After the political fallout from the Solyndra bankruptcy and a few other high-profile cleantech failures, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) is now operating in the black.
The program earned $30 million in profit on interest payments over the last three years, with some participating companies repaying their loans ahead of schedule. “When all loans are paid back, the government says it could ultimately net up to $6 billion for taxpayers,” Lacey writes.
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“Taxpayers are not only benefiting from some of the world’s most innovative energy projects…but these projects are also making good on their loan repayments,” LPO Executive Director Peter Davidson told Reuters. His predecessor, Jonathan Silver, told Greentech the result vindicate the program’s portfolio approach.
“Now the facts speak for themselves,” he wrote in an email. “This is also a reminder that politicians would be well advised to be more prudent in their comments before all the facts are known.”
