Obama doesn’t regret Solyndra loan

President Obama on Monday defended the administration’s half-billion-dollar financial support for the solar-panel company Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy in early September.

Asked by ABC News if he regretted holding up Solyndra as a model for jobs and clean energy, Obama replied "No, I don't, because if you look at the overall portfolio of loan guarantees that have been provided, overall it's doing well."

"And what we always understood was that not every single business is going to succeed in clean energy, but if we want to compete with China, which is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into this space, if we want to compete with other countries that are heavily subsidizing the industries of the future, we've got to make sure that our guys here in the United States of America at least have a shot," Obama said in the interview broadcast online by Yahoo! News and ABC News.

He noted that “there are going to be some failures,” and that Solyndra is an example.

The president personally toured the California company's facility, which received a $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee in 2009, during a May 2010 visit in which he touted administration efforts to ensure the U.S. competes in emerging green-energy industries.

Federal support for the company has been the focus of probes by House Republicans who say the administration botched the loan package, and the target for criticism more broadly from many Republicans who say it shows that “green jobs” programs are ineffective.

Emails released Monday show that administration officials were worried in the days before Obama’s visit, arguing that the visit would embarrass the White House if the company — which was showing signs of financial trouble — ultimately went bankrupt.

Obama noted Monday that “hindsight is always 20/20.”

“It went through the regular review process, and people felt like this was a good bet,” Obama said. The president reiterated the need to “get behind clean energy” to ensure the U.S. can compete in emerging manufacturing industries.

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