The first signs that Solyndra may not have been a wise investment came in 2008, yet the Obama administration continued to invest in the solar company that declared bankruptcy two weeks ago.

In 2008, two outside rating agencies gave the company less than favorable scores: a "B+" and a "fair."

"The general perception was that that company was not going to stay in business for a long time," said M.J. Shiao, an analyst in solar markets for GTM Research. "They were both a technology risk in that this was a new technology, and they were a finance risk as well."

Seven months later, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Solyndra its first loan guarantee for $535 million. The money, announced ahead of schedule, would allow the company to increase production of its solar panels -- using a more expensive technology than most other solar manufacturers -- and build a new plant.

But the government handed out the loan before final marketing and legal reviews were completed. The department says the government received everything before the loan was closed in September 2009.

The company planned to go public, but then in March 2010, the company's own auditors questioned Solyndra's viability.

"The Company has suffered recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows since inception and has a net stockholders' deficit that, among other factors, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP wrote.

Two months later, Obama visited the company's new plant in Fremont, Calif. George Kaiser, an Oklahoma oil billionaire who gave $50,000 to Obama's 2008 campaign, owned 39 percent of Solyndra's parent company. Solyndra said politics were not involved.

A month after the visit, Solyndra canceled its initial public offering, but even then, the government continued to support the company. DOE refinanced its loan and delayed the payback date. The executive director of DOE's Loan Programs Office said the company faced merely a bump in the road.

"I have never seen a company go straight up without a bump along the way," Jonathan Silver said in May. "I have no doubt they will continue to hire more people."

As late as July, Solyndra's CEO touted his company in front of Congress.

The FBI is now investigating whether Solyndra misled the federal government. Representatives from the company and from DOE will be in front of a congressional hearing tomorrow (Ronnie Greene, iWatch News, Sept. 13). -- AP