U.S. moves ahead with loans post-Solyndra

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Despite Republican criticism, the U.S. Energy Department announced plans to go ahead with nearly $300 million in loans for clean energy projects.

The Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy announced 60 projects would be supported with $156 million in funding for research projects aimed at improving how the United States produces and uses energy.

"It is now more important than ever to invest in game-changing ideas that will build the technological infrastructure for a new, clean energy economy," Arun Majumdar, ARPA-E's director, said in a statement.

Half of the projects, located in 25 states, would be led by research institutions, with the private sector, national labs and non-profit groups taking on the rest.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu also announced a $132.4 million loan guarantee for Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas for the development of a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant.

The Kansas project is expected to convert roughly 300,000 tons of crop residues into 23 million gallons of ethanol per year. The Energy Department said the facility will be self-sufficient and avoid more than 139,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

The announcements come as lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives scrutinized the clean energy spending plans following the Solyndra scandal. Solar panel company Solyndra went bankrupt despite getting more than $500 million in loan guarantees from the Energy Department.

"Loan applications reviewed by the department have undergone many months of due diligence and often receive bipartisan support," the Energy Department said in a statement.