The Maine Wire has obtained a letter sent from U.S Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D- Maine) to the Department of Energy in support of Angus King’s Record Hill Wind project. Record Hill was named last week in a report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as one of a number of companies that received federal loan guarantees under questionable circumstances. King’s company received a $102 million government loan guarantee, despite having more than sufficient cash on hand for the project, as well as the backing from the $8 billion Yale Endowment.
King’s company applied for the loan guarantee under an ‘innovative technology’ grant. The report shows that King’s technology was not, in fact, innovative- it has been widely used commercially before the Record Hill project.
King’s campaign claims the candidate knew nothing about the congressional investigation, despite a letter from the committee to King’s business partner six days before the report went public.
Below is the letter from Pingree to Jonathan Silver, the Executive Director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office. According to the Department of Energy, Pingree was the only member of Maine’s delegation to send a letter of support.
Dear Mr. Silver:
I am pleased to write in support of Record Hill Wind’s grant application to DOE’s Innovative Technology Federal Loan Guarantee Program, reference number DE-FOA-0000140.
Record Hill’s Roxbury, Maine project has received all necessary local and state permits. The project will create a new source of renewable energy and provide for hundreds of good paying construction jobs. Maine needs more such renewable energy projects that can help reduce our reliance on fuels from other nations, and this clean energy project will significantly reduce carbon emissions to help reach state objectives to reduce GHG emissions as well.
I urge the Department of Energy to look favorably on this request.
Sincerely,
Chellie Pingree
Member of Congres [sic]
