HEADLINE: Trump’s Energy Department just discovered $93 Billion in green energy loans in the 3 months before Trump took office”, By Stu Turley

“The government is working to recover as much of this money as possible, but a significant amount has already been disbursed and cannot be recovered.”

Trump’s Energy Department just discovered $93 Billion in green energy loans in the 3 months before Trump took office.

What do you think needs to happen to the money? I want people in jail if the law was broken.

STU TURLEY

MAY 9

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This is an excellent interview on the Glenn Beck show with Secretary Chris Wright

• The Bush administration started a Loan Programs Office that provided $42 billion in loans over 14 years.

• In the 3 months between the 2024 election and the 2025 inauguration, the office committed an additional $93 billion in loans, which is concerning given the office's history of making questionable loans.

• The loans were made to companies with little capital and questionable business prospects, as well as large, well-funded companies that did not need government assistance.

• The government is working to recover as much of this money as possible, but a significant amount has already been disbursed and cannot be recovered.

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Details we could find on the money and programs that were shoveled out the door.

The Biden Administration, through the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), significantly expanded its lending authority under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, with a reported capacity to issue up to approximately $400 billion in loans and loan guarantees for clean energy and infrastructure projects. While the search results and available data do not indicate a single $100 billion loan package, they describe a cumulative total of over $107 billion in loans and loan guarantees announced across 53 projects by January 2025, alongside other grant programs that collectively pushed clean energy investments past the $100 billion mark. Below is a detailed breakdown of where these loans were directed, the companies or entities involved, and the nature of the projects, based on the provided information.

Overview of Biden-Era Energy Loans

• Total Loan Activity: The LPO under the Biden Administration announced 53 deals totaling approximately $107.57 billion in committed project investments. This includes:

  • $60.62 billion in 25 closed loans and loan guarantees.

  • $46.95 billion in 28 active conditional commitments (still subject to finalization).

• Additional Grant Programs: The administration also awarded over $100 billion in grants under the Inflation Reduction Act, including $20 billion for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and $7.3 billion for rural clean energy projects, but these are distinct from the LPO loans.

• Loan Authority Expansion: The Inflation Reduction Act increased the LPO’s lending authority by approximately $100 billion, bringing its total capacity to nearly $400 billion. As of October 2024, the LPO had 210 active applications totaling $303.5 billion, with nearly $400 billion in remaining loan authority.

Specific Companies and Projects Receiving Loans

The following is a list of notable companies and projects that received loans or loan guarantees from the LPO under the Biden Administration, as identified in the provided sources:

1. Plug Power:

   • Loan Amount: $1.7 billion (conditional commitment).

   • Purpose: To support hydrogen energy projects.

   • Location: Not specified in the sources, but Plug Power is based in New York.

   • Details: This loan has faced criticism from Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) due to prior financial ties between Plug Power and LPO Director Jigar Shah, who was involved with a $100 million loan to Plug Power in 2019 while at Generate Capital. The loan is considered at risk under the incoming Trump administration.

2. EVgo:

   • Loan Amount: $1 billion (conditional loan guarantee, announced October 2024).

   • Purpose: To expand electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

   • Location: Nationwide, with projects aimed at improving EV charging access.

   • Details: EVgo is working to finalize this deal before potential changes under the Trump administration, as it remains in the conditional phase.

3. KORE Power:

   • Loan Amount: $850 million (conditional commitment).

   • Purpose: To fund battery manufacturing facilities.

   • Location: Arizona.

   • Details: This loan is also considered vulnerable to cancellation under the Trump administration due to its conditional status.

4. Rivian Automotive Inc.:

   • Loan Amount: $6.6 billion (finalized loan, closed just before Biden’s term ended).

   • Purpose: To build an electric vehicle factory.

   • Location: Georgia.

   • Details: This is one of the largest single loans finalized, supporting EV manufacturing. Experts note that finalized loans like this one are harder to claw back, though the Trump administration is exploring legal options to cancel existing loans.

5. Ford:

   • Loan Amount: Not specified individually, but part of the $107 billion portfolio.

   • Purpose: To support electric vehicle factories.

   • Location: Likely in states like Ohio or Tennessee, where EV component factories were funded.

   • Details: Ford was among the recipients of loans for large-scale EV manufacturing projects.

6. Palisades Nuclear Power Plant:

   • Loan Amount: Not specified individually, but a significant portion of the portfolio.

   • Purpose: To restart a shuttered nuclear reactor.

   • Location: Michigan.

