Author Topic: ObamaGate: Solyndra Files Bnkrtcy after getting $535 Million WH Fast Track Loan  (Read 10235 times)

MCWAY

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 19338
  • Getbig!
Think about how bad things like this will get now that corporations can donate to campaigns with out limits.

It means the GOP can match the Dems and their union buddies' contributions. As long as the rules are the same for both sides, I don't have an issue with it.

240 is Back

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 102387
  • Complete website for only $300- www.300website.com
Obama should have defied the rules of capitalism and intervened to save this company, like Bush when he pick and chose which banks to bail out, and which to allow to fail.

Why does obama have to respect the rules of capitalism so much?  WTF mate?

garebear

  • Time Out
  • Getbig V
  • *
  • Posts: 6491
  • Never question my instincts.
It means the GOP can match the Dems and their union buddies' contributions. As long as the rules are the same for both sides, I don't have an issue with it.
Good. Because me and Pfizer are going to the bar later.
G

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Bankrupt solar company with fed backing has cozy ties to Obama admin
The Daily Caller ^ | 9/1/11 | C.J. Ciaramella




A solar energy company that intends to file bankruptcy received $535 million in backing from the federal government and has a cozy history with Democrats and the Obama administration, campaign finance records show.

Shareholders and executives of Solyndra, a green energy company producing solar panels, fundraised for and donated to the Obama administration to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a key Obama backer who raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the president’s election campaign, is one of Solyndra’s primary investors. Kaiser himself donated $53,500 to Obama’s 2008 election campaign, split between the DSCC and Obama For America. Kaiser also made several visits to the White House and appeared at some White House events next to Obama officials.

Campaign finance records show Kaiser and Solyndra executives and board members donated $87,050 total to Obama’s election campaign.


(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OzmO

  • Moderator
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 22847
  • Drink enough Kool-aid and you'll think its healthy
It means the GOP can match the Dems and their union buddies' contributions. As long as the rules are the same for both sides, I don't have an issue with it.

I do on both accounts because it doesn't solve the real problem:  Our representatives are not accountable to the people that vote for them.  

that George Keiser didn't need a union to do what he did.  Giving him unlimited funding only opens the door for more of the same.


garebear

  • Time Out
  • Getbig V
  • *
  • Posts: 6491
  • Never question my instincts.
Guys, try to keep it down.

Me and my buddy Microsoft are trying to chill.
G

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Solyndra's lobbyists
by Timothy P. Carney Senior Political Columnist
Follow on Twitter:@tpcarney
In this May 26, 2010
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/solyndras-lobbyists





President Barack Obama, with Solyndra Chief Executive Officer Chris Gronet, looks at a solar panel, during a tour of Solyndra, Inc., a solar panel manufacturing facility, in Fremont, Calif. Solyndra received a $535 million loan from the U.S. government has announced layoffs of 1,100 workers and plans to file for bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)The Obama administration sure liked to tout Solyndra, the solar-power company that took in millions of federal subsidies before going bankrupt this week. Given that this company's short life was dependent on government connections, it's worth looking at Solyndra's lobbyists.

I've spent a good bit of time studying companies' lobbyists, and Solyndra has a pretty impressive lineup, on par with much bigger companies. Here are a few:

In July, Solyndra retained the powerful Glover Park Group, where the company's lobbyists include top Max Baucus aide and Environment & Public Works Committee staffer Catherine Ransom, longtime Republican aide Alex Mistri, and Energy and Commerce staffer (and former John Kerry Legislative Director) Gregg Rothschild.

The company's in-house lobbyists are former top Republican Hill aides Joe Pasetti and Victoria Sanville.
Solyndra's biggest lobbying contract is with McAllister & Quinn, co-founded by Steny Hoyer's chief of staff Andy Quinn. Steve Ham, another former Hoyer staffer at McA&Q, is on the Solyndra account, as is Al D'Amato aide Chris Fish, and former American writer Kyle Winslow. Gotta love it when young cub writer jump from liberal magazines to K Street.

As befits any company seeking green subsidies, Solyndra retained McBee Strategic Consulting. Steve McBee, a former Dem Approps aide, helped lower the standards for federal green energy financing before signing Solyndra as a client and getting Solyndra the financing under these lower standards. Former Democratic Energy & Natural Resources staffer Angela Becker-Dippmann was also on the Solyndra account.

Fury

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 21026
  • All aboard the USS Leverage
Obama should have defied the rules of capitalism and intervened to save this company, like Bush when he pick and chose which banks to bail out, and which to allow to fail.

