WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Department
on Wednesday said it finalized a $737 million loan guarantee
for a Nevada solar project sponsored by the privately held
SolarReserve LLC, as the deadline loomed for the government’s
renewable energy incentive program.

The California-based company plans a 110 megawatt solar
thermal plant about 14 miles northwest of Tonopah, Nevada,
enough to power 43,000 homes and create 600 jobs during
construction and 45 permanent jobs once it’s completed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government refused to further alter its loan deal with Solyndra in August after determining it would not help the now-bankrupt solar panel company survive, a top Energy Department official said on Thursday.

After consulting with experts and weighing possible outcomes for solar start-up Solyndra, the first recipient of a government loan guarantee for renewable energy, the department knew that new terms for the loan would not help the ailing company, said Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman said.

WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. government refused
to further alter its loan deal with Solyndra in August after
determining it would not help the now-bankrupt solar panel
company survive, a top Energy Department official said on
Thursday.

After consulting with experts and weighing possible
outcomes for solar start-up Solyndra, the first recipient of a
government loan guarantee for renewable energy, the department
knew that new terms for the loan would not help the ailing
company, said Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman said.

WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – U.S. renewable energy
investors defended the government energy loan program at the
center of the political firestorm ignited by the high-profile
collapse of solar panel maker Solyndra, one of the program’s
beneficiaries.

Partners at top private equity firms that have participated
in the government’s loan guarantee program for alternative
energy described the program’s review process for applicants as
“robust” and even more in-depth than in the private sector.

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Monday said global
oil consumption is likely grow by more than a quarter over the next quarter
century, though proposed rules requiring automakers to improve fuel efficiency
in the United States were not factored into the forecast
.

World oil demand is expected to climb to 112.2 million barrels per day in
2035, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its annual
international energy outlook. That would be up 27 percent from 88.20 million
bpd in 2011 and is an increase of 1.4 percent over last year’s EIA forecast.

WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – The head of the U.S.
offshore drilling regulator will remain at the U.S. Interior
Department after his division is split into two separate
agencies, the department said on Friday.

Michael Bromwich, who was brought in to lead the
department’s overhaul of offshore drilling oversight, will
temporarily lead the newly formed Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. offshore drilling regulator could issue sanctions as early as next week against BP and the major contractors involved in last year’s Gulf oil spill, an agency official said on Thursday.

Michael Bromwich, the head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, told reporters at a congressional hearing the agency was preparing official notices for violations uncovered by a government probe of the spill.

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – The United States heaped the lion’s share of blame for the country’s biggest ever offshore oil spill on BP on Wednesday as the government issued its final assessment of last year’s Gulf disaster.

In a report that may be pivotal in the multibillion-dollar legal battles to come and could set the stage for criminal charges, the Coast Guard and the offshore oil regulator said BP was solely to blame for 21 of 35 contributing causes to the

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – Poor management and critical mistakes by BP and its contractors led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, according to the final report of the largest U.S. government probe into last year’s massive Gulf oil spill.

Investigators from the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management scattered blame for the accident on the companies involved while also saying stronger regulations could have helped prevent the catastrophe.

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – The results of a pivotal
federal U.S. probe of last year’s massive BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) oil spill
could be released as early as Wednesday, according to a source
familiar with the matter.

The final report from U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management (BOEM) investigators has been heavily
anticipated by investors eager for clues on possible legal
ramifications BP and its partners may face from the drilling
disaster.