Doubts raised over US Department of Energy CRO proposal

An independent consultant hired by the White House to assess the US Department of Energy’s loan programmes in the wake of the Solyndra bankruptcy has advised the agency to hire a corporate-style chief risk officer and beef up its risk-management practices. Experts surveyed by Energy Risk applauded the idea, but raised questions about how it might work in practice

Last year's bankruptcy of solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra became a black eye for the administration of US President Barack Obama, which had loaned the company close to half a billion dollars as part of its effort to promote "green jobs" and independence from fossil fuels. Earlier this month, the White House released a report from an independent consultant advising the US Department of Energy (DOE), which had issued the ill-fated loan, to hire a "highly experienced" chief risk officer (CRO) to