From today’s House Energy and Commerce Committee report on the Department of Energy’s Solyndra loan guarantee comes this startling revelation: Chris Gronet, the CEO of Solyndra, referred to the federal government as the “Bank of Washington,” adding, “it continues to help us.” The report underscores the degree to which the …
When the Energy Department set out to restructure the federal loan for now-bankrupt solar company Solyndra, White House budget staffers insisted that allowing the company to go bankrupt and liquidating its assets would provide greater returns for the taxpayer than the deal DOE had struck with the company’s private investors. …
One of Abound Solar’s venture capital investors blamed election-year political games for the collapse of the Colorado-based thin film solar panel manufacturer, according to a new interview. John Hill, discussing the demise of a company and technology he invested in both financially and emotionally, acknowledged that the company’s troubles could …
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 …
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 …
Documents obtained by The Bay Citizen under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the Solyndra bankruptcy resulted in 1,861 people losing their jobs—over 700 more than the defunct solar company previously reported. In reality, the job loss count is even higher than that. What hasn’t been counted are the …
