Biden administration races to approve clean energy credits before Trump takes office – here’s who benefits

The Department of Energy (DOE) is in the process of approving the loan ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, and the winners are all the companies that produce clean energy solutions on US soil.

Companies like Stellantis and Samsung, Rivian and most recently EVgo.

Trump promised cancel it Unspent federal dollars under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, a bipartisan climate law that allocated billions to build a domestic supply chain for clean energy. The IRA also spurred an increase in private investment. In particular, car manufacturers and battery manufacturers have invested or promised to invest together 112 billion dollars in the construction of local cell and module production plants for electric vehicles. Those factories have greatly benefited Republican-led communities.

The new loans come from two DOE loan programs—the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program and the 17 Clean Energy Financing Programs, which the IRA has respectively revived and expanded.

The ATVM program, largely dormant during the first Trump administration, once provided Tesla with a much-needed $465 million loan in 2009, helping save the EV maker from several near-death experiences. It has declined under the Trump administration.

A joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution will first a $2.5 billion in loans Under Biden’s 2022 ATVM program.

A condition of these loans is that borrowers “engage meaningfully with community and labor stakeholders to create good-paying jobs and improve the well-being of local communities and workers.”

In the past few weeks, DOE has approved or conditionally approved five loans totaling approximately $15.95 billion. We’re tracking where the Biden administration’s DOE loan money is going. Here are some of the most recent buyers.

EVgo

On December 13, the DOE a $1.25 billion loan guarantee ($1.05 billion in principal and $193 million in capitalized interest) to EVgo, an electric vehicle charging startup. The funds will be used to help pay for 7,500 public chargers at 1,100 charging stations across the United States over the next five years. The first deployments will include 350 kW DC fast charging equipment capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously, and the chargers will be equipped with CCS and NACS ports.

Eos Energy Enterprises

On December 3 DOE closed a $303.5 million loan A guarantee to Eos Energy Enterprises ($277.5 million in principal and $26 million in capitalized interest) to finance the construction of two production lines that promise to produce enough stationary batteries per year to power the electricity needs of 130,000 homes.

The project is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs.

Stellantis and Samsung (StarPlus Energy)

On December 2, the DOE approved a contingent commitment for a loan of up to $7.54 billion ($6.85 billion in principal, $688 in interest). StarPlus Energythe joint venture created by car manufacturer Stellantis and South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI. If finalized, the loan would fund two lithium-ion battery cell and module factories under construction in Kokomo, Indiana.

The project is expected to create about 3,200 construction and 2,800 operational jobs in factories. At peak production, the factories are expected to produce 67 GWh of battery capacity, enough to power 670,000 cars a year.

Solar wealth

Clean energy investment firm Sunwealth scored one on Nov. 25 loan guarantee Up to $289.7 million for Project Polo. If finalized, the loan would finance the deployment of up to 1,000 solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems at commercial and industrial facilities in 27 states.

The Polo project is expected to create 3,700 jobs, including 1,900 solar and storage installation jobs and 1,700 operations and maintenance jobs.

Rivian

Rivian on November 25 a contingent liability For a $6.6 billion loan to help restart construction of a giant power plant in Georgia. Rivian expects to begin operations at the factory in 2028 and employ 7,500 people by 2030.