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Solyndra

E-mails raise fresh questions on Solyndra loan

Reuters

An Obama administration appointee at the Energy Department pressed White House analysts to sign off on a $535 million loan to Solyndra even though his wife worked for the failed solar panel maker's law firm, according to internal e-mails made public on Friday.

The revelation adds new drama to a political battle over the administration's backing for Solyndra, which has filed for bankruptcy and has been raided by the FBI. The newly disclosed e-mails reveal "a disturbingly close relationship" between the White House, campaign donors, and wealthy investors relating to Solyndra, congressional Republicans said.

The e-mails show frequent inquiries from Steven Spinner, who was an adviser to the Energy Department on its use of economic stimulus funding to spur clean-energy technology, on the Solyndra loan, according to a report in The New York Times.

On September 29, the Energy Department had posted a "fact check" on Spinner's involvement in the Solyndra case on its Web site, explaining that he started his job after the company received conditional approval for its loan application.

The department said Spinner "was recused from engaging in any discussions on decisions affecting specific loan applications in which his spouse's law firm was involved out of concern for the appearance of a conflict of interest." … Read more

Solyndra casts shadow on U.S. energy loan aid

Reuters

Political furor over the Solyndra bankruptcy has dealt a body blow to the idea that the government should try to help clean tech start-ups through the costly "valley of death" to commercial viability.

The capital needed to commercialize cutting-edge, renewable energy technology is seen as too risky for both venture capitalists and for the banks.

Until the fossil fuel industry has to pay for the carbon it emits, renewables such as solar and wind are unlikely to attain the scale needed to compete with cheaper coal, oil and natural gas, and will depend on government support.

The Obama … Read more

Obama does not regret betting on Solyndra

President Obama said today he does not regret the loan-guarantee Solyndra received, while recently revealed e-mails show early doubts within the White House about the now-famous solar company.

In an interview with ABC News and Yahoo News, Obama said the policy of providing loan guarantees to clean-energy technology companies is sound despite the failure of Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy at the end of August. The company received a $535 million loan guarantee and about $1 billion in private capital.

Obama said loan guarantee program is important to developing clean-energy technologies and demonstrating that that U.S. can be an … Read more

Solyndra to get bankruptcy hearing today

The California solar manufacturing company to which the federal government loaned $528 million--and which closed its doors, laying off hundreds of workers--will be in a U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware this morning.

The proceeding is likely to shed more light on Solyndra, which closed abruptly just a few weeks ago, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone.

At today's bankruptcy hearing, Solyndra will ask for permission to auction off its state-of-the-art factory built with more than $500 million from the federal government.

Related stories: • Solyndra bankruptcy was disaster waiting to happen • Solyndra's burnout burdens other solar upstarts • CBS News: Solyndra execs keep mum on $528M gov't loan … Read more
Solyndra's demise--setting the record straight

Editor's note: This is a guest column. See the bio of Matt Feinstein below.

Nearly $1 billion in venture capital funding, a massive U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee, and a disruptive technology expected to translate U.S. clean-technology innovation into economic growth--all have kept mentions of Solyndra alive in the business press and solar industry circles well past its demise. A number of interconnected conclusions have been drawn. Some are true, some are false, others lie in the middle. Among them:

Claim: Unexpected drops in polysilicon prices destroyed Solyndra's business case.

Reality: Indeed, polysilicon prices… Read more

This Day in Tech: Reactions to Facebook changes; Yahoo for sale?

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET News for Friday, September 23.

• Change is hard. But some folks think the Facebook changes CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off yesterday are downright creepy.

• As the world anticipates the arrival of the iPhone 5, Taiwanese iPhone 5 panel producer Wintek reports some issues with the smartphone's screen. The problem? A "delayed bubble."

• Meg Whitman has taken over at HP. And now everyone is asking: is HP too broken to fix?

• Physics researchers reported a breakthrough, saying they clocked … Read more

Solyndra's burnout burdens other solar upstarts

news analysis The media frenzy and political circus caused by bankrupt solar company Solyndra makes it tougher for other fledgling solar companies to secure financing and risks derailing government policies to promote green technologies.

In the latest twists in the weeks-long story, government-backed Solyndra said yesterday that CEO Brian Harrison and CFO Bill Stover will exercise their Fifth Amendment rights and not provide substantive answers to questions during a scheduled Congressional hearing on Friday.

Also yesterday, the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which held hearings last week with Department of Energy officials, said that it intends to investigate proposed loan guarantees … Read more

Solyndra says needs more time to find buyers

Reuters

Bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra said it needed more than the initially expected four weeks to find a buyer to take over its idled operations, which were funded with a controversial $535 million federal loan guarantee.

Solyndra filed for bankruptcy this month with a plan to try to find a buyer by early October who could restart its recently shuttered factory and rehire some of its 1,000 staff.

Republican lawmakers have accused the Obama administration of ignoring signs of financial trouble at the company in its haste to grant the loan guarantee and participate in a groundbreaking of Solyndra's federally backed factory in California. … Read more

White House tried to hurry Solyndra decision, report says

White House officials pushed reviewers in the Office of Management and Budget to make a quick decision on a loan guarantee to Solyndra, a solar panel maker that has since filed for bankruptcy, according to a report in the Washington Post.

The Washington Post obtained e-mails pertaining to a $535 million loan guarantee given to Solyndra which showed that White House officials asked for a decision to be made in time for a planned groundbreaking event with vice president Joe Biden.

One OMB official wrote, "We would prefer to have sufficient time to do our due diligence reviews," … Read more

This Day in Tech: Data from Stanford Hospital patients found online

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Friday, September 9.

• Stanford Hospital confirms that patient data was online for almost a year.

• Apple iPads, iPhones get Flash video via HTTP Live Streaming.

• Google, Apple, Microsoft are the top global brands, according to a new study by Brand Finance.

• The FBI raids Solyndra and calls the company's CEO on the phone.

• AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong wants to merge with Yahoo. Now that former CEO Carol Bartz is out at Yahoo, this … Read more