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NEWS ABOUT: Department of Energy

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Wind Turbines' Big Threat: Wind

Specifically, hurricanes along the coast

(Newser) - Advocates of green energy will be happy to know that the Energy Department wants the nation to get 20% of electricity from the wind by 2030. A good chunk of that power is slated to come from offshore turbines, notes New Scientist , and therein lies a problem. Researchers at Carnegie... More »

Chu: Solyndra Wasn't About Politics

Energy chief defends loan to Congress

(Newser) - Energy Secretary Steven Chu offered a spirited defense of his department’s loan guarantees to Solyndra today, telling Congress that the loan program is necessary to keep US alternative energy companies competitive, and insisting that he didn’t know Solyndra was connected to a major Obama fundraiser, the Washington Post... More »

Another US-Backed Energy Company Goes Bankrupt

Beacon Power adds to Obama administration's post-Solyndra woes

(Newser) - More potential trouble for the Obama administration: On the heels of Solyndra, another federally-backed power company has gone bankrupt. A year ago, Beacon Power received a $43 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, Reuters reports. The company drew down $39 million of that loan for a $69 million... More »

White House Investigates Loans to Energy Department

Two dozen loans worth $36 billion will be reviewed after Solyndra mess

(Newser) - In the ugly aftermath of Solyndra , the White House yesterday ordered a 60-day independent review of the Energy Department's entire loan guarantee program, reports the LA Times . The review will encompass three loan programs and about two dozen loans worth about $36 billion. "While we continue to take... More »

Car Maker Gets $529M US Loan, Builds Car in Finland

Claims money was all spent on US design work

(Newser) - Another Energy Department loan guarantee is coming under scrutiny. ABC News has discovered that the Obama administration doled out a $529 million guarantee to Fisker Automotive to build its new state-of-the-art luxury hybrid, only to see Fisker build the car in a factory in Finland. Fisker says there were simply... More »

Perry, Paul Sought Energy Subsidies They Bash

They lobbied for loan guarantees for a Texas nuclear plant

(Newser) - Rick Perry and Ron Paul have been speaking out against federal energy subsidies—in spite of the fact that they actively lobbied to get a Texas company a slice of them three years ago, the Washington Post observes. “We don’t need to be subsidizing energy in any form... More »

White House Almost Gave Solyndra Another Loan

Even as auditors warned the company was in trouble

(Newser) - Just days after Solyndra received its $535 million government-backed loan in September 2009 it applied for another one—this time for a mere $469 million—and the Energy Department put that request on a fast-tracked priority list, sources tell the Washington Post . The department was still seriously considering the request... More »

Emails Warned Obama About Solyndra Mess

Officials, investors shocked by investment in solar firm

(Newser) - Scared White House officials and private investors gave President Obama fair warning about his visit to Solyndra, the New York Times reports. Released today from a Congressional investigation, the emails told Obama not to visit the solar equipment manufacturer in 2009 because it would go belly up, despite massive federal... More »

Energy Sec Slammed in Solyndra Mess

Too much science, not enough politics at Energy Dept., say critics

(Newser) - The ugly tanking of government-funded solar-energy company Solyndra has many people questioning whether Energy Secretary Steven Chu can handle the job, reports Politico . "Just because you are a Nobel Prize-winning physicist doesn't mean you'd be a good orthopedic surgeon," criticized a Bush-era Energy Department official. "... More »

Green Jobs Program Coming Up Short on Jobs

Loans producing a lot fewer jobs than advertised

(Newser) - President Obama’s “green jobs” loan program—which recently grabbed the spotlight thanks to Solyndra's collapse —isn’t producing anything close to the 65,000 jobs promised, at least not directly. The program has already lent out half of the $38.6 billion allotted to it, but... More »

FBI Descends on Solyndra

Orders come from Department of Energy

(Newser) - In the wake of last week’s shocking bankruptcy filing by solar firm Solyndra, FBI agents descended on the company headquarters with search warrants today. An FBI spokesperson tells NBC News the investigation is at the request of the inspector general of the Department of Energy. Congress demanded a hearing... More »

Feds Coughing Up $4.5B for Calif. Solar Projects

Three projects to generate 1,330 megawatts of power

(Newser) - Hollywood may be home to the stars, but California is going solar—with $4.5 billion in loan guarantees from the Department of Energy going to three solar energy projects, reports the AP . The three projects, to be announced today, will create 1,330 metawatts of power and generate 1,... More »

US Sending Robots to Fukushima

Radiation-hardened robots to assist at stricken plant

(Newser) - The Energy Department is sending a squad of robots—and people—to help Japan in its battle to regain control of its Fukushima nuclear plant. A shipment of "radiation hardened robotics" is being sent to Japan along with 40 people and thousands of pounds of other equipment, a top... More »

Thanks to Obama, My Toilet Won't Flush: Rand Paul

Senator slams administration's energy-efficiency rules

(Newser) - Sen. Rand Paul yesterday ripped into the Energy Department's efficiency rules, which he says require Americans to buy poorly-flushing toilets and unwanted light bulbs, reports USA Today . "My toilets don't work in my house. And I blame you and people like you who want to tell me what I... More »

GM Plans to Produce Electric Motors

Department of Energy grant will create new line at Maryland plant

(Newser) - General Motors is planning to invest $246 million—$105 million of which will come from a Department of Energy grant—in a new electric motor production line. The project is expected to create roughly 200 jobs, and represents a big bet on the future of electric cars. GM officials likened... More »

Would-Be Car-Battery Kings Jostle Over $2.4B From Feds

States seek to become lithium-ion capital of US

(Newser) - Some 165 companies and states are battling for a $2.4 billion Obama administration grant aimed at making the US a leader in electric-car batteries, the Wall Street Journal reports. General Motors, Dow Chemical, and General Electric are among the firms vying for the money; states like Michigan, Kentucky, and... More »

White House Staffer Caught Flu in Mexico

(Newser) - An administration staffer who worked at a dinner President Obama attended during his trip to Mexico likely contracted the H1N1 virus there, the Washington Post reports. The unnamed Energy Department security worker has since transmitted the flu to his wife, son, and nephew, though he has been cleared of the... More »

Carbon Dioxide Gets Buried in Midwest Experiment

Site in Illinois may be able to hold 100 billion tons of CO2

(Newser) - Construction began this week on an Energy Department project that aims to bury a million metric tons of carbon dioxide beneath Illinois' surface by 2012, Wired reports. While that's peanuts compared to the billions of tons emitted each year, the project—the largest such injection to date—could pave the... More »

Chu Vows to Boost Energy Efficiency

(Newser) - Energy Secretary-designate Steven Chu told a Senate panel today that he would pursue an expansion of nuclear and clean coal power if confirmed, Politico reports. Chu had been criticized for calling coal “my worst nightmare.” Barack Obama has also been vague about his nuclear energy policy. But while... More »

High Costs Put Clean Coal on Back Burner

Plans to scrub coal-plant emissions hit money wall

(Newser) - Ambitious plans to combat global warming by pumping carbon dioxide from coal-burning power plants into the ground have been delayed or canned due to spiraling costs, the New York Times reports. Scientists now fear that the next generation of coal-burning plants will be built using old, emission-spewing technology, spelling disaster... More »

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