By Margaret Kriz Hobson, CQ Staff

The House Republican leading an investigation of the Energy Department’s renewable-energy loan guarantee program predicted Tuesday that more “green” energy companies backed by the Obama administration might default on their loans.

Cliff Stearns of Florida, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said the bankruptcy of solar panel maker Solyndra Inc. might be the first in a wave of filings by companies with renewable-energy projects funded under the 2009 stimulus law (PL 111-5). Solyndra had received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Energy Department in 2009.

“The question is, how many Solyndras are out there?” Stearns said, during remarks at a Heritage Foundation event. “I’m convinced, based upon what I’ve seen on this kind of industry, on solar panels, that there are more that are going to go bankrupt.”

Stearns called on President Obama to stop loan guarantees to renewable-energy companies and instead return to the Treasury the billions of dollars not yet awarded.

“This whole idea that the president is going to reach out to America with green technologies is suspect,” Stearns said. “We are a country that has huge amount of resources in coal, in gas, in oil. . . . The president should realize that green energy is not going to be the solution. We have to take the energy sources we have and become an exporter.”

Stearns made his comments on a day when Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the department was awarding a $1.2 billion loan guarantee to Mojave Solar to develop a concentrating solar power project in California.

“Investments in solar generation facilities like the Mojave Solar Project are critical to our effort to create good clean-energy jobs in America and compete with countries like China in the global clean-energy race,” Chu said. Abengoa Solar Inc., the sponsor of the Mojave Solar Project, estimates that the project will create 900 construction and permanent operations jobs and produce enough power for 54,000 homes.

‘Full-Blown Scandal’

Solyndra filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors Sept. 6. Two days later, the FBI and agents from the Energy Department’s Office of Inspector General executed search warrants at the company’s California headquarters and the homes of Solyndra executives.

“It’s a full-blown scandal,” Stearns said. “This has moved beyond bankruptcy. There appears to be criminality involved in the case.”

White House officials have said that the company’s failure was an isolated case. But Stearns suggested that the Obama administration might have awarded the loan guarantee for “political purposes.” He noted that Solyndra’s investors included “people who bundled large sums of money for the president when he ran for president.”

Energy analysts from two progressive groups are challenging Stearns’ allegations. According to Stephen Lacey of Climate Progress and Richard Caperton of the Center for American Progress, the Energy Department conditionally approved a loan guarantee for Solyndra in 2007, when George W. Bush was president.

They also noted that some Solyndra investors donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates.