Democrats Sunburned by Solar Stimulus

Report on Stimulus Loan Program that Funded Solyndra Finds that Obama’s DOE Wasted Taxpayer Money and Hurt the Very Solar Companies They Intended to Help 

• A recently released House Oversight report on the Obama administration’s loan guarantee program documents the extensive wasteful spending at the core of the stimulus program, but it also raises troubling evidence that DOE’s lending practices contributed to the failure of the very companies it claimed it wanted to help with taxpayer money.
• Sadly this is just the latest proof of the perils of crony capitalism under the Obama administration’s stimulus spending spree, which funneled billions of taxpayer dollars to politically-connected companies at substantial risk to the public.
• Even as the Democrats have bungled attempts to increase green energy, they’ve also waged war on traditional energy sources, making it increasingly clear that the Democrats’ preference is for no energy at all.

A recently released House Oversight report on the Obama administration’s loan guarantee program documents the extensive wasteful spending at the core of the stimulus program, but it also raises troubling evidence that DOE’s lending practices contributed to the failure of the very companies it backed with taxpayer money:

OBAMA’S DOE “EXPOSED TAXPAYER FUNDS TO EXCESSIVE RISK AS A RESULT OF DOE’S BIAS TOWARD APPROVING LOANS WITHOUT REGARD TO WARNING SIGNS”: “This report will demonstrate how DOE loan commitments exposed taxpayer funds to excessive risk as a result of DOE’s bias toward approving loans without regard to warning signs. The Committee identified many cases where the DOE disregarded their own taxpayer protections, ignored lending standards and eligibility requirements and, as a result, amassed an excessively risky loan portfolio.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012) 

“TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN GLARINGLY APPARENT,” LENT $14.5 BILLION OVER 27 PROJECTS: “By the expiration of § 1705 program in September 2011, the DOE had approved 27 projects totaling more than $14.5 billion in guaranteed loans. Inexplicably, DOE management has turned a blind eye to the risks that have been glaringly apparent since the inception of the program.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

DOE’S “INVESTMENT IN MULTIPLE SOLAR” COMPANIES “ADDED TO A HEATED GLOBAL COMPETITION” THAT WAS “ALREADY CREATING AN EXCESSIVE SUPPLY OF SOLAR PANELS”: “DOE should have averted some of the risks it created in its portfolio by diversifying its investments across renewable energy technologies.  DOE’s investment in multiple solar manufacturers added to a heated global competition that was already creating an excessive supply of solar panels.  These manufacturers were forced to compete both against each other and other solar companies worldwide.  As a result, the average selling price per watt for solar panels has continued its decline.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

MANY SOLAR COMPANIES “CAN ONLY SURVIVE THROUGH CONTINUED PROVISION OF SUBSIDIES” PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS: “Despite Solyndra’s fall, there remains excessive competition in the manufacturing of solar panels. Just this past month, both Abound Solar and First Solar cut solar panel production globally, reflecting this excessive supply and heated competition. While U.S. solar generation projects can take advantage of falling panel prices to offset a share of the impact of reduced power prices, it appears solar manufacturers that suffer both supply and demand shocks can only survive through continued provision of subsidies. Unfortunately for these manufacturers, there is growing evidence that the subsidies are drying up.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,”U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

Sadly this is just the latest proof of the perils of crony capitalism under the Obama administration’s stimulus spending spree, which funneled billions of taxpayer dollars to politically-connected companies at substantial risk to the public:

DESPITE A RECORD OF FAILURE: “REPORT: ENERGY LOANS COULD COST $3B” FROM “HIGH-RISK” GREEN PROGRAMS: (“Report: Energy Loans Could Cost $3B,” Associated Press, 2/10/2012) 

REPORT OFFERS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT OBAMA TEAM “IGNORED RED FLAGS” IN SUPPORTING SOLYNDRA IN 2009 WITH “MAIDEN GREEN ENERGY LOAN”: “The expert’s report, filed this week in Solyndra’s voluminous bankruptcy case in California, could embolden critics who say the government ignored financial red flags in supporting the solar panel maker with President Obama’s maiden green energy loan in 2009.” (Ronnie Greene, “Department of Energy Knew of Solyndra Risks, Former FBI Agent Finds,” iWatch News, 3/29/2012) 

OBAMA’S “GREEN” PROGRAM “INFUSED WITH POLITICS AT EVERY LEVEL”: “Meant to create jobs and cut reliance on foreign oil, Obama’s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level, The Washington Post found in an analysis of thousands of memos, company records and internal ­e-mails. Political considerations were raised repeatedly by company investors, Energy Department bureaucrats and White House officials.

“The records, some previously unreported, show that when warned that financial disaster might lie ahead, the administration remained steadfast in its support for Solyndra.” (Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, “Solyndra: Politics Infused Obama Energy Programs,” The Washington Post, 12/25/2011)

CRONY CAPITALISM? WASHINGTON POST AUDIT FINDS $3.9 BILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY WENT TO “21 COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO FIVE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION STAFFERS AND ADVISERS”: “During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagle’s former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

Even as the Democrats have bungled attempts to increase green energy, they’ve also waged war on traditional energy sources, making it increasingly clear that the Democrats’ preference is for no energy at all:

KEYSTONE DELAYS NOW UP TO FOUR YEARS:

KEYSTONE DEVELOPER SPENT 3.5 YEARS AND AT LEAST $1.9 BILLION WAITING FOR THE DEMOCRATS’ KEYSTONE APPROVAL: “The administration seems to think that it can use environmental claptrap to convince the American public that it is behaving ethically and legally in denying the TransCanada permit, even after the company has spent $1.9 billion over 40 months carefully adhering to the federal regulatory process. And a lot of Americans will not have the time or inclination to get into the weeds on this issue.” (Mary Anastasia O’Grady, “Obama’s Keystone Delay Flouts the Law,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/6/2012)

MORE THAN THREE MONTHS SINCE CONGRESS DEMANDED OBAMA APPROVE THE PIPELINE: (“Waiting for the Keystone XL Pipeline,” House Energy & Commerce Committee, 4/6/2012) 

INSTEAD, OBAMA REJECTED KEYSTONE AND FLOATED A RECONSIDERATION AFTER THE 2012 ELECTIONS, MAKING TOTAL KEYSTONE DELAY MORE THAN FOUR YEARS: (Aamer Madhani and Susan Davis, “Obama Rejects Keystone Pipeline from Canada to Texas,” USA Today, 1/18/2012)

OFFSHORE DRILING DELAYS REMAIN HIGH, DESTROYING JOBS:

1/2: THE RATE AT WHICH OBAMA IS ISSUING NEW DEEP-WATER DRILLING PERMITS RELATIVE TO THE HISTORICAL AVERAGE: (Editorial, “‘Stupid’ and Oil Prices,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/24/2012)

1/3: THE RATE AT WHICH OBAMA IS ISSUING NEW SHALLOW-WATER DRILLING PERMITS RELATIVE TO THE HISTORICAL AVERAGE: (Editorial, “‘Stupid’ and Oil Prices,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/24/2012)

“HIDDEN VICTIMS” OF OBAMA DRILLING PERMITORIUM ARE SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES, ACCORDING TO GREATER NEW ORLEANS INC. REGIONAL ECONOMIC ALLIANCE: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

50% OF GULF OF MEXICO BUSINESSES HAVE LAID OFF WORKERS DUE TO MORATORIA: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012) 

“39% OF BUSINESSES HAVE REDUCED SALARIES AND/OR HOURS”: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,”GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)

46% OF BUSINESSES HAVE MOVED ALL OR SOME OF THEIR OPERATIONS OUT OF THE GULF OF MEXICO: (“The Impact of Decreased and Delayed Drilling Permit Approvals on Gulf of Mexico Business,” GNO Inc., 3/1/2012)