Solyndra? Solyndra! The Legacy of Government Loan Guarantees Beyond Politics

Energy Gang

Wood Mackenzie

Tech News, Environment, Sustainability, Innovation, Renewable Energy, Technology, Alternative Energy, Energy, News, Cleantech, Wind Energy, Business, Climate Change, Solar Energy

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2014

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Three years after the political posturing around the Department of Energy’s clean energy loan guarantee program, some lawmakers still haven’t moved on. “What we have seen is incredible mismanagement, and it’s become the poster child for crony capitalism,” said Tennessee Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn in an interview with Bloomberg last month. Performance tells a different story. Even after a handful of early bankruptcies, the program has so far seen a 98 percent success rate. And losses from those bankruptcies are only one-fifth the cost of what Congress appropriated when establishing the program. “The facts are clear, the results are in. You can continue to deny that, but I don’t know what it gets you,” said Jonathan Silver, the former executive director of DOE’s loan programs office, speaking on the Energy Gang. In this week’s show, we’ll talk with Silver about the Solyndra bankruptcy, the political reaction in Washington and the legacy of loan guarantees. Later in the show, we’ll discuss SunPower’s investment in the home energy management company Tendril, and try to understand the global climate negotiations that just wrapped up in Peru. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussion between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	For the week of December 18th, 2014, this is the Energy Gang from Green Tech Media. media.
0:17.0	Welcome, clean tech enthusiasts and skeptics. Yes, skeptics are always welcome here,
0:22.0	although it's mostly enthusiasts.
0:24.0	I am your MC Stephen Lacy, a senior editor with Green Tech Media in our nation's fair capital city of Washington, D.C.
0:31.0	This week we are discussing a story that epitomizes Washington politics, the
0:36.4	kerfuffle around the loan guarantee program. The man who ran the Department of Energy's
0:40.9	loan office during the Hedy stimulus Days is with us and we will have a candid conversation with him about
0:46.4	cylindra, political bloviating in Congress, and the legacy of loan guarantees in his eyes.
0:52.2	Then later in the show will provide some context
0:54.2	about Sun Power's latest investment in home energy management and try to
0:57.9	understand the global climate negotiations that just wrapped up in Peru. Of course at the end of the show, we will try to tell you something you do not know.
1:07.0	Here with me are some people that you should know very well by now.
1:10.4	In New York, it is our co-host and clean energy investor, Jigger,
1:15.0	Shigger, big news over your way.
1:17.0	I saw that the governor and the health commissioner there in New York State officially banned fracking.
1:22.0	Do you fall on any side of that very contentious? New York State officially banned fracking.
1:22.6	Do you fall on any side of that very contentious debate there in New York State?
1:27.0	Yes, I like to drink water like many other people, so yes, I love that he banned fracking.
1:32.7	What has been the reaction there?
1:34.6	Have there been any demonstrations or celebrations,
1:37.1	et cetera?
1:38.2	Just enormous gratitude.
	...

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