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

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

Trump’s Energy Dept. just discovered Biden rushed out $93 BILLION in green energy loans in the 3 months before Trump. @SecretaryWright tells me he’s “working hard” to get it back: “There definitely is a large amount, tens of billions of dollars, that we CAN do something about.” pic.twitter.com/BTxrLiRzmK

— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) May 8, 2025

• 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.

Here is a detailed list of the information we can find on the corruption of energy loans. Go to Energy News Beat Substack for the transcript. 

• 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.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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