The US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) has been a key tool for US administrations in supporting emerging companies and sectors.

In 2010, the office supplied a critical loan to upstart electric vehicle maker Tesla to retool several of its factories and went on to repay the loan in full with interest. And Desert Sunlight, a 550-megawatt solar project in the Mojave desert, was issued a $1.5 billion loan that helped prove out the viability of solar projects in the US southwest.

New developments: With the change in administration, the DOE has begun canceling major loans guarantees that had been conditionally guaranteed under the Biden administration.

The Trump administration canceled a $2.9 billion loan to solar panel installer Sunnova Energy in late May and the company declared bankruptcy two weeks later.

What’s left?

There is $47 billion worth of outstanding loans for a range of power, transmission and clean energy projects.

The two largest conditional loans outstanding include for DTE Electric and DTA Gas Company, multi-billion loans to help finance significant generation and battery storage for Michigan, as well as gas infrastructure. 

Big picture: The new administration declared an energy emergency on its first day in the White House, driven in part by a need to produce and move more electricity in an effort to keep up with the AI arms race with China.

The two largest buckets of conditional loans outstanding are for renewable power generation and transmission, both which are needed to power future data centers.

The list: LPO Portfolio Projects