President Obama will on Wednesday pay a visit to California-based Solyndra, a manufacturer of cylindrically shaped solar panels. A little over a year ago, the U.S. Department of Energy extended to the company a $535 million federal loan guarantee, funded via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Perhaps the President is checking in on operations to make sure all is running smoothly…

Photo Credit: PV Tech

According to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Obama will visit Solyndra’s Fremont, California solar-panel manufacturing plant to speak with workers about jobs and the economy. The President will take advantage of his time is California to attend a fund-raising event for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, meanwhile, is apparently off to China, where he’ll visit a thin-film manufacturing plant in Tianjin. The plant is a joint venture of United Solar Ovonic, a Michigan-based solar manufacturer.