DOE's First Task For Loan Guarantees: Calming Industry Nerves

Public Policy Partner Taite McDonald was quoted in a Politico Pro article about the challenge of convincing companies to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy's $43 billion loan guarantee program. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has put the loan guarantee program at the forefront of her plans to decarbonize the grid. However, business executives say they are nervous about the high cost of applying for the loan guarantees and fear they could see their requests get stuck in limbo for years. Some said they have avoided the program in recent years amid skepticism that the Trump Administration would approve their applications. Ms. Granholm took an early step to soothe those fears earlier this month by naming clean energy entrepreneur Jigar Shah to lead the Loan Program Office (LPO).

"Yes, there has been hesitation on behalf of companies to apply to LPO," said Ms. McDonald, who has helped companies apply for the loan guarantees for years. "But when considering whether to apply to LPO, applicants should not look at its transactional history over the past nine years but should instead focus on the number of transactions completed from 2009-2012, the overall success of the portfolio, and the recent signals from the Administration, namely, Secretary Granholm’s public statements and the appointment of Jigar Shah."

READ: DOE's First Task For Loan Guarantees: Calming Industry Nerves (Subscription Required)