A Government Accountability Office report shows that there were 65 federal initiatives to support solar technology in 2010 and 2011.
During that time, officials from six federal government agencies reported obligating $2.6 billion for more than 1,500 solar energy
projects, with more than 90 percent of these obligations coming from the Department of Energy.
Of the $2.3 billion the DOE spent those two year, most — $1.7 billion — went to fund the Section 1705 loan guarantee program, the very same program that gave taxpayer backed loans to failed solar companies like Solyndra and Abound Solar.
Solyndra received a $535 million loan guarantee in September 2009 and subsequently filed for bankruptcy in August 2011 — the company laid off 1,100 workers, and prompted a congressional investigation.
Abound Solar closed a $400 million DOE loan guarantee in December 2010, and after years of selling reportedly
faulty solar panels and drawing on $70 million of the loan guarantee,
the company declared bankruptcy in June 2012. Abound’s bankruptcy
happened just seven months after the company’s CEO called them the
“anti-solyndra.”
Solar energy has been a key component of President Obama’s “all-of-the-above” strategy to achieve energy independence and to create jobs.
“We’ve doubled the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar right here in Nevada and all across the country,” Obama said at a campaign event on Sunday in Las Vegas. “We’ve got a better plan -–- where we invest
in wind and solar; and farmers and scientists who are harnessing new
biofuels to power our cars; and where construction workers are building
homes and factories that waste less energy; and we’re investing to get
at a 100-year supply of natural gas.”
During that time, officials from six federal government agencies reported obligating $2.6 billion for more than 1,500 solar energy
projects, with more than 90 percent of these obligations coming from the Department of Energy.Of the $2.3 billion the DOE spent those two year, most — $1.7 billion — went to fund the Section 1705 loan guarantee program, the very same program that gave taxpayer backed loans to failed solar companies like Solyndra and Abound Solar.
Solyndra received a $535 million loan guarantee in September 2009 and subsequently filed for bankruptcy in August 2011 — the company laid off 1,100 workers, and prompted a congressional investigation.
Abound Solar closed a $400 million DOE loan guarantee in December 2010, and after years of selling
reportedly
faulty solar panels and drawing on $70 million of the loan guarantee,
the company declared bankruptcy in June 2012. Abound’s bankruptcy
happened just seven months after the company’s CEO called them the
“anti-solyndra.”Solar energy has been a key component of President Obama’s “all-of-the-above” strategy to achieve energy independence and to create jobs.
“We’ve doubled the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar right here in Nevada and all across the country,” Obama said at a campaign event on Sunday in Las Vegas. “We’ve got a better plan -–- where we invest
in wind and solar; and farmers and scientists who are harnessing new
biofuels to power our cars; and where construction workers are building
homes and factories that waste less energy; and we’re investing to get
at a 100-year supply of natural gas.”
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