On the recordDecember 2, 2015
This amendment would establish a DOE loan program to support distributed generation. While I support some of the goals in this amendment--distributed generation, microgrids, combined heat and power--I cannot support a new loan guarantee program given the failures this administration has had in issuing loans. I remember one called Solyndra a long time ago. In any event, this amendment is too broad. Locally grown energy may make some sense in some circumstances but not in others. There are often economic reasons to use nonlocal energy sources and to use them on a larger scale than distributed generation. Moreover, this provision is duplicative of other DOE programs as well as tax incentives and State programs that encourage the use of distributed renewable energy. Circumstances do vary across regions, so States should decide whether and how to encourage distributed generation. The Federal Government shouldn't be picking winners and losers. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' I yield back the balance of my time.
