Rep. Upton pushed for loan to now-bankrupt solar company
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich), a leading GOP critic of the Obama administrations loans to Solyndra, pressed the Energy Department in 2009 to back a Michigan solar firm that filed for bankruptcy this week.
In a Dec. 2009 letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Upton and the rest of the Michigan delegation pressed the department to issue loan guarantees for a slew of energy projects. Included on the list was United Solar Ovonic, which was seeking a taxpayer-backed loan guarantee to produce rooftop solar panels.
We believe these applications are worthy of serious consideration by the Energy Department, the Michigan lawmakers wrote in the letter.
Uptons letter underscores the fact that Republicans, many of whom have pummeled the administration over the Solyndra controversy, pressed the Energy Department to back clean-energy projects in their home states.
United Solars parent company, Energy Conversion Devices (ECD), filed for bankruptcy Tuesday. In a statement, ECD said United Solar filed its own separate bankruptcy petition. ECD said it plans to sell United Solar, but the company will continue to operate during the sale.
Upton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has led a months-long investigation of the Obama administrations 2009 loan guarantee to Solyndra, the California solar panel maker that filed for bankruptcy in September.
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More at the link
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich), a leading GOP critic of the Obama administrations loans to Solyndra, pressed the Energy Department in 2009 to back a Michigan solar firm that filed for bankruptcy this week.
In a Dec. 2009 letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Upton and the rest of the Michigan delegation pressed the department to issue loan guarantees for a slew of energy projects. Included on the list was United Solar Ovonic, which was seeking a taxpayer-backed loan guarantee to produce rooftop solar panels.
We believe these applications are worthy of serious consideration by the Energy Department, the Michigan lawmakers wrote in the letter.
Uptons letter underscores the fact that Republicans, many of whom have pummeled the administration over the Solyndra controversy, pressed the Energy Department to back clean-energy projects in their home states.
United Solars parent company, Energy Conversion Devices (ECD), filed for bankruptcy Tuesday. In a statement, ECD said United Solar filed its own separate bankruptcy petition. ECD said it plans to sell United Solar, but the company will continue to operate during the sale.
Upton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has led a months-long investigation of the Obama administrations 2009 loan guarantee to Solyndra, the California solar panel maker that filed for bankruptcy in September.
*snip*
More at the link