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House Committee Launches Document Probe Into DOE, Abound Solar
Bankrupt solar module manufacturer Abound Solar, recipient of a Department of Energy loan guarantee of $400 million, and the subject of an official investigation in its home state of Colorado, now faces additional scrutiny in the form of a document probe from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The letter comes a week after allegations of possible financial misrepresentation and technological ineptitude were leveled against the solar company.
Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL), and Representative Cory Gardner (R-CO) issued a letter to Energy Department Secretary Steven Chu “requesting key documents and information concerning the loan in light of recent news reports highlighting Abound’s technological and manufacturing problems,” according to a statement.
“Recent reports and publicly available documents indicate that persistent technological problems contributed to Abound’s inability to remain commercially viable and, ultimately, its bankruptcy. We have questions about what role these technological problems played in DOE’s decision to suspend Abound’s loan guarantee disbursements in September 2011, and when DOE first became aware of these problems,” they wrote.
The letter highlighted Abound’s prominent place among the loan guarantee recipients to go bankrupt:
Abound was the fifth stimulus-funded loan guarantee issued under Section 1705 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as amended by the stimulus, and the third loan guarantee recipient to go bankrupt, following Solyndra and Beacon Power. Just nine months after green lighting the loan in December 2010, DOE stopped funding the project due to Abound’s failure to meet established targets. After receiving $70 million in loan guarantee funds, the company filed for bankruptcy on July 2, 2012, blaming Chinese competition for the company’s downfall. However, new publicly available documents suggest Abound’s problems first started with its production of a flawed product. The Daily Caller published the internal documents last week, reporting, “Internal documentation and testimony from sources within Abound show that the company was selling a faulty, underperforming product, and may have mislead lenders at one point in order to keep itself afloat.”
Maudie N Mandeville
October 12th, 2012
Don’t expect much with Chairman Fred ‘Curly Cue Light bulb’ Upton (R-MI).
AbigailAdams
October 12th, 2012
Oh, this reminds me: Atlas Shrugged II out this weekend in theaters. If you think you know objectivism, think again. It’s a good thing.
Stirrin the B.S.
October 12th, 2012
More Kabuki theater? More bluster and outrage? Another dead-end probe resulting in…..nothing? A bunch of toofless tigers, this bunch.
Mountain Dog
October 12th, 2012
They won’t be able to get to the bottom of it until 0bama is out of office or impeached. He’s shown he knows how to cover his tracks.
webby h
October 12th, 2012
@Stirrin the B.S. – YUP
one last desperate gasp to get what’s left of their
people to pull the lever for them one more time
Bootypounder
October 13th, 2012
Ho Another Slimy Osama payoff to contributers Ha