After Solyndra Loss, U.S. Energy Loan Program Turning A Profit
In 2011, solar panel company Solyndra defaulted on a $535 million loan guaranteed by the Department of Energy. The agency had a few other high-profile bankruptcies, too — electric car company
Fisker and solar company
Abound among them. But now that
loan program has started turning a profit.
Overall, the agency has loaned $34.2 billion to a variety of businesses, under a program designed to speed up development of clean-energy technology. Companies have defaulted on $780 million of that — a loss rate of 2.28 percent. The agency also has collected $810 million in interest payments, putting the program $30 million in the black.
When Congress created the loan program under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, it was never designed to be a moneymaker. In fact, Congress imagined there would be losses and set aside $10 billion to cover them.
Still, when the Solyndra case emerged, Republicans on Capitol Hill had pointed criticism for the Obama administration. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., called the Solyndra case "disgusting," and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, labeled it "a colossal failure." The conservative group Americans for Prosperity produced
a television ad accusing President Obama of paying back campaign contributors.
There was an FBI raid on Solyndra's headquarters and an investigation but, so far, no prosecutions.
Now that the loan program is turning a profit, those critics are silent. They either declined or ignored NPR's requests for comment.
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After Solyndra Loss, U.S. Energy Loan Program Turning A Profit : NPR