Thomas Catenacci writes for the Washington Free Beacon about a major change in American energy policy.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright hinted that he would soon take action canceling billions of dollars’ worth of Biden-era green energy loans that he said do not promote American energy security and are too risky for taxpayers.
In an exclusive interview with the Washington Free Beacon, Wright took aim at how the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office dished out billions of dollars in loans during the final months of the Biden administration. While Wright stopped short of naming particular projects he may cancel loans for, he said the Trump administration would only look to support projects that directly benefit Americans and are not entirely dependent on taxpayer money.
When asked how he will approach pending loans, Wright emphasized that the Department of Energy’s core mission is “affordable, reliable, secure energy.”
“So, if you’ve got a project that relates to those things, if you’ve got equity capital and math that shows your project is going to work, and you’re putting your own money in front of it, we can come behind you and provide a little debt capital that can make that happen faster,” Wright said. “Those are the kind of deals we’ll do.”
“We’re not going to lend billions of dollars to companies with no money in the technology—who knows if it’s gonna work? And even if it did work, it wouldn’t add a lot of energy to the United States,” he told the Free Beacon. “When we lend, our focus is the American people. If this loan is going to make life for the American people better, then we’re in favor of it. If this loan is going give some businessman a chance at a holy grail, we’re not going to lend in that case.”
Wright’s comments—which come as his agency continues a broad review of the Loan Programs Office’s activities—reflect many of the same concerns expressed by critics who say the Biden administration weaponized its lending authority to fund risky green energy projects like solar panel assembly plants, electric vehicle battery manufacturing, and hydrogen power facilities.
