U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Update

Source: U.S. Department of Energy Loan Program Update, February 2020.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)

U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO) Senior Investment Officer Khalid Abedin spoke at the opening event for the U.S. Energy Association’s CCUS Road Show on January 28, 2020, in Washington, DC. LPO staff will be participating at future events in New Orleans (March 17) and Houston (April 21). LPO will also be presenting at the 9th Annual DC Forum on CCS, hosted by the Global CCS Institute on March 3 in Washington, DC.

Tribal Energy Projects

LPO recently issued a supplement to its Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program (TELGP) solicitation to clarify eligibility for Tribal Energy Development Organizations, which LPO considers as joint ventures that are majority owned and controlled by tribes that are eligible for TELGP.

LPO is continuing its outreach to native communities throughout 2020. LPO will be exhibiting at the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas from March 1-5. Meet with LPO staff at our booth (#205) or schedule a private meeting to discuss your project by emailing TELGP@hq.doe.gov. Additionally, LPO Senior Advisor John Lushetsky spoke at the Arizona Tribal Energy Association Annual Meeting on February 20 in Phoenix and will speak at the United South and Eastern Tribes Impact Week on March 17 in Washington, DC.

Auto Manufacturing

LPO remains actively engaged in the transportation and mobility space. Staff attended the Los Angeles Auto Show and Washington Auto Show, and are planning to attend the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in June. LPO Senior Advisor Aaron Trent will be presenting at the 33rd Annual Electric Vehicle Symposium in Portland, OR, from June 14-17. To schedule a meeting at one of these events, email ATVM@hq.doe.gov.

Advanced Nuclear Energy

In March 2019, LPO closed on an additional $3.7 billion in loan guarantees for the only new nuclear construction underway in the country, at Plant Vogtle in GA. Looking toward the future, LPO remains actively engaged with the U.S. nuclear industry and recently made an additional $2.1 billion available for nuclear generation projects. Overall, LPO has nearly $10.9 billion available for advanced nuclear projects.

LPO continues to monitor the nuclear technologies of the future and staff attended the Advanced Reactors Summit VII in Knoxville, TN from February 11-12. LPO staff is planning to attend the International SMR and Advanced Reactor Summit in Atlanta, GA from April 8-9, and NEI Nuclear Energy Assembly in Washington, DC from May 20-22. If interested in meeting to discuss how LPO can finance the construction of commercial-scale nuclear energy projects, email LPO@hq.doe.gov.

Continuous Improvements to the Applicant Experience

Over the past two years, LPO has focused on engaging potential borrowers in pre-application consultations aimed at improving their experience with the formal application process. Potential borrowers are encouraged to reach out to LPO about their projects by emailing LPO@hq.doe.gov.

As a courtesy to potential applicants, LPO has compiled amended and restated solicitations that reflect the various supplements LPO has issued over the past several years and makes them accessible in single documents:

Finally, LPO added new solicitation deadlines so that Part I and Part II application deadlines for Title 17 and TELGP now occur on a monthly basis.

Proactive Portfolio Monitoring

LPO continues to proactively monitor its portfolio of projects, which continues to perform. As of the end of Fiscal Year 2019, nearly $10 billion in principal had been repaid and losses as a percentage of total disbursements remained below three percent.

In December 2019, Genesis–one of the largest concentrating solar power projects in the world–paid the balance of its loan early and thus exited the portfolio.