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The article discusses challenges to be faced by U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu as House Republicans try to investigate his role on the department's loan guarantee to the bankrupt solar-panel company Solyndra. Chu will testify before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee which is investigating whether the federal government interceded on behalf of Solyndra investors. Several people are calling for the resignation of Chu.

The article discusses the campaign of U.S. Republicans to reshape the national energy policy. Newly elected Republicans are searching for energy programs that will create more jobs with less deficit. President Barack Obama and incoming House Speaker John A. Boehner state that policies regarding energy might need compromising. Boehner and President Obama supported the domestic use of natural gas and nuclear power.

The article reports that congressional Republicans have criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's provision of a loan to solar firm Solyndra Inc. due to bankruptcy. The author mentions that Republicans' rejection of the loan contradicted the bipartisan initiative to accelerate the review of funding applications under the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Republicans believed that Solyndra's case illustrates Obama's strategy to address the country's economic woes by overselling energy technologies.

The article discusses the controversy involving land-use policies of the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. It states that Republicans in the western states do not agree with the restrictions being placed on oil and gas developments and farming on federal lands. It discusses that the protest of the Republicans started when the Interior Department blocked an oil drilling project in Utah and was once again sparked by a report indicating a recommendation to create national monuments in nine western states.

The article discusses the uncertainty in the approval of the climate change legislation by the U.S. Congress in 2010. The author states that the success is likely to depend on whether Democrats can persuade enough Republican legislators to sign on to a compromise regulation. It is argued that before the House approved the legislation, questions arose about the complications of cap-and-trade as well as the free pollution credits for industry groups.

The article discusses the still unclear stand of the major environmental groups in the U.S. on the proposal of President Barack Obama to revitalize the country's nuclear power industry. Historically, the environmental groups rejected nuclear power due to reasons of safety. The opinion of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Alden Meyer on the issue is also cited. It also claims that the plan is part of the Obama administration's campaign to get the support of the Republicans on the climate-change legislation.