House Republicans extend Solyndra probe to Defense Department

House Republicans are investigating whether the Defense Department considered giving Solyndra government contracts in 2010 as the solar company faced major financial problems.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote Thursday to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta requesting all internal Solyndra-related documents.

It’s the latest development in the House GOP’s months-long probe of the solar panel maker, which declared bankruptcy in September about two year after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee. 

In the letter, committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) say they have 2010 emails showing that Solyndra investors reached out to the Defense Department to discuss the company.

“[W]e know that Solyndra investors specifically discussed the company with individuals in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations and the Environment and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP),” the letter says.

“In addition, we understand that one of Solyndra’s in-house lobbyists had an ongoing dialogue with an official in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs.”

Republicans have pounced on Solyndra’s failure, launching a massive investigation that has dredged up more than 180,000 pages of documents.

The GOP alleges that politics influenced the decision to approve the loan guarantee and restructure the terms of the loan in February. But the investigation has not turned up clear evidence the support that claim.

Committee Republicans sent a similar letter to General Services Administration Administrator Martha Johnson in December seeking Solyndra-related documents. The panel is investigating whether the administration sought a GSA contract for Solyndra.