The Department of Energy said Tuesday that it had restored a $1.44 billion loan guarantee to a sustainable aviation fuel maker in Montana.
Money for expanding a renewable fuels refinery in Great Falls had been paused pending a review of Inflation Reduction Act spending by the Trump administration. But DOE said it had completed the review and restored funding for the Inflation Reduction Act project, which will turn vegetable oils, fats and grease into a low-carbon aviation fuel.
DOE’s loan program was heavily criticized by Republicans in the waning days of the Biden administration, when the department’s Loan Programs Office finalized 13 loans and loan guarantees totaling $46 billion.
Funding for those projects came into further question after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office calling for an “immediate pause” on climate and clean energy spending. Shortly thereafter, the company Calumet said a $782 million payment scheduled for Jan. 28 had been delayed.
