Energy announces first loan in 4 years from vehicle program
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Department of Energy is reviving a vehicle loan program it pledged to retool after criticism that it funded flops and squandered taxpayer money.
The department said Thursday it has reached a conditional, $259 million loan agreement with Alcoa that will fund an expansion of a Tennessee facility that manufactures high-strength aluminum used in fuel-efficient cars.
The loan is the first issued from DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program in four years.
Republicans have been critical of this and two other loan programs, all funded by the 2009 economic stimulus program, after two high-profile failures.
Solar company Solyndra filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee. Fisker Automative, a manufacturer of electronic cars, filed for bankruptcy in 2013, costing the department $139 million.