   • Details: This project is part of Biden’s push to revive nuclear energy as a low-carbon power source.

7. Viejas Microgrid (Viejas Band of the Kumeyaay Indians):

   • Loan Amount: $72.8 million (loan guarantee, closed).

   • Purpose: To deploy a solar-plus-storage microgrid with a 15-MW photovoltaic solar generation system and a 38-MWh long-duration energy storage system.

   • Location: Near Alpine, California.

   • Details: This was the first loan under the LPO’s Tribal Energy Financing Program, aimed at bolstering Tribal energy sovereignty.

8. Project Marahu:

   • Loan Amount: $861.3 million (loan).

   • Purpose: To finance the construction of two solar photovoltaic farms equipped with battery storage and two standalone battery energy storage systems.

   • Location: Puerto Rico.

   • Details: This project focuses on improving energy resilience and affordability in Puerto Rico.

9. Utility Companies (Multiple):

   • Loan Amount: Approximately $40 billion across 11 utilities, including $22.9 billion in loan guarantees announced in January 2025.

   • Purpose: To modernize power grids, add renewable energy (solar, wind, batteries), and improve grid reliability.

   • Specific Recipients:

     • DTE Electric and DTE Gas: Nearly $9 billion to install thousands of megawatts of solar, wind, and batteries and replace gas pipelines to reduce methane leaks.

     • Location: Michigan.

   • Details: These loans aim to help utilities serve over 14.7 million people across 12 states, upgrading transmission lines and tapping into wind, solar, and hydroelectric power.

10. Lithium Mining and EV Component Factories:

    • Loan Amount: Not specified individually, but part of the $107 billion portfolio.

    • Purpose: To fund lithium mining and factories producing electric vehicle components.

    • Locations: Nevada (lithium mining), Ohio, and Tennessee (EV component factories).

    • Details: These projects aim to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains for critical minerals and EV components.

11. Other Recipients (General Categories):

    • Residential Solar Installations: Loans supported projects like rooftop solar expansion in Puerto Rico.

    • Hydrogen Production: Additional projects beyond Plug Power, though specific companies were not named.

    • Mineral Production: Projects to process critical minerals like lithium and graphite.

    • Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Facilities to produce low-carbon aviation fuel.

Geographic Distribution

The loans and loan guarantees were distributed across multiple states, with a focus on both Democratic and Republican congressional districts to maximize economic and political impact:

• Key States Mentioned:

  • Michigan: Nuclear plant restart (Palisades), utility upgrades (DTE Electric and Gas).

  • Arizona: Battery manufacturing (KORE Power).

  • Georgia: EV factory (Rivian).

  • Puerto Rico: Solar farms and battery storage (Project Marahu), rooftop solar.

  • California: Tribal microgrid (Viejas).

  • Nevada: Lithium mining.

  • Ohio and Tennessee: EV component factories.

  • 12 States for Utility Upgrades: Including Michigan, with projects serving over 14.7 million people.

• Republican Districts: A POLITICO review noted that 12 pending loans and loan guarantees worth $21 billion are in Republican congressional districts, likely to create political leverage against cancellation.

Additional Context on Related Programs

While the query specifically asks about $100 billion in energy loans, it’s worth noting that the Biden Administration’s clean energy investments also include significant grant programs that may be conflated with loans:

• Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: $20 billion in grants to nonprofits and community lenders for clean energy and climate projects, focused on disadvantaged communities. Recipients included the Coalition for Green Capital, Climate United Fund, and others.

• Rural Clean Energy (New ERA and PACE Programs): $9.7 billion (New ERA) and $1 billion (PACE) for rural electric cooperatives and renewable energy developers, with projects in states like Wisconsin, Vermont, and Arizona.

• Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants: $2 billion in grants for EV manufacturing, separate from LPO loans.

• Battery Manufacturing Grants: $2.8 billion to 20 companies across 12 states for battery production, also separate from loans.

These grant programs, while not loans, contributed to the administration’s broader $1 trillion in clean energy and infrastructure investments, as reported by the White House.

Notes on Accuracy and Limitations

• Exact $100 Billion Figure: The query’s reference to “$100 billion energy loans” may reflect a misunderstanding or conflation of the LPO’s $107.57 billion in announced loans with the broader $100 billion in grants and loans reported under the Inflation Reduction Act. No single $100 billion loan package is explicitly detailed in the sources.

• Incomplete Company List: The sources provide specific examples (e.g., Plug Power, EVgo, Rivian) but do not list all 53 projects or their recipients. The LPO’s full dataset, as referenced by Canary Media, includes geographic and project details but is not fully reproduced here.

