Report: 80% of DOE Green Energy Loans Went to Obama Backers

Report: 80% of DOE Green Energy Loans Went to Obama Backers


Lachlan Markay
November 14, 2011 at 10:43 am
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A new book by Hoover Institution fellow Peter Schweizer details the startling extent of the cronyism that has pervaded President Obama’s “green jobs” push. According to Schweizer, 4 out of every 5 renewable energy companies backed by the Energy Department was “run by or primarily owned by Obama financial backers.”
Those companies’ “political largesse is probably the best investment they ever made in alternative energy,” Schweizer explains. “It brought them returns many times over.”
Such is the inevitable consequence of large government interventions in private markets. Leaving aside the losses associated with transfers of funds from self-sustaining industries to ones that rely on government support, such interventions also encourage unproductive business activities by making “subsidy suckling” far more profitable than run-of-the-mill business expansions or product improvements.
Doug Ross spotted the relevant excerpt of Schweizer’s book (h/t Ben Domenech’s Transom):

When President-elect Obama came to Washington in late 2008, he was outspoken about the need for an economic stimulus to revive a struggling economy… After he was sworn in as president, he proclaimed that taxpayer money would assuredly not be doled out to political friends…
…But an examination of grants and guaranteed loans offered by just one stimulus program run by the Department of Energy, for alternative-energy projects, is stunning. The so-called 1705 Loan Guarantee Program and the 1603 Grant Program channeled billions of dollars to all sorts of energy companies…
…In the 1705 government-backed-loan program [alone], for example, $16.4 billion of the $20.5 billion in loans granted as of Sept. 15 went to companies either run by or primarily owned by Obama financial backers—individuals who were bundlers, members of Obama’s National Finance Committee, or large donors to the Democratic Party. The grant and guaranteed-loan recipients were early backers of Obama before he ran for president, people who continued to give to his campaigns and exclusively to the Democratic Party in the years leading up to 2008. Their political largesse is probably the best investment they ever made in alternative energy. It brought them returns many times over.
…The Government Accountability Office has been highly critical of the way guaranteed loans and grants were doled out by the Department of Energy, complaining that the process appears “arbitrary” and lacks transparency. In March 2011, for example, the GAO examined the first 18 loans that were approved and found that none were properly documented. It also noted that officials “did not always record the results of analysis” of these applications. A loan program for electric cars, for example, “lacks performance measures.” No notes were kept during the review process, so it is difficult to determine how loan decisions were made. The GAO further declared that the Department of Energy “had treated applicants inconsistently in the application review process, favoring some applicants and disadvantaging others.” The Department of Energy’s inspector general, Gregory Friedman, … has testified that contracts have been steered to “friends and family.”
…These programs might be the greatest—and most expensive—example of crony capitalism in American history. Tens of billions of dollars went to firms controlled or owned by fundraisers, bundlers, and political allies, many of whom—surprise!—are now raising money for Obama again.

already amply debunked


Obama Donors; Schweizer Gets His Numbers Wrong (or lies on purpose)


Schweizer Claims 80 Percent Of Section 1705 Loans Went To Companies Run Or Owned By "Obama Financial Backers." Schweizer states that "In the 1705 government-backed loan program, for example, $16.4 billion of the $20.5 billion in loans granted went to companies either run by or primarily owned by Obama financial backers," a category that he said included "large donors to the Democratic Party." [Throw Them All Out, 79-80]

17 Of The 25 Companies That Schweizer Identifies Did Not Receive 1705 Loan Guarantees. Schweizer provides a list of individuals with ties to companies he claims received $16.4 billion through the 1705 loan guarantee program. But a closer look at that list reveals that only 8 of the 25 "politically connected" companies Schweizer lists actually received loan guarantees through the 1705 program. Six others received grants from the Department of Energy, five received conditional commitments but ultimately did not receive a loan guarantee (Schweizer noted that his information was "as of September 15"), two received loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program, one received a loan guarantee from the Department of Agriculture, and one received a grant from the Treasury Department. When Schweizer states that "$16.4 billion of the $20.5 billion" went to companies with ties to Obama financial backers, it is not clear what the $20.5 billion figure refers to. The total size of the separate programs from which he draws his examples would be much higher. [Department of Energy, accessed 11/17/11]

Schweizer Invents Loan To Wind Farm. One project on the list -- the Beech Ridge Energy Wind Farm -- does not appear to have received any DOE funds, despite Schweizer's claim that the company "pulled in another $68 million in taxpayer money." A search of Google, Nexis, the Department of Energy's website and Recovery.gov turns up no such loan or grant. Schweizer's citation goes to a Business Insider article featuring a slideshow of Invenergy CEO Michael Polsky's house, without mention of the wind project. [Business Insider, 9/27/10]

