Energy

Biden Reboots Obama-Era Green Energy Loan Program That Funded Solyndra And Cost Taxpayers Billions

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The Biden administration has rebooted the Energy Department’s green loan program that lent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in the Obama-era to the now-defunct green energy company, Solyndra, according to an announcement.

The Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in Utah will receive the loan, leaving $2.5 billion for other clean energy projects, the Department of Energy (DOE) stated Wednesday.

The Loan Programs Office last was active in the Obama administration and granted the solar-call firm Solyndra $500 million, which then went bankrupt in 2011, Politico reported. After breaking ground on the energy company, Solyndra then went bankrupt and could not continue operating, with the burden falling on the taxpayers.

The $504.4 million loan will be used to construct the world’s largest clean hydrogen storage facility, the DOE said in its announcement.

In total, the loan program is expected to cost taxpayers $2.21 billion over the lifetime of the investments, the Government Accountability Office reported.

The Biden administration introduced in February a series of initiatives designed to make the industrial sector more eco-friendly, TheDCNF reported. The goal is to make the U.S. a global leader in clean energy with the first step of targeting high-polluting manufacturers.

“The industrial sector is also central to tackling the climate crisis, as it is currently responsible for nearly a third of domestic greenhouse gas emissions,” the White House’s fact sheet on the eco-friendly initiatives said. “By helping manufacturers use clean energy, efficiency upgrades, and other innovative technologies to reduce emissions, the Administration is supporting cleaner industry that can produce the next generation of products and materials for a net-zero economy.”

“Since President Biden’s first day in office, DOE has made it a priority to leverage the potential of the Loan Programs Office to fund emerging technologies that will deploy clean and reliable energy to Americans,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “Accelerating the commercial deployment of clean hydrogen as a zero-emission, long-term energy storage solution is the first step in harnessing its potential to decarbonize our economy, create good paying clean energy jobs and enable more renewables to be added to the grid.”

The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to TheDCNF’s request for comment.