Biden’s final shot: Over $27 billion for a green future

Joe Biden spent his final days in office as U.S. president, among other things, approving funding for clean technologies, Bloomberg reported. This capped the legacy of an administration that achieved unprecedented climate successes by American standards, but is unlikely to find much support in the new administration. It is no secret that his successor, Donald Trump, will focus more on mineral wealth.

At the last minute, the Biden administration managed to approve at least $27.6 billion in funding. This was done through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), which could face closure or be restructured to support fossil fuels and other energy sources favored by Republicans after Trump takes office.

“The pace of announcements is unprecedented,” said Kennedy Nickerson, who previously worked at the Loan Programs Office. “It really shows the uncertainty surrounding how the Trump administration will run the program.” Nickerson had previously noted that such a development was possible, but would require “a perfectly functioning, highly bureaucratic process.”

The biggest “last-minute” support went to California-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which was promised a loan guarantee of $15 billion. The money is to be used to develop projects aimed at increasing hydropower generation, expanding battery storage, modernizing the transmission grid and deploying technologies that enable virtual power plants to operate across the region served by the company.

Other major deals closed by the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office over the past month include a $6.6 billion loan to Rivian Automotive Inc., a nearly $1.7 billion loan guarantee to hydrogen producer Plug Power Inc. and a $1.67 billion loan to biofuel producer Calumet Inc. Another $1 billion loan went to Ioneer Ltd, which operates the Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada.

During Joe Biden’s time in office, the LPO became a key tool in the fight against climate change and in supporting clean-technology innovation. Boosted funding through the Inflation Reduction Act turned the LPO into a “green bank” with the capacity to invest up to $400 billion in clean energy projects. Over four years, the office approved more than $60 billion in financing for 25 key projects that are crucial to the future of sustainable energy in the U.S.

Joe Biden has fired his “last shot” in this way, one that Donald Trump will have to tolerate, whether he likes it or not. Once a loan is committed, it becomes a binding contract with the government that must be honored and cannot simply be reversed without legal complications. It is a powerful move for a green future, and one with which Joe Biden has closed his chapter in the White House.