The Energy Department said Thursday it’s yanking or revising $83.6 billion in loans and conditional financing after conducting a lengthy review of the commitments made by the Biden administration.
The newly renamed Office of Energy Dominance Financing said the projects included made up more than 80 percent of the loan portfolio that had been approved by the Biden-era Loan Programs Office, which was expanded significantly under former President Joe Biden after largely laying dormant for years. That spending was a major driver in financing for clean energy projects under Biden, which finalized many of those deals in the months before President Donald Trump’s return to office.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has criticized the pace of funding under Biden, and has said he would reorient the office to help advance the projects that are a priority for the Trump administration, including financing for nuclear power.
Greg Beard, senior adviser to the office, wrote in an open letter posted on the department’s website Thursday that out of the $104 billion in Biden-era loan obligations, the office has completed or is in the process of de-obligating nearly $30 billion, and it has completed or is in the process of revising another $53.6 billion.
