The government loan program responsible for inking the ill-fated Solyndra deal needs stricter oversight and better standards, according to a White House audit.
The Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program for alternative energy projects, which produced the ill-fated loan to the solar panel maker Solyndra, needs more rigorous financial oversight and stricter performance standards for recipients to reduce the chance of future defaults, according to an audit conducted by the White House and released Friday.
The audit, led by Herbert M. Allison Jr., a former financial executive and senior Treasury Department official, found that the government could lose as much as $3 billion of the total loan commitments so far of $24.3 billion granted to 30 companies under two Energy Department programs.
In setting up the loan guarantee programs, Congress set aside $10 billion for potential losses.