Chu to testify about Solyndra loan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu agreed to testify before lawmakers about the controversial loan to solar panel company Solyndra, a committee chairman said.

Members of the Republican-led House of Representatives are putting pressure on the White House following the bankruptcy of solar panel company Solyndra. The company received a $535 million loan guarantee as part of U.S. President Barack Obama's green energy initiative.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., chairman of a subcommittee on oversight, said Chu agreed to testify Nov. 17 before lawmakers about the loan guarantee.

"We hope he will finally provide answers about why (the Department of Energy) consciously ignored the direct warnings from their own experts that Solyndra was doomed to fail, and granted the loan to Solyndra," he said in a statement.

House leaders complained when the Energy Department said Susan Richardson, the author of a legal memo on Solyndra's loan restructuring, wouldn't testify under oath about the loan.

Critics say some of the details surrounding the loan raise certain legal questions.

The Obama administration said aggressive policies are needed as European and Asian countries quickly outpacing the United States in the clean-energy race.