A new report proposes using the U.S. Department of Energy's existing loan programs to achieve part of the Trump administration's recently released infrastructure plan, even as the White House has called to terminate one of those programs.
Existing DOE loan programs have $39 billion in available loan and loan guarantee authority that could help finance innovative energy projects "without the need for any new appropriations" from Congress, asserted a report released March 1 by the Energy Futures Initiative, a not-for-profit group formed by former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
The study projected that $39 billion could leverage up to $100 billion of investment in innovative approaches to modernizing energy infrastructure and support the "transformative projects program" the Trump administration included in its infrastructure plan released Feb. 12. The transformative projects program, or TPP, would provide $20 billion for projects that significantly improve the performance and cost of infrastructure, including in the energy sector.
"Pairing the objectives of the TPP with the existing authorities of the [DOE loan program office] could significantly reduce the costs of the TPP," the report said.
The DOE's loan program office issues loan guarantees in several ways, including through the agency's Title 17 program to support innovative energy technologies. The Trump administration proposed eliminating the Title 17 program in both its fiscal year 2018 and 2019 budget requests, but Congress has so far not authorized shutting down the program.
The Energy Futures Initiative noted that the DOE's loan program office has helped drive commercial-scale deployment of first-of-a-kind energy technologies, including the first nuclear plant built in the U.S. in more than 30 years, one of the world's largest wind energy projects, and initial deployment of utility-scale solar photovoltaic generation.
The group also highlighted that the DOE loan office portfolio has a low default rate of just over 2% and a "record of accelerated repayments."
"This success rate translates into new businesses, good jobs, and a more competitive economy," said Melanie Kenderdine, former director of the DOE's Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis and a contributor to the March 1 report.
The study listed some of the projects that could qualify for current solicitations from the Title 17 loan guarantee program. Eligible projects include advanced grid integration and storage systems, waste-to-energy systems, carbon capture projects from fossil fuel-fired facilities, advanced nuclear and small modular reactors, and manufacturing of fuel-efficient light-duty vehicles.
