Brann says Shaw had no improper contacts with the White House.

The environmental groups say it appears that Georgia Power may have requested Davis-Bacon waivers for the reactor construction, according to emails and documents they requested. However, it wasn't clear from the redacted documents they reviewed whether the firm received such waivers. Georgia Power did not respond to queries from ENR about the waivers.

"If this loan got anywhere near the attention of Solyndra, we would be happy," said Doug Koplow, an author of the analysis and founder of the Earth Track blog.