Upton targets DOE solar loan guarantee

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is launching an investigation into a decision by the Department of Energy to authorize a $535 million stimulus-law loan guarantee for a California solar company.

The investigation is part of a broad effort by Republicans to look into the use of stimulus funds in an attempt to expose waste or misuse. Expect more from Upton's committee on DOE stimulus funds. "We’ll be taking a close look at DOE as well as other stimulus funding within our jurisdiction," a GOP committee aide told The Hill Thursday.

Solyndra Inc., the company that received the DOE loan guarantee, has faced a number of setbacks in recent months. Solyndra announced in November that it would close a plant, lay off employees and delay the expansion of its newest facility.

Upton, in a letter Thursday to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, said the setbacks at the company “raise questions about whether Solyndra was the right candidate to receive a loan guarantee in excess of half a billion dollars.”

Upton, who was joined on the letter by Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), requested all documents and communications between Solyndra and DOE regarding the decision to grant the loan guarantee.

In March 2009, Solyndra received a $535 million loan guarantee, authorized under the stimulus law, for the construction of a new facility to make solar panels. An expansion of the facility, known as “Fab 2,” was delayed in November.

This story was updated at 4:42 p.m.