Although Silver was not responsible for bestowing the loan, having joined the department after the solar manufacturer receive it, his tenure did coincide with the company’s months-long death spiral. That fact made him a popular target for Republicans intent on using the failure too score points against President Barack Obama in advance of next’s year’s election.
In announcing the resignation, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Silver had told him he planned to resign months ago, citing the scheduled end of the 1705 loan program, which expired on 30 September.
The department backed roughly $16 billion worth of projects, most of them power generating facilities. In the last days of the loan program, the department awarded nearly $4.75 billion in loan guarantees.
“Since he joined the department in November 2009, Jonathan assembled and managed a truly outstanding team that has transformed the program into the world leader in financing innovative clean energy projects,” Chu said in a statement. “Under his leadership, the loan program has demonstrated considerable success, with a broad portfolio of investments that will help American companies compete in the global clean energy market.”
Chu also said his confidence in Silver remained unshaken and that he wanted him to stay.
Before heading the loan office, Silver was a managing director for Core Capital Partners, an early-stage investor in clean-energy technology and manufacturing. He is leaving the Energy Department to become a distinguished visiting fellow at Third Way, a Washington think tank.
Third way President Jonathan Cowen said Silver’s “deep experience in the most senior levels of government and the private sector, and his understanding of how each operates, will help us tackle one of the most vexing problems that faces our nation: How do we jumpstart a vibrant, innovative clean energy economy in the United States given the economic challenges before us?”
“There is a clean need for the US to engage in the emerging $2.3 trillion global clean energy market. I can think of few people better to help us think through how to do this than Jonathan,” Cowen said.
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