March 24, 2012

Energy chief would be ‘very surprised’ if loan program lost $3 billion

E2 Wire

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday he is confident the federal government will lose less money on the Energy Department’s loan program than a recent analysis predicted. The analysis, which was mandated by the White House in the aftermath of the Solyndra collapse, estimated that the federal government could lose up to $3 billion from the loan program. 

“I would be very surprised if we lost that,” Chu told reporters Thursday after testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his department’s budget blueprint.