Big Federal Money Went to “Clean Energy” Companies Who Supported Obama

A Washington Post investigation has found billions in Federal dollars has gone to clean energy companies with ties to at least five Obama staff members.

The Post found that 3.9 billion dollars, as part of the stimulus program, went to 21 different energy companies that were either supported, or invested in, by at least five members of President Obama's staff.  Once example listed was that of  Sanjay Wagle, a venture capitalist who rallied support and funds for the President's 2008 campaign through a group called "Clean Tech For Obama."  After the election, he joined the Energy Department.  He was one of a group of venture capitalists who supported Obama, then took government jobs and had, according to the Post, influence on how much and where Federal Stimulus money went to the clean energy companies.  One of the firms that received stimulus money was a clean energy firm invested in by Wagle's Vantage Point Venture Partners, a venture (or investment) capital group.

   The failure of solar panel maker Solyndra (535 million in stimulus) and double digit numbers of other clean tech startups has focused attention on the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars given to these clean energy groups that were backed by or invested in by Obama political allies and staff members.  The White House claims that having venture capitalists on Obama's staff does not mean they lobbied for or had influence where these dollars went. But emails and documents reviewed as part of the Solyndra investigation clearly show  these staffers and other political allies at least informally lobbied for certain companies to receive money.

  The failure of Solyndra was the first domino--since then, over a dozen clean tech energy companies that received Federal money have either filed Chapter 11,  laid off most of their workforce, or have "reorganized".    It is almost a weekly occurance that  some sort of green energy company goes under, despite being propped up by millions of our taypayer dollars.