John Hill, the founding chairman of Abound Solar Inc., blames election-year politics on his company’s bankruptcy.

“This was the most noble mission of my entire life,” Hill told MarketWatch’s Al Lewis. “We literally could have changed world energy markets with this technology.”

The U.S. Department of Energy withdrew its $400 million loan guarantee when Abound Solar was mislabeled as “another Solyndra,” Hill contends.

Hill’s claim stands in contrast to Abound Solar’s testimony during a congressional hearing that it failed because of Chinese government support of its own manufacturers, who were, in turn, able to inundate the market with cheaper solar panels.

Abound Solar had drawn down $70 million of the DOE’s loan guarantee. The agency halted disbursements on the loan in September after the company failed to meet some financial milestones built into the loan agreement.

Hill contends it had nothing to do with milestones. The conditions were so numerous, he said, that they were impossible to meet; they existed as an “out clause” and typically waived – until Solyndra nosedived.

“After