Schweizer Overstates Size Of Federal Aid To Some Companies. Schweizer claims that Summit Texas Clean Energy received $1.5 billion in federal funds. In reality, DOE will contribute $450 million out of a total project cost of more than $1.7 billion. Schweizer also claims that First Solar received "$4.7 billion in loan guarantees for three solar projects." In fact, these projects received a total of just over $3 billion. [Texas Clean Energy Project, accessed 11/18/11] [The Hill, 10/25/11]

Many Of Schweizer's Alleged Obama Cronies Have Supported Republicans

Schweizer Suggests His List Consisted Of Those Who Had Donated "Exclusively To The Democratic Party." In Throw Them All Out, Schweizer provides a list of what he says are "Obama Bundlers, Large Donors, and Supporters" who are connected to companies that received DOE assistance. He also states:

In the 1705 government-backed loan program, for example, $16.4 billion of the $20.5 billion in loans granted went to companies either run by or primarily owned by Obama financial backers - individuals who were bundlers, members of Obama's National Finance Committee, or large donors to the Democratic Party. The grant and guaranteed loan recipients were early backers of Obama, before he ran for President, people who continued to give to his campaigns and exclusively to the Democratic Party in the years leading up to 2008. [Throw Them All Out, 79-80, emphasis added, in-text citations removed for clarity]
Schweizer Identifies A Former Bush Bundler As An "Obama Financial Backer." Schweizer writes that the founder of Madison Dearborn Partners, which owns part of First Wind, "gave heavily to Obama" in 2008. Schweizer repeatedly refers to him as David Canning, but is apparently referring to John Canning, a co-founder of MDP. As Schweizer notes, Canning "had been a bundler for George W. Bush." But according to Schweizer, "he switched sides in 2008." In fact, John Canning continues to give primarily to Republicans, although he has donated to both parties. Canning gave $2,300 each to Obama and Mitt Romney during the presidential primaries; he was not a bundler for Obama. Canning has also given to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. [MDP, accessed 11/18/11] [OpenSecrets, accessed 11/18/11]

Tesla Founder Donated To George W. Bush And Several Republican Candidates. Schweizer highlighted the founder of Tesla Motors as an example of an "Obama financial backer" that received federal funding, saying "Telsa founder Elon Musk was a major DNC contributor and in 2011 donated $35,800 to the Obama Victory Fund." But Musk has given $785,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee since 2007. He has also donated to a number of Republican candidates, including David Vitter, Denny Hastert, Kevin McCarthy, Scott Brown, and John Hoeven, and to the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2003. [FEC.gov, accessed 11/18/11] [OpenSecrets, accessed 11/18/11]

Coskata Investor Has Supported Both Parties. Schweizer writes that "billionaire Vinod Khosla was also a big winner in the taxpayer-funded giveaway" and noted his role in the Obama campaign and that he "contributed to Democratic candidates." But Khosla has also donated to Orrin Hatch, Dick Lugar, John Sununu and the RNC. During the 2008 presidential race, Khosla donated to John McCain as well as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. [FEC.gov, accessed 11/18/11]

Fisker Investor Never Donated To Obama. Schweizer writes that Fisker investor "John Doerr was one of the biggest winners in the taxpayer sweepstakes" and noted that he has donated "almost $2 million to Democrats." But while making the case that Doerr is an Obama crony, Schweizer neglected to mention that Doerr has never donated to Obama, according to FEC records. [FEC.gov, accessed 11/18/11]

Summit Power Executive Has Donated To Republicans And Democrats. Schweizer identifies Eric Redman, President of Summit Power, as "a major DNC donor." Redman has also donated to Republicans Mike Huckabee, Dino Rossi, and Raul Labrador. [FEC.gov, accessed 11/18/11]

First Solar Investor Has Contributed To Several Republicans. Schweizer identifies "billionare investor Paul Tudor Jones" as "another Obama bundler [who] also owns a stake in First Solar." Jones has also donated to Republicans John Boehner, Rudy Giuliani, Saxby Chambliss, Bob Goodlatte, and Jonathan Golnik. [FEC.gov, accessed 11/18/11]

Nice data. Too bad Horsebrain is not swayed by facts. Only by his insane hatred. At times it makes one wonder if it is more about something else rather than politics.

Nice data. Too bad Horsebrain is not swayed by facts. Only by his insane hatred. At times it makes one wonder if it is more about something else rather than politics.

Is Media Matters Attacking ‘Throw Them All Out’ to Protect Soros and Other Donors Who Received Stimulus Funds?

