Solyndra may have mislead DOE to secure USD-535m loan guarantee

Solyndra LLC, the thin-film solar cell maker that went bankrupt in 2011, may have presented false and misleading information to the US Energy Department (DOE) while trying to secure a USD-535-million (EUR 473.8m) loan guarantee.

Following a four-year investigation, the Department has reached the conclusion that its due diligence on Solyndra’s loan guarantee application had been “less than fully effective”, it announced on Wednesday.

In September 2009, the DOE gave its nod to Solyndra for a loan guarantee that was to help the company build a photovoltaic (PV) cell factory in Fremont, California. It took the company exactly two years to start a programme to axe 1,110 employees and file for bankruptcy protection.

“In our view, the investigative record suggests that the actions of certain Solyndra officials were, at best, reckless and irresponsible or, at worst, an orchestrated effort to knowingly and intentionally deceive and mislead the Department,” says a special report on the DOE’s website.

Even though the Department could have done a better job considering the information provided by the applicant, it is the actions of the Solyndra officials that were at the heart of this matter, it added.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.885)

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