Politics

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Lawmakers Want Energy Dept To Answer For Biden’s Green Lending Bonanza

(Photo via Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash)

Several GOP lawmakers are urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to brief them on its activity under the Biden administration, specifically focusing on massive taxpayer-funded loans to young — and allegedly politically-connected — green energy companies.

Republican Reps. Brian Babin of Texas, Rich McCormick of Georgia and Randy Weber of Texas wrote to the DOE acting inspector general and deputy secretary Wednesday, requesting a formal briefing on the activity of the Biden DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). On the Biden administration’s watch, LPO approved numerous billion-dollar loan packages to green energy companies and accelerated its spending in the administration’s final days, with some “improperly vetted” selections connected to Democrat donors or linked to top officials in the Biden DOE being among the firms picked to receive large amounts of taxpayer cash, the lawmakers alleged in their letter.

“Billions in taxpayer dollars were funneled through DOE’s Loan Programs Office to politically connected firms under the prior administration, and Americans deserve answers,” Babin told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “These letters make clear that transparency and accountability are not optional when it comes to federal lending programs. As Chairman, I am working to understand what steps DOE is taking to address past wrongdoings and ensure every loan decision puts taxpayers first — not special interests.” (RELATED: ‘Got To Go’: DOE To Cut Off Billions Of Dollars’ Worth Of Biden-Era Green Energy Projects)

DOE LPO to Nelson Final With Signatures by audreystreb on Scribd

Babin, McCormick and Weber are chairmen of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee and the Energy Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Technology, respectively. The lawmakers write that the Biden LPO lent billions to companies linked to former LPO Director Jigar Shah and former Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

The GOP lawmakers argue that there are several “alarming examples” of “improper decision-making” under the Biden LPO.

The letter cites Sunnova, a struggling solar firm reportedly accused of ripping off elderly customers that was approved for a $3 billion partial loan guarantee before the Trump administration pulled its funding in May. When the guarantee was announced, it was considered the largest loan commitment ever made by the government to a solar company.

The lawmakers argue that Sunnova was linked to Shah because the company shared a board member with the Cleantech Leaders Roundtable, a green energy nonprofit founded by Shah.

The lawmakers also state that Plug Power, which was approved for a $1.6 billion LPO loan, was financially backed by Generate Capital, Shah’s former company.

Additionally, the letter argued that several companies donated to Granholm when she ran for governor in Michigan and later received LPO loans once she was running the agency. These companies include DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, which were approved for an up to nearly $9 billion conditional loan guarantee and an up to $5.23 billion conditional loan guarantee, respectively. (RELATED: Trump Admin Spikes Massive Biden-Era Green Loan For Troubled Solar Company)

DOE LPO to Danly Final With Signatures by audreystreb on Scribd

Established in 2005, the loan office was designed to support the development of green energy infrastructure. Activity spurred under the Obama administration, which approved a $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra, a green energy company that went under two years later. LPO activity tapered off during President Donald Trump’s first term, though it saw a major resurgence under the Biden administration.

The Biden administration poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the LPO, advancing a number of loan packages just weeks and days before Trump would retake the Oval Office despite concerns from the DOE’s inspector general and elected Republicans that the office was not doing enough to protect taxpayers from undue risk. An LPO fact sheet published three days before Trump was sworn into his second term as president states that under the Biden administration, the LPO was the “most productive” in its history.

Sunnova, DTE Energy, Consumers Energy and Plug Power did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.