ENER1, INC. MANUFACTURES ELECTRIC-CAR BATTERIES, BENEFICIARY OF ADMINISTRATION’S ENERGY GRANT PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, JAN. 27, 2012 – “Instead of producing thousands of ‘clean energy’ jobs, the Administration’s loan guarantee and grant programs are yielding another bankruptcy and the squandering of taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.  “This is another reason why the White House should not be picking winners and losers among American manufacturers.”

Ener1, Inc., a manufacturer of electric-car batteries, filed for bankruptcy protection on January 26, 2012.   The company received a grant of $118 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, but was unable to compete in the global market.

“Only two days after President Obama highlighted federal investments in high-tech batteries in his State of the Union address, Ener1 joined Solyndra, Beacon Power, Evergreen Solar, SpecrtaWatt, and AES in bankruptcy – all recipients of taxpayer dollars.  We have a national debt exceeding $15 trillion, and the Administration is borrowing money from China to waste on subsidies for companies that are not viable.  It is interesting that Ener1 made the filing after the President touted subsidies for batteries given that the Administration asked Solyndra to hold off the announcement of job losses until after the 2010 elections.”

Exactly one year before Ener1 filed for bankruptcy, Vice President visited the company’s headquarter in Indiana and boasted*, “We’re not just creating new jobs – but sparking whole new industries that will ensure our competitiveness for decades to come – industries like electric vehicle manufacturing.”  Concluded Stearns, “As with his comments touting Solyndra, Biden’s remarks on Ener1 show how wrong the Obama Administration has been with these loan guarantees and grants.”