Three solar companies are under investigation for potentially inflating costs in order to draw down more money from a stimulus-funded loan program. All three boast investors with significant ties to the Obama White House. The Treasury Department has subpoenaed Solar City, SunRun, and Sungevity, The Washington Post reports, seeking to …
It is no secret that President Obama’s and green energy supporters’ (from both parties) foray into venture capitalism has not gone well. But the extent of its failure has been largely ignored by the press. Sure, single instances garner attention as they happen, but they ignore past failures in order …
Recent news about the Obama Administration’s divestitures from AIG and GM—in some cases at a loss of billions of dollars—stands as a reminder of the privilege and cronyism that permeates our economy. As favoritism grows with the size of the government, economic freedom continues to be eroded by policies like …
Imagine your son or daughter aspiring to be a government crony instead of an engineer or business owner. That nightmare scenario plays out in a new video by Crony Chronicles, a website that fights cronyism. In the video, kids who might otherwise have become doctors and architects aspire instead to …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a large loan guarantee to a biofuel company whose investors donated handsome sums to the Obama campaign. Some of them have even visited the White House to discuss federal job-creation efforts. Taxpayers will guarantee a $105 million loan for Fulcrum Sierra BioFuels, a …
A venture capital executive with ties to defunct solar company Solyndra has been hired as the new chief of the Defense Department program heading up the Pentagon’s renewable energy push. Arati Prabhakar, a former partner at U.S. Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that backed Solyndra, has been …
Another stimulus-backed green energy company has filed for bankruptcy, further fueling criticism of Energy Department programs that backed highly-risky investments on the taxpayer dime. Like Solyndra and a number of other green energy investments made under this administration, Abound Solar had a very poor credit rating, but enjoyed a wealth …
Emails uncovered by congressional investigators show that a top Energy Department adviser sent confidential government information to representatives of a company vying for federal financing. The company, which is tied to multiple politically connected green-energy firms, eventually received a $1.4 billion partial loan guarantee from DOE. “[P]lease do not sent …
President Obama and his surrogates have repeatedly insisted that federal backing for green energy companies like Solyndra is somehow superior to private equity investing, since federal bureaucrats are concerned with more than enriching investors. But “investors” in an Obama presidency – i.e. his top supporters – have reaped the benefits …
Congressional investigators are probing potential cronyism in a pair of federal green energy programs, including the Energy Department loan program that guaranteed a $535 million loan to now-bankrupt solar company Solyndra. In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sent on Tuesday, embedded below, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), chairman of …
