The Dept. of Energy announced on Thursday that it is pulling the plug on $83.6 billion of Biden-era loans slated for clean energy projects. This is the latest action the Trump administration has taken to reprioritize federal support for fossil fuel sources.
Credit: NextEra Energy
Of the affected loans, $9.5 billion originally issued for solar and wind projects is being reinvested in natural gas and nuclear projects.
These loans were issued by the DOE’s Loan Programs Office under the Biden administration, which has been replaced by the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF). The Trump administration has rescinded $29.9 billion of the $83.6 billion issued to clean energy projects, and is working to “de-obligate” the remainder, according to a DOE press release.
“Over the past year, the energy department individually reviewed our entire loan portfolio to ensure the responsible investment of taxpayer dollars,” said Secretary Chris Wright. “We found more dollars were rushed out the door of the Loan Programs Office in the final months of the Biden administration than had been disbursed in over 15 years. President Trump promised to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America’s supply of affordable, reliable and secure energy. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut, the newly re-structured Energy Dominance Financing is playing a key role in fulfilling that mission.”
The EDF has allocated $289 billion for its new areas of priority in energy and infrastructure, which includes investing in fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, geothermal and nuclear power and critical mineral extraction. The Trump administration considers these power sources an answer to growing energy demand from AI data centers, while the Solar Energy Industries Association, U.S. solar’s largest lobbying group, has stated that solar energy is a faster answer to that demand.
Utility-scale solar energy deployment has consistently outpaced fossil fuel sources for more than the last two years. Solar PV, even without including rooftop installs, has overtaken wind as the largest source of renewable energy on the U.S. grid, according to a report published by the SUN DAY Campaign.
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