Californians for Renewable Energy
sues the Energy Department

Department of Energy said to have approved Solyndra
and other projects without required oversight.

Posted December 3, 2011

Department of Energy Seal

    Inland Empire, CA - On November 28, 2011, Californians for Renewable Energy (CARE) (not to be confused with CURE in which we have previously written about) and Michael Boyd filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to challenge more than two dozen federal loan guarantees illegally issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Section 1705 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

    The lawsuit seeks to invalidate 26 loan guarantees for utility-scale renewable-energy projects, including guarantees to the now-bankrupt Solyndra Inc. and Beacon Corporation, because DOE issued them before putting in place regulations that would enable it to properly vet projects and make sure they are unlikely to fail.

    "No matter how you feel about federal loan guarantees as a matter of policy, the reality is that Congress passed a law prohibiting DOE from issuing guarantees until it put regulations in place to protect the taxpayer from Section 1705 projects with no realistic chance of success," explained Cory Briggs, the attorney for the plaintiffs.  "The Solyndra and Beacon bankruptcies are Exhibit A for why DOE should have issued regulations before putting taxpayers on the hook."

    Michael Boyd, the president of CARE and a plaintiff, lamented the way that big business with connections to the White House under Presidents Bush and Obama where given such easy access to the public's purse.  He describes the loan guarantees as "corporate cronyism at its worst."

    CARE works to promote public education concerning renewable energy and has been a consistent advocate for environmentally and community-sensitive energy projects that reduce greenhouse gases and that are commercially viable without inappropriate taxpayer subsidies.

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