Why does obama have to respect the rules of capitalism so much?  WTF mate?

Are you implying that he didn't defy the rules of capitalism when he gifted them $500 million in taxpayer dollars?

How does a "successful" company burn through $500 million in two years?

This is easily one of the most pathetic and embarrassing things I've ever seen. Got to love the fact that just a year ago President Downgrade Foodstamps-A-Lot gave a speech touting how awesome Solyndra was.

Someone should audit this firm to see how much of that $500 million: A) Got pocketed by the executives and B) Kicked back to the DNC in donations.

Fury

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 21026
  • All aboard the USS Leverage
Where's Team Keynesian to defend this? That clown Straw Man argues that we need to spend more money like this to save the economy.

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Not even kcballer can defend this.

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Free Republic
Browse · Search   Pings · Mail   News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.

The Department of Energy is not a business
The Washington Examiner ^ | 9/1/11 | Conn Carroll
Posted on September 1, 2011 8:31:38 PM EDT by Nachum

September 1, 2011 3:26pm 0 Comments The Department of Energy is not a business byConn Carroll Senior Editorial Writer Follow on Twitter:@conncarroll

Asked at today's White House press briefing, "What does it say about the President's so far as he gets ready for this new plan, that this company he promoted and gave government money too has gone bankrupt and is laying off 1100 people." Carney answered:

The whole purpose of this program, which has a broad portfolio of many companies that are doing well was to invest in cutting edge technology. ... There are no guarantees in the business world about success and failure. That is just the way business works. And everyone recognizes that. And that is why there are over 40 companies, as I understand it, 40 guarantees involved in this program that merit looking at. You can not measure the success based on one company or the other.

This would actually be a decent answer if Carney worked for a venture capital firm and not the federal government.

Of course not every investment works out. As Milton Friedman liked to say, "Capitalism is a profit and loss system. The loss part is just as important as the profit part." Profits and losses send signals to entrepreneurs and investors informing them where best to place their resources.

(Excerpt) Read more at campaign2012.washingtone xaminer.com ...

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Free Republic
Browse · Search   Pings · Mail   News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.

House energy committee steps up investigation of Solyndra
The Daily Caller ^ | 9/1/11 | C.J. Ciaramella
Posted on September 1, 2011 9:21:22 PM EDT by Nachum

On Thursday the House Energy and Commerce Committee ramped up its ongoing investigation of the federal government’s $535 million loan to Solyndra, a solar energy company that recently announced it will file for bankruptcy.

In a letter to the White House, committee Chairman Fred Upton and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns requested a scheduled briefing on the matter by no later than September 12 and asked for all documents related to the loan guarantee between Solyndra and the White House.

In 2009, Solyndra was the recipient of a half-billion-dollar loan through the Department of Energy, funded by stimulus monies. The company was touted as a model of President Obama’s green energy initiative. But despite heavy backing by the federal government, the company struggled to meet expectations, falling fall short of the 4,000 or so jobs it was projected to create.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...





Obamafail. 

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Free Republic
Browse · Search   Pings · Mail   News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.

The Administration's Solar Eclipse
IBD Editorials ^ | September 1, 2011 | Staff
Posted on September 1, 2011 7:25:10 PM EDT by Kaslin

Power Sources: A solar panel manufacturer touted by the president as a symbol of his successful green energy policies files for bankruptcy and cuts a thousand green jobs. Maybe its time to drill, baby, drill.

During a visit to Solyndra Inc.'s Fremont, Calif., facility in spring of 2010, President Obama boasted of what the company was going to do with the $535 million in loan guarantees his stimulus package provided.

"We can see the positive impacts right here at Solyndra," he said. "Through the Recovery Act, this company received a loan to expand its operations. This new factory is the result of those loans."

Loans, by the way, taxpayers are on the hook for as Solyndra on Wednesday announced it is filing for bankruptcy and laying off its 1,100 workers, Solyndra is a poster child for the pitfalls of crony capitalism and what happens when government attempts to pick winners and losers in the marketplace, particularly in the energy sector. It underscores the dangers of an energy policy driven by ideology and not available resources and economic need.

Two months before Obama's glowing speech, PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report expressing concern regarding a company that had accumulated losses of $558 million in its five-year lifetime and which had "negative cash flows since inception." There was, the accounting firm said, "substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern."

(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...






This is the perfect example of obamanomics.    Fail. 

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Source: The Washington Post

House Republicans on Thursday intensified their investigation into Solyndra, a California solar-panel manufacturer favored by the Obama administration that shut down this week.

Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee said they are seeking copies of all communications between the White House and Solyndra regarding a $535 million loan guarantee by the Energy Department. They are also seeking communications between the White House and investors in the company.

Solyndra was backed in part by capital from funds associated with George Kaiser, a Tulsa billionaire and Democratic fundraiser.

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, wrote to the White House, “We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra’s application, and communicated with DOE and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) officials. Documents received by the Committee also show that DOE and OMB officials were aware of the White House’s interest in the Solyndra loan guarantee.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-solyndra-f...

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Obama's Bad Bet on Green Energy
By Rich Lowry




We have seen the future, and it went bankrupt.

If the praises of high-ranking Obama-administration officials were a viable business plan, the solar-panel maker Solyndra would be an industrial juggernaut. Vice President Biden insisted that the jobs created by the California-based firm would “allow America to compete and to lead like we did in the 20th century.”

In a visit to Solyndra in May 2010, President Obama called it “a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism.” He all but redefined the traditional statement of Americanness to encompass motherhood, apple pie, and the conversion of sunlight into electricity through cylindrical thin-film solar cells, the specialty of Solyndra.

Obama and Biden were literally invested in Solyndra’s success. The company got a half-billion-dollar federal loan guarantee, the first in a highly vaunted Department of Energy green-jobs program, as part of the stimulus. This was supposed to be the new economic model: government and its favored industries cooperating to lead the country into a green, politically approved recovery. The showcase firm is now filing for Chapter 11 in an embarrassing blow to the premises of Obamanomics. At least the Obama administration can’t be accused of practicing industrial policy the old-fashioned way and picking winners. It is evidently quite ready to pick losers, too.

A Department of Energy spokesman explained wanly, “The company was considered extraordinarily innovative as recently as 2010.” Innovative, maybe; profitable, no. It had never turned a profit since its founding in 2005. In the still “extraordinarily innovative” year of 2010, it canceled an attempted IPO and axed its CEO.

Plenty of venture capitalists made foolish bets on Solyndra, but the federal government was the most reckless. The Obama administration wanted to throw money at the likes of Solyndra without due diligence, or much diligence at all. In 2008, the Government Accountability Office warned that the Energy Department loan program — created in a 2005 energy bill — had inadequate safeguards.

Nonetheless, within 60 days of becoming energy secretary, Steven Chu put Uncle Sam on the hook for Solyndra. According to the Wall Street Journal, $527 million of the $535 million federal loan has been drawn down, with a bankruptcy court set to determine how much the feds will recover. Chu is fortunate that taxpayers can’t bring shareholder lawsuits against the federal government.

President Bush was flayed for the Enron bankruptcy, based on his tenuous ties to the firm. If the same media rules applied, Solyndra would be Obama’s Enron, given his active promotion of the company and his lavish funding of it. A prodigious Obama-Biden fundraiser is a major backer of the failed concern.

Solyndra’s crash comes during a wave of solar bankruptcies. The government’s enthusiasm for solar power far outstripped that of consumers. Spain provided something of a precursor. It massively subsidized a solar-power industry that collapsed when the government realized its generosity was unsustainable and cut back. One Spanish newspaper had a headline, “Spain admits that the green economy sold to Obama is a ruin.”

China is picking up the pieces. Not only does China coddle solar firms, it inherently is a lower-cost manufacturing environment. Its cheap, simple solar panels are more marketable than the more sophisticated version attempted by Solyndra. Our subsidies for the purchase of solar panels are often used to buy Chinese products. Inevitably, the U.S. solar industry will seek to score the trifecta of government support already achieved by the boondoggle fuel ethanol — subsidizing its production, mandating its use, and barring its foreign competitors.

The stakes in the battle to manufacture solar panels are exceedingly small. Solar power accounts for less than 1 percent of the electricity generated in the United States. The Obama administration’s fervency for it has more to do with the romance of its clean, postindustrial image than with economics. Obama said last year, “The true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra.” If that were so, it never would have needed half a billion of our dollars in the first place.

Rich Lowry is the editor of National Review.
© 2011 by King Features Syndicate.


OzmO

  • Moderator
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 22847
  • Drink enough Kool-aid and you'll think its healthy
I wonder if the execs paid themselves bonuses last year. 

George Whorewell

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 7362
  • TND
Think about how bad things like this will get now that corporations can donate to campaigns with out limits.

Oz, its very admirable that you refuse you acknowledge that green technology is a complete scam and that the stimulus was basically a slush fund for the left, but can we agree on one thing from this thread?

Ideologically, there is one side that should sustain 100% of the blame for this boondoggle.

