Energy Department Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Commentary: Solar Company Benefiting from IRA Has Forced Labor Problem

August 25, 2024 Minnesota Sun Staff

Vice President Kamala Harris was “proud to cast the tie-breaking vote” for the Inflation Reduction Act. Would she be proud if her administration’s solar subsidies fund supported forced labor in China?

That may be the case with Hanwha Qcells, a South Korean solar company operating in Georgia. Bloomberg recently reported that two Chinese suppliers of the company obtained polysilicon for solar panel components from companies sanctioned by the U.S. government for employing forced Uyghur labor. Hanwha and their Qcells plant leadership deny these allegations, but Bloomberg reports “that the company offers assurances but no public details of its polysilicon sourcing.”

House Republicans Raise Alarm over China’s Potential Use of U.S. Funds in Military Research

April 4, 2024 Just the News

House Republicans are urging the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s nonpartisan watchdog, to investigate what safeguards the National Institutes of Health has in place to ensure China does not use research funds to bolster its military or unethically use humans in research studies.

“Recent reports have raised concerns about the NIH’s ability to screen for national security issues,” the Republicans, led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Wa., wrote in a letter Tuesday to Government Accountability Office Comptroller Gene Dodaro.

Congress’ $886 Billion Defense Spending Bill is $26 Billion More Than Last Year’s, as Debt Climbs to $33 Trillion

July 14, 2023 Just the News

The $886 billion defense spending bill that the GOP-led House is poised to vote on in the coming days is $26 billion more that the previous year, as the national debt climbs to $33 trillion. The bill has received bipartisan votes in both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

Biden Administration Inserts Racial, Gender Equity into Everything from Energy to Food

April 25, 2023 Just the News

When the Biden Energy Department recently unveiled $72 million in funding to help train the next generation of green energy workers it did more than just tout its latest solution for climate change. It argued a racially and gender diverse workforce was “crucial” to the project’s mission.

The Cabinet department tasked to “ensure America’s security and prosperity” through energy didn’t explain how a “diverse workforce” can mitigate or reverse Biden-era energy trends such as some of the highest gas prices in American history, some of the lowest oil reserve levels in nearly 40 years and “unprecedented” growth in utility bill debt.

Ex-Biden Energy Department Official Brinton Gets No Jail Time in Luggage Theft Plea Deal

April 15, 2023 Just the News

The former, top Biden Energy Department official caught stealing luggage from a Las Vegas airport has pleaded no contest in the case – resulting in the ex-official having to pay over $3,500 in restitution but not having to serve jail time.

Sam Brinton – who was until his resignation last year was among the highest-ranking, non-binary officials in the federal government – was sentenced Wednesday in a Nevada court.

Biden’s Genderfluid Nuclear Waste Official Charged Again with Stealing Someone’s Luggage

December 10, 2022December 9, 2022 Minnesota Sun Staff

An Energy Department (DOE) nuclear waste disposal official who was previously accused of stealing a woman’s luggage in Minneapolis has been charged with stealing another person’s luggage at an airport in Las Vegas, according to 8 News Now.

Sam Brinton, the deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition for the DOE’s nuclear office, is wanted on felony charges of grand larceny after allegedly stealing baggage from an individual at Harry Reid International Airport, 8 News Now reported Thursday. Brinton was hired in February as the first genderfluid person in federal leadership, and the grand larceny charge carries a value between $1,200 and $5,000.

Once a Stable and High-Paying Career, Workers at Nuclear Plants Now Fear for Their Jobs

December 30, 2018December 29, 2018 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins Nuclear plant engineers are highly trained professionals with high-paying salaries, but the beleaguered nuclear industry is putting their jobs at risk all across the country. The country’s nuclear fleet is suffering under a grim market. Competing against cheap natural gas and subsidy-backed renewables, many nuclear facilities…