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Category:1968 births(Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department’s internal watchdog said on Thursday it will investigate a $700 million loan guarantee provided to a now-defunct solar power company in an effort to determine whether it violated federal guidelines.
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) at the Energy Department headquarters in Washington, U.S., October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
The investigation is the latest headache for a department already reeling from a series of scandals involving a U.S. nuclear weapons program, a foreign aid program and other issues.
The loan guarantee, which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved in August 2017, was aimed at providing financing for Ascent Solar Technologies Inc to develop a solar power tower project in eastern North Carolina, according to a government record.
An inspector general report released on Thursday said the investigation will determine if the department violated guidelines designed to ensure that borrowers make good on the guarantee and are not siphoning the money.
The inspector general’s report said the Energy Department provided the guarantee without disclosing it to regulators or giving them an opportunity to assess the project.
The investigation was prompted by reports that the Department of Energy loaned money to a now-defunct Maryland-based solar developer, Suniva, in 2016.
The department later changed the guarantee rules to require more disclosure and make sure borrowers show they will actually make use of the money.
In its report, the inspector general said the changes were “not implemented in a timely manner,” in part because it was the end of the year and the department was on a tight schedule to deliver a new fiscal year budget.
The department said it was reviewing the report and declined further comment.
Suniva, formerly known as SunPower Corporation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, forcing U.S. taxpayers to cover $46.8 million in guarantees on the project.
The department, under the leadership of former Secretary Rick Perry, is now under pressure to determine if any similar cases are happening.
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