Policy and Regulation

With a second Trump presidency looming, Duke Energy puts DOE loan process on hold

The utility said it is “closely monitoring” potential alterations to DOE’s Loan Programs Office or changes to funding for IRA loan guarantee programs, which could impact the EIR Program.

With a second Trump presidency looming, Duke Energy puts DOE loan process on hold
(Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash)

Duke Energy has temporarily pulled out of its efforts to secure funding from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) $250 billion Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program, citing uncertainties that arose after Donald Trump’s re-election and a new Congress roster.

In a filing sent to the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) last week, Duke said it will pause “any further efforts or expenditures” until February, hoping to gain more clarity on the situation once the dust clears. The utility said it is “closely monitoring” the potential for changes to DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) or to funding for loan guarantee programs under the IRA, which could impact the EIR Program.

In 2023, Duke, the NCUC Public Staff, Walmart, and the Carolinas Clean Energy Buyers Association (CCEBA) entered into an agreement to further assess the cost and benefits of the EIR program. Under this agreement, the parties agreed to hire a consultant to refine the cost-benefit analysis of the EIR program to assess the potential to achieve ratepayer benefits, Duke said. A report stemming from the consultant’s work was meant to be filed with the NCUC by May 1, 2025.

However, the companies and NCUC Public Staff have not selected a consultant yet after sending multiple RFPs to several companies in October. Given Duke’s decision to halt the process, it notified the NCUC that it would likely not meet the May 1 deadline for the consultant’s report.

Through the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) category of the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program, LPO can finance projects that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations or enable operating energy infrastructure to avoid, reduce, utilize or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions.

The EIR project category can support a range of projects that utilize existing energy infrastructure, including: 

  • Upgrading or uprating energy infrastructure so it can restart or operate more efficiently, at higher output, or with lower emissions
  • Replacing retired energy infrastructure with clean energy infrastructure
  • Building new facilities for clean energy purposes that utilize legacy energy infrastructure

The U.S. energy sector as a whole is facing uncertainty after Trump’s re-election. On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump railed against clean energy policies enacted under the Biden-Harris administration, vowed to throttle offshore wind development “on day one” and end the “Green New Scam.”  It’s still unclear if Trump will attempt to dismantle the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which pumped billions into clean energy technologies like solar panel and electric vehicle manufacturing, investments that have largely benefited Republican-led communities.

Leading up to the election, Trump insisted the IRA was too expensive and promised to rescind all unspent funds allocated by the law- prompting the Biden administration to speed up to ensure it spends the majority of available grant funding left. Since parts of the IRA have not yet been fully implemented and it’s not clear which direction some of Trump’s incoming staff will be compelled to go in specific cases, its fate in totality remains murky.

Transmission advocates could potentially benefit from Trump’s desire to fast-track permitting for oil and gas pipelines, but that may not come in the form of the long-awaited energy permitting reform bill that passed the Senate in July. While a bipartisan effort, the bill has been stuck in the Republican-controlled House, and some large utilities are reportedly lobbying lawmakers to stop it.

Originally published in POWERGRID International.