Friday, March 02, 2012

Abound Solar Got $400M Fed Loan Despite Low Rating

What's the big deal, it's Obama's money, oh wait....
A month before Abound Solar announced it would be laying off nearly half its workforce, Congressional Republicans alerted the U.S. Department of Energy that they had questions about the decision to loan the Colorado firm $400 million.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu to explain how the solar panel manufacturer had qualified for the loan after the ratings firm Fitch had determined the company would make a "highly speculative" investment. Energy officials maintain hope that Abound will find its way in a tough solar energy market. "While the challenges facing solar manufacturers have been widely reported," said LaVera, "we continue to believe that supporting innovative companies like this is important to ensuring our nation has the ability to compete for the clean energy jobs of tomorrow."

No comments: