The U.S. Department of Energy has moved to release commitments or revise billions in funding for clean energy projects while prioritizing natural gas and nuclear power.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it will restructure or cancel $83.6 billion in loans and contingent liabilities, shifting its focus from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind in favor of baseload energy such as gas and nuclear.
In conjunction with this action, the DOE renamed the lending organization the Loans Programs Office Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF).
The action follows a review of the Biden administration’s $104 billion in key borrowing commitments, “including approximately $85 billion that went out in the final months after Election Day,” according to a DOE news release.
The ministry stated that nearly $30 billion has been or is being lifted, while another $53.6 billion is under review.
According to the ministry, approximately $9.5 billion in subsidies for wind and solar projects have been eliminated. These funds are diverted to basic energy sources, including natural gas, nuclear power and coal-fired power plants. The agency said the changes are intended to prioritize electricity grid reliability and reduce electricity costs for consumers.
The department has $289 billion in available lending authorities. Six sectors were identified that it will finance, specifically excluding renewable energy and battery energy storage.
The EDF will oversee the allocation of resources to a wide range of energy and industrial sectors. These include nuclear energy, fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gas and other hydrocarbons, as well as critical materials and minerals essential for technological development.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the agency will now focus on supporting the private sector through energy projects that provide consistent power rather than intermittent generation.
Recent analyzes show that the costs of storing solar energy and battery energy have fallen sufficiently everywhere cost-competitive “anytime electricity” is available 24 hours a day.
The ministry has already started securing loans under the new priorities, including a deal to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. A coal-fired fertilizer plant in Indiana also received support.
Meanwhile, many solar and storage developers who had received conditional commitments under the previous administration must now navigate a revised landscape in which federal support is no longer guaranteed for renewable technologies.
The department noted that $85 billion of the original portfolio was completed in the final months of the Biden administration, a timeline described as “rushed” by current leadership.
This move marks a departure from federal support for the energy transition as previously defined, focusing instead on traditional energy production and nuclear expansion.
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