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Saturday, September 17, 2011 As of 12:00 AM New York 81º |64º
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BUSINESS SEPTEMBER 17, 2011
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By DEBORAH SOLOMON And RYAN TRACY
White House officials received assurances from solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC as
recently as May 2011 that its finances were strong, with the company dismissing
concerns raised in media reports that problems were brewing.
Emails released by the White House Friday show the company and its lobbyists
reaching out to the West Wing on several occasions. In May, less than four months
before the company filed for bankruptcy protection, company representative David Miller
told White House official Greg Nelson that "we have good market momentum, the factory
is ramping and our plan puts at cash positive later this year."
Mr. Nelson replied, "Fantastic to hear that business is doing well—keep up the good
work! We're cheering for you."
The emails were released in response to
requests from House Republican
lawmakers who are investigating a $535
million Department of Energy loan
guarantee that Solyndra received in 2009
as part of the Obama administration's
economic stimulus package.
In the wake of its bankruptcy filing,
Solyndra is facing a federal criminal
investigation connected to the guarantee.
Lawmakers have accused the White
House of fast-tracking the loan guarantee
for political reasons, and produced emails earlier this week suggesting the
administration ignored red flags about Solyndra's finances and pressed to guarantee
the loan in part so top officials, including Mr. Obama, could highlight the stimulus
program.
Overall, the emails released Friday show the White House was in close touch with
Solyndra and rooted for the company's success, but they don't provide explicit evidence
in support of allegations raised by the Republican lawmakers.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday that politics played no role in the
decision-making process, and that emails released by the White House supported that.
He added that the process was merit-based and run by career officials at the Energy
Department.
"The interest at the White House was in…when that decision would be made, one way or
Sav e Like
Bloomberg News
Tyler Fagrey moves completed cylindrical shapedsolar cell modules at the Solyndra Inc. manufacturingfacility in Fremont, Calif .
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another, so decisions about scheduling an event for the vice president could be made,"
Mr. Carney said.
The Energy Department says Solyndra
ran into trouble unexpectedly when
Chinese manufacturers flooded the
market with cheaper panels.
In an interview, Mr. Miller said his emails
amounted to a "professional courtesy" for
the White House representatives he had
worked with to plan Mr. Obama's visit to
Solyndra in May 2010. "I was
communicating with an individual and not
expecting it to go beyond that," Mr. Miller
said.
Two months after Mr. Obama's visit to Solyndra, the firm brought to the White House's
attention a media report questioning the company's finances. In a July 2010 email to
several White House officials, Mr. Miller called the report "total crap" and said: "We can
assure you we have a path to profitability."
Mr. Nelson, deputy director of the White House office of public engagement, said in an
email the report "seems B.S."
Two days later, Mr. Miller sent a separate email about a story in Barron's, saying he was
"looking forward to the eventual embarrassment being on the Barron's side, not yours."
Solyndra and its lobbyists also reached out to the White House to raise concerns that
the U.S. government was buying solar panels from Chinese makers rather than from
U.S. firms.
"[A]pparently there is an issue with the government buying Chinese panels over U.S.
manufactured ones," a lobbyist for Solyndra wrote in an email requesting a July 2010
meeting with White House environment adviser Carol Browner.
Write to Deborah Solomon at [email protected]
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Associated Press
A guard outside Solyndra, in Fremont, Calif., blocked acamera on Friday.
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