OzmO

  • Moderator
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 22847
  • Drink enough Kool-aid and you'll think its healthy
Oz, its very admirable that you refuse you acknowledge that green technology is a complete scam and that the stimulus was basically a slush fund for the left, but can we agree on one thing from this thread?

Ideologically, there is one side that should sustain 100% of the blame for this boondoggle.

Show me exactly were I don't think green technology is a scam.

But here some things I said recently regarding green energy:

Yeah, heard this on the radio this morning. 

This is what gives "green" a bad name.  I bet there was tons of shady dealings with that money. 

We need to stay on course with green research, but we DO NOT need to subsidize green energy that cant turn a profit. 


500 million wasted.   >:(

Galaxy warming?

I believe in green research but not current green application that doesn't turn a profit such as this latest collapse with solar in Fremont. 

I also think things like a $10 " green" pail is complete BS also.  It's almost criminal profiteering lol. 

So I don't know where you come up with some of your conclusions about my view on green tech.


As far as a party being 100% responsible?  Hard to say when the repubs do all kinds of stupid shit also. 

That's the problem, IMO, the repubs aren't really conservative when they bailed out those banks.  Twice.







Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Investigators Probe White House Role in Massive Energy Loan
ABC News ^ | 2 Sep 2011 | MATTHEW MOSK and RONNIE GREENE





House investigators said they have uncovered evidence that White House officials became personally involved in an Energy Department review of a hot-button $535 million loan guarantee to the now-failed California solar company Solyndra.


The allegation surfaced in a letter House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent to the White House Thursday night, saying he planned to accelerate efforts to understand an investment deal that may have left taxpayers out half a billion dollars.

"We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra's application and communicated with [Department of Energy] and Office of Management and Budget officials during the course of their review," the letter says.

Thursday's letter, which calls on the White House to turn over correspondence between administration officials, Solyndra and its investors, presents the most pointed suggestion that the White House had direct involvement in the financing.

"How did this company, without maybe the best economic plan, all of a sudden get to the head of the line?" Upton told ABC News in an interview this week. "We want to know who made this decision ... and we're not going to stop until we get those answers."

READ: Solyndra Collapse a 'Waste' of Half a Billion By Obama, GOP Critics Say

White House officials have said in interviews that they did not intervene in the Solyndra deal or others benefiting companies backed by supporters of the president. Yet the administration, from Obama to the Department of Energy, has very publicly praised the loan guarantee.


(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

240 is Back

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 102387
  • Complete website for only $300- www.300website.com
a lot of people fall for the global warming nonsense.  Al gore is a very good salesman.

Top "repubs" Mitt and Palin have fallen prey to this liberal thinking in recent years.  Luckily, Perry, a former dem lawmaker and al gore staffer, has been consistent on the issue.  For a solid 3 years now.

OzmO

  • Moderator
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 22847
  • Drink enough Kool-aid and you'll think its healthy
I wonder if it's money that makes them see the need for green?  :D

240 is Back

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 102387
  • Complete website for only $300- www.300website.com
I wonder if it's money that makes them see the need for green?  :D

it's sad.  i like CTs and social causes at times...

but even a dumbshite like me has seen global warming as a hoax since minute one.  Alex jones has been correct all along on this one too.  All a scam to get paid.

Why do people like FOX opinionist Sarah palin and kenyan imposter Obama continue to spew the nonsense?  hard to say.  greed, ignorance, and ideology.

George Whorewell

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 7362
  • TND
I wonder if it's money that makes them see the need for green?  :D

I'm quoting the wrong response in this thread, but if I'm not mistaken ( and unless you deleted your own post) you supported the auto bailouts in the thread that 33366 started about Obama's war against coal.

Your rationale was that the bailout/ government takeover saved jobs. Yet, you had no problem with Obama regulating the coal industry into bankruptcy-- even though it would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Now you say that Republicans were wrong for approving the bank bailouts?

Not flaming here, just trying to figure out what your position is on these issues. You seem to be all over the place.



Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Did Obama Administration Cut Corners For a Green Energy Company? (Solyndra)
ABC News & iWatch ^ | May 24, 2011 | By MATTHEW MOSK and RONNIE GREENE



________________________ _________


The Obama administration bypassed procedural steps meant to protect taxpayers as it hurried to approve an energy loan guarantee to a politically-connected California solar power startup, ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity's iWatch News have learned …

The Energy Department in March 2009 announced its intention to award Solyndra Inc. a $535 million loan guarantee before receiving final copies of outside reviews typically used to vet such deals. ...