• Conditional vs. Finalized Loans: Approximately 44% ($46.95 billion) of the announced loans are conditional and thus vulnerable to cancellation by the incoming Trump administration, which is reviewing the LPO’s portfolio. Finalized loans, like Rivian’s, are legally harder to rescind.

• Critical Perspective: The rapid pace of loan approvals, especially post-election, has raised concerns about oversight and potential waste, with critics like Energy Secretary Chris Wright questioning the legitimacy of some deals. Conversely, the loans are credited with driving economic growth, job creation, and energy independence, though their long-term impact depends on project success and political continuity.

Sources

The information is compiled from the provided web results, primarily: -: POLITICO on Biden’s climate deals and LPO activities. -: POLITICO on the LPO’s $200 billion potential and Biden-era loans. -: New York Times on $22.9 billion in utility loan guarantees. -: E&E News on specific loans (Plug Power, EVgo, KORE Power). -: Canary Media on the full $107 billion LPO portfolio. -: DOE’s 2024 LPO Year in Review. -: New York Times on the LPO’s $400 billion lending program. -: Bloomberg on the Trump administration’s loan review.

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Transcript of the Glenn Beck Interview

Glen Beck, Host [00:00:00] Back here uh... Let's start really with the bush administration there was something called the loan programs office uh... That was started under george w bush uh... And uh... From what i have what i've seen this office from george W bush until twenty twenty uh... Had forty two billion dollars of loans uh... But in the three months between election day twenty twenty four and inauguration day twenty-five between commitment signed documents and uh... Additional commitments ninety three billion dollars of loans were made in a in a pretty accelerated rate and this in office that doesn't have doesn't happen you know really good uh... History of making solid loans Can you tell me what's happening?

Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy [00:00:52] Yeah, and Glenn, the time period actually, that 43 billion was from the creation of the office over 14 years ago and all the way up to election day 2024. So that was 42 billion 15 years up to the election day when Donald Trump gets reelected. So that's what he did in 15 years. And then Trump gets reelected. And in 76 days, almost two and a half times as much money is either lent out or committed to be lent out. So, clearly, that's not responsible underwriting, that is not, oh, we just discovered a bunch of great opportunities here for Americans. That's just shoveling $100 billion out the door between an election day and the next inauguration. For what?

Glen Beck, Host [00:01:37] For what's for what purpose i mean cuz these are names like so lindra uh... S uh... What is it's a nova energy rhyolite ridge lie cycle these are not these are no companies that did well in the long run what uh... What what why why did they shovel ninety-plus uh... Billion dollars out the door in three months

Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy [00:02:01] I think it kind of shows that the justification for all this stuff is in this desperate existential fight against climate change. But of course, it isn't really. It's about money and it's about power. And so this is funding to what they thought were desired interests or maybe aligned businesses. But if they were great loans and safe and reasonable to do, why didn't they do them in the two and a half years. From when the IRA and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act was passed, why did they wait till after election day, when they lost the election, to realize, oh, now we'll lend a bunch of money? And as you mentioned, there were sort of two categories. One was two companies with very little capital backing and successful business on their own right. A lot of that is probably going to be losses for the American taxpayers. That'll be on my watch, not on their watch, because they don't... The money just got shoved out the door right at the end. And the others were loans to large, you know, Stellantis, 100-year-old auto manufacturing companies. Or Rivian, a giant company, 16% owned by Amazon. That's got tons of money already. Why do they need low-cost government money? They've got a successful business idea. Why not access the capital market?

Glen Beck, Host [00:03:14] So can we get any of this money back?

Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy [00:03:17] We're working hard at that. Some of these are commitments, and if they're not legally in compliance with commitments, we can not close those deals. Unfortunately, a lot of them are closed, signed, legal things, and we will follow the rule of law. So I don't know the exact answer to how much is gone, and it's just irresponsible taxpayer funds that I can't do anything about. There definitely is a large amount, tens of billions of dollars, that we can do something about and we're on that every day and trying to grow that number of course.

BOTTOMLINE: “Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy [00:02:01] I think it kind of shows that the justification for all this stuff is in this desperate existential fight against climate change. But of course, it isn't really. It's about money and it's about power. And so this is funding to what they thought were desired interests or maybe aligned businesses. But if they were great loans and safe and reasonable to do, why didn't they do them in the two and a half years. From when the IRA and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act was passed, why did they wait till after election day, when they lost the election, to realize, oh, now we'll lend a bunch of money?”