Energy Loans a Safer Bet for U.S. Than Congress Anticipated, Review Shows

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-10/risk-management-needed-for-energy-loan-guarantees-report-says.html

Potential losses from U.S. energy loan programs are likely to be less than projected by the White House and Congress, according to an independent analysis that Democrats said validated support for clean-energy innovation.

The Obama administration ordered the review in response to pressure from Republicans, who criticized the loans as an effort to pick “winners and losers” after the collapse of Solyndra LLC, which won a $535 million loan guarantee.

The long-term loss on 30 U.S.-backed clean-energy and auto loans might be about $2.7 billion, or $200 million less than the department’s estimate, Herbert Allison, a former Treasury Department official, found in his review released yesterday.

“Mr. Allison identifies less risk for the overall portfolio than the department’s analysis, and less than Congress estimated when it set aside a $10 billion reserve in anticipation of losses associated with funding these emerging industries,” Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman, said in a statement yesterday.