Secretary Chu to Testify on Solyndra November 17

Fox News has confirmed that Energy Secretary Chu will testify before the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee on November 17 regarding the federal loan for the failed solar company Solyndra.

"Secretary Chu looks forward to the opportunity to appear before the committee and highlight the steps we are taking to ensure American workers and innovators can compete in the global clean energy market. We have offered a number of dates in November. Committee staff indicated that November 17 will work, and the Secretary will be there," said Damien La Vera, a Department of Energy Spokesman.

The Obama administration has come under fire for a loan guarantee they gave to the California company. E-mails released showed the administration was possibly too eager to get the loan approved that ahead of Vice President visiting the company. President Obama also eventually also visited Solyndra, saying they were a good example of innovation in new energy technology.

The company received a $535 million loan guarantee in 2009, filed for bankruptcy this year and was raided by the FBI in September. It's under investigation whether the Energy department violated the law in trying to restructure its loan, which would have repaid investors before taxpayers, if Solyndra was unable to make payments.

The Energy Department says they have consistently cooperated with the investigation, providing more than 65,000 documents and making officials available for briefings.

Chu's testimony, as first reported by Politico, will be a key moment in the scandal that has lingered over the Obama administration for months.

Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns, R-Fla. said he hopes the hearing will move the case forward.

"We hope he will finally provide answers about why DOE consciously ignored the direct warnings from their own experts that Solyndra was doomed to fail, and granted the loan to Solyndra. We are also interested in why Secretary Chu and the Energy Department, at a time when Solyndra was fresh out of cash, still went ahead and restructured Solyndra's loan in violation of the plain letter of the laws," Stearns said.

Fox News' Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.