Energy Secretary Chu Visits GE Plant In Colorado
ARVADA, Colo. (AP) -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu is in Colorado, a day after hostile questioning by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee over a federal loan to a failing solar-panel manufacturer.
Chu is visiting with leaders of General Electric on Friday and touring the company's solar manufacturing facility in Arvada.
His visit comes a day after he defended a half-billion-dollar federal loan guarantee in 2009 to Solyndra Inc. of Fremont, Calif. The company later went bankrupt and laid off its 1,100 workers.
Chu told the House committee Thursday that unexpected market changes, including cheap imports from China and the collapse in the European market for solar panels, led prices for Solyndra's product to fall.
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