Biden, Dems enlisted by energy company to win billion-dollar loan deal, emails show

The vice president’s office contends that the loan not being approved until after the 2010 elections is proof that politics wasn’t involved.

“The fact remains that the Department of Energy made the loan guarantee based on its assessment of the project’s merits at the time, not on input from the White House or the office of the vice president,” Mr. Biden’s office told The Times.

The administration made similar arguments about the more than $500 million it awarded to the now-bankrupt solar company Solyndra LLC.

BrightSource — whose investors include Google Inc., BP Global, Chevron Corp. and Morgan Stanley — doesn’t dispute the fact that it touted the project to influence-peddlers and the most powerful in Washington. While admitting that it ramped up the pressure in early 2011, BrightSource says politics played no role and that Ivanpah was simply deemed a worthy candidate for federal dollars.