THE GOVERNMENT: WHERE THE FRAUD IS MANUFACTURED BEFORE THE BILL IS PASSED AND SIGNED
Once again, the progressive communist democrats are planning to loot the treasury and reward their special interest friends inn anticipation that they may no longer be in charge after the 2024 election.
One might ask how a dodgy company with a reputation for bilking senior citizens qualifies for a $3 billion loan and what safeguards are in place to protect the U.S. taxpayer from waste, fraud, and abuse.
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Biden Admin Gave $3 Billion Loan to Solar Company Accused of Scamming Elderly A solar company that was awarded a $3 billion Department of Energy loan has been accused of scamming dementia patients on their deathbeds into signing five-figure, multi-decade solar panel leases, according to interviews and state consumer complaint records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The news comes as the DOE’s Loan Programs Office is facing scrutiny from Congress over potential conflicts of interest involving the $3 billion federal loan to Sunnova Energy. The funding, which is the largest-ever DOE commitment to a solar company, will help finance Sunnova’s solar panel loans to “disadvantaged homeowners and communities,” according to the company. The DOE did not respond to a request for comment. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY.), the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and other lawmakers have been investigating potential conflicts of interest at the DOE’s Loan Programs Office, including its funding to Sunnova. Before LPO director Jigar Shah joined the Biden administration, he founded and led a trade association called Cleantech Leaders Roundtable, which shares a board member with Sunnova. Cleantech Leaders Roundtable has become a gatekeeper for companies seeking loans from Shah’s office, cohosting paid events for its members with the LPO director, the Free Beacon reported in October. “The potential for conflicts of interest, especially in light of a $3 billion loan approval for Sunnova, a company who shares a board member with Cleantech Leaders Roundtable, cannot be overlooked,” said Barrasso in a letter to DOE’s ethics counsel Susan Beard this month. Shah, who was dubbed “Joe Biden’s $400 billion man” by the Wall Street Journal due to his control over the staggering loan program budget, downplayed his role in testimony to Congress last month. <Source> |
According to the Department of Energy…
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its Loan Programs Office (LPO), today announced the closing of a $3 billion partial loan guarantee to Sunnova Energy Corporation’s Project Hestia. The Project will make distributed energy resources (DERs), including rooftop solar, battery storage, and virtual power plant (VPP)-ready, consumer-facing software, available to more American homeowners and create more than 3,400 good-paying, high-quality American jobs. The project reinforces President Biden’s commitment to expanding access to affordable renewable energy across America and achieving a carbon-free grid by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. This announcement is the single largest commitment ever made by the Federal Government to solar power and DOE’s first loan guarantee for a VPP. This project underscores the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support solar deployment across the nation so that all communities can enjoy the benefits that come with deploying renewable energy, such as lower utility bills, increased energy resilience, and healthier communities. Project Hestia will provide loans for clean energy systems for approximately 75,000 to 115,000 homeowners throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico—benefiting disadvantaged communities facing high energy burdens that would otherwise have difficulty accessing clean energy. Over the next 25 years, the approximately 568 MW project, comprised of rooftop solar installations, residential battery systems, and smart software to reduce energy waste, is expected to avoid an estimated 7.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide—roughly equivalent to eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from 1.5 million vehicles on the nation’s roads for a year. <Source> |
I smell a scam…
If you have ever dealt with a solar power company, you would know that many of them are as sleazy as the fast-talking roofing and siding salesmen of the 60s and 70s. They would do or say anything to get a customer’s signature on a contract that was collateralized by the homeowner’ss property. And, to mitigate their risk, they quickly sold the loan to a financial institution where it could be rolled up into a pool and sold as a collateralized debt obligation. Of course, the homeowner was now forced to deal with a heartless financial institution that was not responsible for a working system
Even worse, many of these systems were installed by independent contractors who had little or no responsibility for their work and were employed by an independent entity that could declare bankruptcy and walk away from any major problems. And let us not forget those built-in arbitration clauses which preclude class action lawsuits.
It appears that we are seeing a story different from the sales pitch – where equipment degrades over a few years or is rendered inefficient or obsolete by new technology. Also, games from the power suppliers may require connection and processing fees and the purchase of your surplus electricity at manipulated rates. Add a high-voltage electric vehicle charging station and any savings are likely to be erased as the costs of supplemental energy increase.
So, I ask, who is watching out for the consumer and the taxpayer? It certainly is not Congress whose members are holding out their grubby hands and cutting deals. Certainly not the paper-pushing bureaucracy. And certainly not your local and state government surcharging your utility bill while trying to make up for any lost revenue.
According to the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Energy…
In the past 2 years, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund, which collectively provided the Department with an unprecedented $99 billion in new appropriations, $30.5 billion in new authorizations, and an enhanced loan authority of over $400 billion.
The current situation brings tremendous risk to the taxpayers—the combination of setting up 72 new Department programs, a real risk of funding entities owned or controlled by foreign adversaries, and a historic expansion of the Department’s loan program.
As you know, these loan packages are on an accelerated schedule. One category of loan guarantees worth an estimated $250 billion will expire on September 30, 2026. Another category of loan guarantees worth an estimated $40 billion will expire on the same date—$290 billion over the next 3 years or, put another way, roughly $8 billion per month over the next 36 months. There is no precedent in the Department for this level and pace of financing. <Source>
Bottom line…
We are so screwed. Especially in California as they plan to implement a mileage tax to compensate for the lost taxes at the fuel pump. A measure that requires you to install a tracking device on your vehicle.
-- Steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS