Free Republic

Bay State start-up 1366 Technologies Inc. has steered clear of the dark clouds shrouding the nation’s solar industry. The Lexington company yesterday finalized a $150 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy — the same day FBI agents raided bankrupt Solyndra, a DOE-backed California solar panel maker that’s become a symbol of “green” government investment gone wrong. “There are a lot of taxpayer protections in here,” 1366 spokesman Craig Lund said. “If we deliver on certain milestones then we’ve got certainty of funding, and on the flip side I think the government has very strong conditions in there.”...