Environmental Finance: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has kick started its loan guarantee programme for renewable energy projects and provided a welcome boost to the solar industry, which is facing weak first-quarter sales. Energy Secretary Steven Chu offered the first loan guarantee, valued at $535 million, to Fremont, California-based Solyndra, which designs and manufactures solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The guarantee covers a loan which would provide debt financing for about 73% of the project …