Biden Is Racing to Dole Out Clean Energy Cash Before Trump Cuts It Off
5th December 2024
The Biden administration is racing to disburse financing from the government’s biggest clean energy bank to get ahead of possible cuts once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
On Monday the US Department of Energy agreed to lend a project backed by automaker Stellantis up to $7.5 billion for two electric-vehicle battery factories in Indiana. The deal follows nearly $12 billion in other clean energy loans and guarantees announced in the last week, adding up to $41 billion in conditional commitments to about 20 projects the office is now racing to finalize before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Realistically, most of those deals won’t close before Trump takes office, creating a risk that the new administration could pause or rescind them. Current and former DOE staff told Semafor they worry that the Loan Programs Office (LPO), a bastion of outgoing President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, could be drastically scaled back under Trump. They fear the incoming president may decide to leave roughly $340 billion in remaining loan authority either untouched or directed to projects favored by the fossil fuel industry.