A Republican lawmaker is asking whether political influence helped Solyndra nearly win a $400,000 contract with the Navy just before the company filed for bankruptcy.

"I am concerned by what seems to be an effort to invest in alternative energy technologies based on political expediency rather than rational cost-benefit analysis, demonstrated return on investment or financial viability," Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), chairman of a House Armed Services subcommittee, wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in a letter dated Oct. 26.

SPECIAL REPORT

Solyndra, a solar manufacturer that was given a $535 million loan guarantee and touted by the White House as a model for the clean energy economy, has filed for bankruptcy. E&E examines how it got there and what it means. Click here to read the report.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Navy picked Solyndra as one of a handful of companies to participate in a $1 million pilot program but ended the deal when the company's financial problems came to light -- one day before it filed for bankruptcy.

The failed solar panel maker was promoted to the military by Kevin Kopczynski, a principal with venture capital firm RockPort Capital Partners, which had a $47.5 million investment in Solyndra, according to the Journal. Kopczynski has a seat on a Pentagon board that taps venture capitalists for ways of bringing innovative commercial products to the department.

Akin's letter comes as congressional lawmakers probe whether White House influence helped Solyndra win a DOE loan guarantee worth more than half-a-billion dollars.

In his letter to Panetta, Akins asked whether political appointees "had any influence" in the contracts and whether there was any contact between the White House or the Department of Energy and the Pentagon decisionmakers.

Akin spokesman Steve Taylor said that the congressman, who chairs the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, was prepared to hold a hearing on the topic and subpoena information "if sufficient answers are not provided."

Click here to read Akin's letter.