The loan guarantee, the administration's first for a clean energy project, benefited a company whose prime financial backers include Oklahoma oil billionaire George Kaiser, a "bundler" of campaign donations. Kaiser raised at least $50,000 for the president's 2008 election effort. ...

Several political allies of the president have ties to companies receiving Energy Department loans, grants or loan guarantees. For instance, the venture firm of another top Obama bundler, Steve Westly, has financially supported companies that won more than half a billion dollars in energy grants and loans during President Obama's time in office, iWatch News and ABC News reported in March. ...


(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...

Soul Crusher

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 41760
  • Doesnt lie about lifting.
Questions Raised After DOE Hides Costs Of Energy Projects
By Yuliya Chernova, Of DOW JONES VENTUREWIRE




NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The Department of Energy has removed from the public eye the total cost of renewable energy projects backed by billions of dollars in federal loans, in response to requests from recipients.

The loan guarantee program, which has come under fire by a Republican- controlled Congress, has committed more than $30 billion to 42 renewable energy projects since 2009, when the federal stimulus bill allocated capital for this purpose. Each project is listed in detail on the DOE's website, but the costs were recently taken down.

The move is unusual for the Obama administration, which in general has been more forthcoming online with government spending data than previous administrations. However, some critics, especially from Republicans, have complained that the DOE has withheld key information regarding the loan guarantee program in particular.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has been investigating the first loan made under the program in 2009 for solar-panel maker Solyndra Inc., which said on Wednesday that it plans to file for bankruptcy and is laying off 1,100 people.

Critics of the program have said that some of the projects could be too risky, especially considering that taxpayer dollars support them. The House Committee also raised questions about the political connections of Solyndra's backers and their role in winning the loan.

The total cost of that project or those of other companies hasn't been the subject of widespread criticism. "After some companies asked that we remove their total project cost from our Website, last month our legal team conducted a review and determined that total project costs are likely protected by the Trade Secrets Act," wrote a DOE official in an email to VentureWire. He was referring to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which is not a federal law, but a model law that most states use to protect trade secrets. Government employees are precluded from releasing trade secrets.

Total cost of a project can be considered a trade secret, but only if a company can prove the information could give a competitor an economic advantage, according to Russell Beck, attorney with the law firm Beck Reed Riden LLP and a professor at the Boston University School of Law's Intellectual Property program. Just because the cost is confidential doesn't automatically make it a trade secret, he said, especially in cases where the contract is already signed with a customer as opposed to still being part of a confidential bid process.

The fact that the information was open to the public, and to competitors, for several months on the government website is also likely to disqualify it from being subject of trade secret laws, Beck said.

Solar cell manufacturer SunPower Corp. (SPWRA, SPWRB), which was offered a $ 1.19 billion loan in April, subject to certain conditions, deems the total cost of its California project--previously reported by Dow Jones as $1.58 billion-- confidential information, protected under its contract with the buyer of the solar power the project will produce, according to spokeswoman Ingrid Ekstrom. She declined to say whether SunPower requested the DOE to remove the total cost information, and declined to comment on what responsibilities it believes it has as a potential recipient of government funds.

A representative of First Solar Inc. (FSLR), a high-profile recipient of more than $5 billion of conditional loans from the program, declined to comment on the subject. A representative of another solar company, Brightsource Energy Inc., which previously highlighted its total project cost of $2.2 billion in conversations with VentureWire, said he wasn't aware the information was removed, but didn't comment further.

"If you feel that the total project cost is business sensitive, then don't take government money," said Sean Moulton, director of federal information policy at OMB Watch, a nonprofit organization advocating for transparency in government spending. Moulton said the total cost of a project is a fundamental fact that can help the public evaluate whether government funds are being spent wisely.

"I'm quite surprised and disappointed," said Moulton, about the DOE's decision to remove the information. He added that transparency is especially important for public interest projects such as the renewable energy ones that the government supports.

The loan guarantee program, which was created in 2005 during the George W. Bush administration, is backing wind, solar, nuclear, and geothermal power projects and manufacturing plants. Many of the loans come from the Federal Finance Bank. Part of the capital allocated to the program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was the first spending law, according to advocates, to include a requirement to disclose information about projects online.

Moulton said that in his experience, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act is invoked extremely rarely by the government.

"We are committed to providing the public with as much information as we can, but we also have an obligation to avoid releasing business or procurement sensitive information," wrote the DOE spokesman in an email.

(Dow Jones VentureWire covers news about venture-capital investing and start- up companies.)

-By Yuliya Chernova, Dow Jones VentureWire; 212-416-2020