Key Takeaways
DOE’s Loan Office just announced almost $12 billion in loan agreements to friendly companies in a last-ditch effort to get some “green energy” programs underway.
Loans include $6.6 billion for Rivian luxury SUVs and trucks, almost $5 billion for a transmission line to wheel power from where wind and solar are located to demand centers and the grid, and a boutique solar and battery system to stand up a “virtual power plant.”
These projects are being promoted due to government programs forcing transportation electrification and massive subsidies and mandates upon intermittent renewables.
President Trump’s DOE Secretary-nominee, Chris Wright, has indicated that he is critical of subsidies for “clean” energy and expressed concerns over political appointees throwing taxpayer money on questionable projects as they will soon depart in January.
The Biden-Harris administration is spending taxpayer money at a rapid pace before President Biden’s last day and President-elect Trump takes over on January 20—money that most likely will be wasted like the money spent on many of the Biden-Harris administration’s other “green-energy” projects. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Program Office announced almost $12 billion worth of loan agreements for several projects including a transmission project to transport wind power generated in the Midwest; a solar and battery system to be deployed across 27 states; and a large electric vehicle factory to be built in Georgia.
Georgia EV Factory
The Georgia project is for a $6.6 billion direct loan to EV-maker Rivian to finance and build its Project Horizon plant near the city of Social Circle. Rivian, which makes very expensive electric SUVs and an electric pickup at a factory in Normal, Illinois, is a chief U.S. competitor to Tesla. Rivian is set to launch a midsize electric SUV in 2026, followed by a smaller electric vehicle after that. Chris Wright, Trump’s choice for Secretary of Energy, has voiced opposition to government subsidies for clean energy technologies. This stance could put Rivian’s loan agreement at risk, as it depends on meeting specific conditions before it can be finalized. President-elect Trump intends to roll back regulations that mandate electric vehicle sales and eliminate tax credits and other incentives for EVs through legislative changes. While not opposed to electric vehicles, he believes consumers should have the freedom to choose the vehicle that best meets their needs. Trump is also concerned about the struggling domestic auto industry, which is losing money and shedding jobs due to the push for electrification.
Transmission Line Project
The Grain Belt Express, a proposed 780-mile high-voltage superhighway for renewable energy, secured a $4.9 billion conditional loan guarantee. The project’s developer, Chicago-based Invenergy, sought the loan guarantee almost two years ago, touting it as critical for grid reliability and to help move zero-carbon electricity to consumers. The first phase of the power line project spans from southwestern Kansas to central Missouri. A second part would run to Indiana to deliver Kansas-generated wind and solar energy to the PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest regional power market. The Grain Belt Express project was first introduced more than a decade ago but has been stalled by political and legal challenges. Despite the financial backing from the Biden-Harris administration, these obstacles may still impede its advancement.
It is well known that President-elect Trump’s energy policy is for all energy both above and below the ground. It is also clear that the only reason the U.S. transmission grid needs more wires is to support weather-driven and intermittent solar and wind power, which would not be necessary if regulations were not against targeting coal and natural gas generators that are being prematurely retired in favor of subsidized and mandated renewable energy.
Solar and Battery Systems
DOE is providing a conditional loan guarantee to Sunwealth to help finance Project Polo, costing $290 million, which will help deploy up to 1,000 solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) in a virtual power plant across up to 27 states, primarily at commercial and industrial facilities. The systems will have an estimated aggregate capacity of 168 megawatts of solar PV and 16.8 megawatts of battery backup. Batteries don’t generate energy; rather, they store excess power when it’s available, to be used during times when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. This function is similar to that of coal and natural gas plants, which back up wind and solar power, with the advantage that their capital costs are largely already covered. However, battery systems come with significant drawbacks: they are costly, offer limited capacity, and require large amounts of land—much like wind and solar installations themselves.
Sunwealth is a Massachusetts-based commercial solar financier, and developer, serving commercial solar markets. The company partners with another Massachusetts company, SYSO Technologies, to provide its distributed energy management software platform, which will allow the project to function as a virtual power plant (VPP). VPPs are networks that aggregate small-scale, distributed energy resources, such as solar panels, electric vehicles, EV chargers, and demand response devices like water heaters, thermostats, and appliances. As electricity demand in the U.S. continues to rise, these niche systems, while helpful in addressing certain needs, are not enough to meet the growing demand—particularly given their dependence on intermittent energy sources that can be unreliable.
Conclusion
The Biden-Harris administration is doing all it can to make things more difficult for the incoming Trump administration by shelling out money to pet projects when it is clear that the Trump administration will change direction on these projects. The Biden-Harris administration is trying to slow the progress that the Trump transition team is making to get their projects and policies in place. DOE is funding almost $12 billion worth of unnecessary projects that could well be spent funding projects for which Trump got elected. These last-minute “green energy” projects make Solyndra’s half-billion-dollar default under the Obama-Biden administration look “cheap,” but with high inflation, Americans are not getting as much “failure” for their hard-earned tax dollars as they used to get. Chris Wright, Trump’s pick for Secretary of DOE, has already indicated that he is critical of subsidies for clean energy and, hopefully, he will use the funds for more nationally important projects.
