majority …
As a congressional panel looks into federal support for a major electric vehicle charging station manufacturer, more questions about the company’s political connections are surfacing. They speak to a virtual constant among recipients of federal “green energy” money: beneficiaries enjoy significant political connections. The company in question, Ecotality, has received …
Solar-cell manufacturer Solyndra became a household name when it collapsed, taking $627 million in American taxpayer dollars with it. It’s the poster company for the government picking winners and losers—or really, just losers—in the energy market. But there are 12 more “green energy” losers that have declared bankruptcy despite attempts …
Proponents of taxpayer support for green energy are touting a new study claiming that tax credits for solar companies will pay for themselves over the long run. The problem: the study, conducted by the U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance, assumes that solar companies that enjoy the tax breaks in …
The latest political squabbling over the No More Solyndras Act is a reminder that politically entrenched energy subsidies enjoy bipartisan support. The No More Solyndras Act prohibits any new loan guarantees from Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For applications that are already under consideration or have …
The Energy Department can’t figure out how hundreds of thousands of dollars in “green energy” stimulus money earmarked for manufacturing equipment was spent, according to a new report from the agency’s Inspector General. DOE’s IG stated in a July 2012 audit report that $500,000 of equipment bought with stimulus money to …
