Posted on 06/07/2012 5:36:55 PM PDT by Nachum
Internal emails show that BrightSource Energy, which received the largest federal loan for a solar energy project under President Obama’s stimulus package, leveraged its considerable political connections with top Democratic policymakers to secure its $1.6 billion in taxpayer backing.
BrightSource energy faced a “do-or-die moment,” according to a report in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, as the Energy Department weighed a federal loan for its massive Ivanpah solar farm in the California Mojave Desert.
To spur the administration to approve the loan, BrightSource beefed up its lobbying presence, most notably by hiring Bernie Toon, former chief of staff for then-Senator Joe Biden, to lobby on its behalf. Toon was paid $40,000 for his efforts, according to disclosure forms.
Toon’s connections immediately paid dividends:
On March 9, 2011, just days after being hired, Mr. Toon went to the White House with three BrightSource executives, according to Senate and White House records. There he visited a former colleague, Alan Hoffman, now the top aide to Mr. Biden, whose office was working on green-energy programs, the records show. The White House didn’t make Mr. Hoffman available for comment.
Overall, BrightSource dropped half a million dollars on lobbyists in the run-up to DOE’s decision on the Ivanpah loan.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.heritage.org ...
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
1.6 billion and all he was paid was $40k? Dems are so stupid.
I was in Wash DC in April.
Ate lunch at a place on the west side of the WH.
Place was full of guys in 2000 dollar suits and women in 1000 dollar dresses.
At some point we’ll have to go in with pitchforks and Molotov cocktails.
I’ve always thought Biden was a crook.
stench ping
The Obama Adm’s putrid stench of corruption is smelling like a rotting corpse-— not that I ever smelled a rotting corpse, but my uncle did, and, as a pre-teen, his description made an impression.
Does anyone think anything is going to come of this?
I thought not.
There could if we had an Attorney General .... oh, we only have Eric the Bigot & Corrupt.
The Chicago Way...
Thanks Nachum.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.