Fox News by Thomas Catenacci 12/8/2023
Republican leaders in the House and Senate are probing the Department of Energy (DOE) over its recent $3 billion award to a solar energy company that has been accused of scamming vulnerable customers.
In a letter to DOE Loan Programs Office Director Jigar Shah, the Republicans — House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Ranking Member John Barrasso, R-Wyo. — expressed concern about rewarding the Houston-based Sunnova Energy Corporation. They cited reports highlighting how Sunnova has previously scammed and misled consumers.
"We are alarmed about recent, credible reports that Sunnova has racked up numerous consumer complaints, including those alleging troubling sales practices, such as Sunnova pressing elderly homeowners in poor health to sign long-term contracts costing tens of thousands of dollars," they wrote to Shah.
"These reports cite interviews with individuals who struggled to deal with large contracts that their elderly parents signed shortly before passing away as well as state consumer complaints alleging maintenance delays and predatory sales strategies," the letter continued.
In late September, the DOE Loan Programs Office announced that it had closed on a $3 billion partial loan guarantee to Sunnova's Project Hestia which will provide solar and battery storage to low-income individuals, as part of President Biden's sweeping green energy agenda. The agreement marked the federal government's largest commitment ever made to solar power.
The announcement stated that the project will provide loans for clean energy systems for approximately 75,000 to 115,000 homeowners throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
More:
https://news.yahoo.com/biden-admin-facing-congressional-probe-152604675.html
