It's gone beyond wasteful -- now investigators are talking criminal charges!

Last year, the collapse of Obama's "pet" green energy company Solyndra triggered a huge congressional investigation. The company was given nearly half a billion dollars in government loans. Now, the same congressional panel is looking at two more solar green-energy companies that went under.

Colorado-based Abound Solar received approval for a $400 million federal grant through the Department of Energy before funding was pulled -- but not before the company put $70 million in their pockets.   Congressional leaders are now pressing the Obama administration about allegations it knew of technical issues with the company's solar panels before it was given the stimulus money in December 2010.

According to The Daily Caller, Abound Solar declared bankruptcy earlier this year. The company reportedly tried to hide potential issues with its products to keep the company afloat. Abound claims Chinese competition forced them out of business. The DOE allegedly knew that Abound's solar panels were prone to lose output the longer they were exposed to direct sunlight.

The Weld County District Attorney's Office (the county where Abound was located) has announced they are conducting a criminal investigation into the company.

The other solar company to receive federal funding and go under was Beacon Power, an energy storage company based in Massachusetts. It had been building an energy storage facility in Stephentown, New York.

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