The Solyndra scandal apparently needs a reminder to this thread...The Obama administration was reckless and irresponsible with our money. No denying that...I do not want them to continue, they are incompetent and must not have that authority...this is but one example.
On January 9, 2009, the Department of Energy's credit committee decided unanimously that although the project "appears to have merit, there are several areas where the information presented did not thoroughly support a finding that the project is ready to be approved at this time." The committee "without prejudice" remanded the project "for further development of information." [10] [11]
President Barack Obama examines a solar panel with Solyndra CEO Chris Gronet (right) and Executive Vice President Ben Bierman, during a tour of Solyndra.
Timeline of Solyndra loan approval
After President Obama took office, analysts in the Energy Department and in the Office of Management and Budget questioned the loan, as one Energy official wrote in an e-mail of "a major outstanding issue": cash flow predictions showed that the Fab 2 subsidiary (the entity receiving the loan guarantee) would be low on cash in September 2011, possibly needing help from the parent company until the cash flow recovered in subsequent months. [12]
Loan approval In March 2009, after a successful milestone in the approval process, the White House wanted to announce the loan guarantee. One White House budget analyst nixed the announcement in a March 10, 2009 e-mail, writing "This deal is NOT ready for prime time" and listing remaining milestones. [13] [14]
On March 20, 2009, the Department of Energy committee that had remanded the loan application in January made a "conditional commitment" to Solyndra's proposed $535 million loan guarantee, with final approval scheduled for September. [15] [16] The White House and Solyndra had estimated that the loan would help to create 4,000 new jobs. [1]
In August 2009, an Energy Department stimulus adviser, Steve Spinner, pushed for a quicker final decision on the loan, though he had recused himself from the approval decision itself because his wife's law firm had done work for the company. [17] According to the Washington Post, the Obama administration tried to rush federal reviewers to approve the loan so Vice President Joe Biden could announce it at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s factory. [18]
The White House scheduled a press event for September 4 and federal reviewers gave final approval on September 2. [19] After securing the loan guarantee, the Federal Financing Bank, a part of the Department of the Treasury, loaned Solyndra the money on September 4, 2009. [20] Solyndra used the loaned funds to build a new manufacturing facility, Fab 2, in Fremont, California. Construction began in September 2009 and was completed in June 2010. [21] In May 2010, the company was promoted by President Obama in his visit as a model for government investment in green technology. [22] It was also visited by Energy Secretary Steven Chu. [23] |