Posted by Peter Schweizer Nov 19th 2011 at 12:14 pm in Exclusives, Featured Story, MMfA Propaganda Watch, Media Matters, Politics, citizen journalism, energy, journalism | Comments (46)

Media Matters has offered up a ridiculous post that tries to distort the fundamental facts about Barack Obama’s green energy program. I hesitated whether to even comment on it because they fail in the basic tenets of honest journalism. George Soros is a large contributor to Media Matters. In my book Throw Them All Out, I point out how Soros has received millions in taxpayer money via the green energy program. And I also devote an entire chapter to Soros’s crony capitalism as it relates to the stimulus. Does Media Matters disclose this blatant conflict of interest? Of course not. Media Matters is displaying blatant cronyism, pure and simple.

Since my book Throw Them All Out is about cronyism and conflicts of interest, I guess now I’m going to have to include a new chapter on Media Matters for the paperback edition. I will respond to their criticisms now. But until they release the names of their large donors who have received green energy taxpayer money, I will not respond more in the future. It’s a waste of time to exchange arguments with an organization that claims to be interested in the truth but runs from it. Failure to disclose these names shows a complete and total lack of integrity. Full disclosure: my source of support is apparent in my title. I am the William J. Casey Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Financial support comes from the William J. Casey Foundation. And just so Media Matters doesn’t try to distort matters further, this foundation is not connected with the oil industry. Now, Media Matters, it’s your turn.
First, let’s see what they don’t dispute: that at least 10 members of Barack Obama’s 2008 National Campaign Finance Committee are large investors in companies that received Obama stimulus money and that at least one dozen campaign bundlers did the same. How many of these individuals are financial supporters of Media Matters? We will never know, because the organization would never be honest enough to reveal them to us. They also never dispute the fact that Obama-linked lobbyists have served as intermediaries to get money for green tech companies. And finally, they never dispute the criticisms that the Department of Energy’s own Inspector General has raised about how the various green energy stimulus programs have been run.
They say I use bad math in my chapter on the green energy scam. But it’s not bad math. It’s more that they are poor readers. To their specific criticisms:
They accuse me of deception because 18 of 25 of the grants or loans I mention in my chapter are not part of the 1705 program. But then of course, I never said they were. I offered numerous examples from all sorts of Department of Energy programs (both loans and grants) as well as the Treasury Department’s stimulus-related smart grid program to illustrate my point that stimulus money was used as a conduit to transfer taxpayer money to Obama financiers. They never deny this core fact that the vast majority of loans and grants have gone to Obama financiers.
What I said was very clear–that as of September 15, $16 billion of the $20 billion that had been approved was linked to Obama financiers. This is not be confused with loan guarantees that were closed–that is, completed. Read the paragraph on page 92 again. What’s the difference between approved and closed?There were projects that were approved by the Department of Energy but then never launched because of local opposition or other problems related to the project. The point is that they were approved to receive federal funds, which proves the cronyism that exists.
Of the 28 Loan Guarantee projects in the 1705 program that were closed, 17 are directly tied to Obama financiers. Here they are:
1366 Technologies: $150 million
Abound Solar: $400 million
Beacon Power: $43 million
Brightsource: $1.6 billion
Cogentrix: $90.6 million
Exelon: $646 million
Granite Reliable: $169 million
Kahuku Wind Power: $1 million
Nevada Geothermal: $98.5 million
Nextera: $1.46 billion
Nextera: $852 million
NRG: $1.2 billion
NRG: $967 million
Ormat Nevada: $350 million
Solar Reserve: $737 million
Solyndra: $535 million
US Geothermal: $97 million
They say that I overstate how much money Texas Clean Energy and First Solar received. But I didn’t say that they received that cash. I was simply stating what they were approved for. Note on page 95: “$1.5 billion was approved…” As to me inventing taxpayer money for Beech Ridge Energy Wind, the project has been mired in lawsuits which has caused delays.
As to their attacks on my listing of Obama financiers, they claim that some of the financiers I mention gave to Republicans too. So what! I never suggested that all the recipients of taxpayer loans and grants gave exclusively to Democrats. They mention only a handful, ignoring the many other names I offer. And again, they don’t deny that ten members of Obama’s National Campaign Finance Committee and more than one dozen bundlers are tied to these federal stimulus loans or grants.
Media Matters is trying to muddy the waters by sowing confusion. But there can be no confusion about this: until you disclose which of your contributors received these loans and grants (including Mr. Soros), you have zero credibility. You are doing the bidding of others while trying to position yourself as a journalistic organization.
Cronyism and conflict of interest relate not just to congressmen and financiers. They also spring up in so-called non-profits like Media Matters.

LOOKS LIKE ODUMBO IS HAVING TROUBLE PROCESSING THE INFORMATION GIVEN TO HIM!!!!!

looks like dumbass STFU after my post discredited him........