U.S. Geothermal, Inc., received a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy (DOE) through the same program that funded Solyndra, but that’s not the company’s only source of DOE funding.
One of their directors, Dr. Leland Mink, has by turns worked for both the Energy Department and U.S. Geothermal. According to Mink’s biography on the U.S. Geothermal website, served as “Program Director for the Geothermal Technologies Program, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)” after leaving his position as Vice President of Exploration for U.S. Geothermal. He reportedly held that vice presidency from June 2002 to February 2003, but resigned to work for DOE from February 2003 to October 2006. After retiring from the Department of Energy, he took a position as an independent member of the U.S. Geothermal Board of Directors, starting in November 2006.
Mink’s old program at DOE, the Geothermal Technologies Program, awarded $5,746,361 to the University of Utah for a project that the school has undertaken in conjunction with three private corporations, including U.S. Geothermal — which controls the piece of land in Idaho where the project operates. The project began in 2009 and is expected to operate until 2015.
The oil industry receives far more grief for such revolving-door relationships. Last year, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., commented that “the revolving door [between oil companies and government regulators] is still swinging too widely.” When that door swings between government officials and the green energy sector, though, it seems to be the cost of doing business.
Kerry Hawkley, Chief Financial Officer for U.S. Geothermal, told The Washington Examiner that “we have to spend the money first . . . [before] we are reimbursed a certain percentage of what we have spent” from the funding provided to the University of Utah by the DOE.
DOE renewable energy programs, such as the Solyndra LLC loan, have drawn criticism because of the relationship between government officials and the renewable energy companies receiving federal subsidy, as well as their cost. U.S. Geothermal, for instance, received a $97 million loan guarantee from DOE for a project expected to create 10 permanent jobs.
The renewable energy industry is exceedingly dependent on government support. Many companies would not be viable if they could only make money off of consumers rather than taxpayers. Given that dependence, it seems inevitable that the revolving door between government and the green industry will swing very widely indeed.
Update: Dr. Mink told The Washington Examiner that he recused himself from projects that might present a conflict of interest for a year after retiring from the Department of Energy, in accordance with ethics requirements. He also noted that the Geothermal Technologies Program was a research program during his time as director. The program acquired the scope to fund projects with stimulus money that passed under President Obama’s auspices.
