The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill eliminating government loan guarantees for renewable energy projects, but the law isn’t likely to make it through the Senate.
The 2009 stimulus package provided the Department of Energy with billions of dollars to make loan guarantees to alternative energy companies, including Tempe-based First Solar. Another recipient was the solar power firm Solyndra. When that struggling company filed for bankruptcy protection a little over a year ago, it thrust the Energy Department program into the spotlight.
As part of Solyndra’s reorganization, taxpayers are responsible for nearly all of the government’s $500 million-plus investment.
Friday, House Republicans voted to pass the “No More Solyndras Act,” which would phase out the federal loan guarantees. But Democrats in the House say it’s little more than an election-year stunt. The bill has almost no chance of going anywhere in the Senate, which still has a Democratic majority.