Leah Clark
As a Managing Director at McAllister & Quinn, Leah Clark helps industry clients secure government funding to achieve their technical and business goals. She serves as a strategic guide and project manager, navigating clients through complex policy environments in AI, energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing spaces. She holds a Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.) in Nuclear Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from the University of Michigan
DOE Energy Financing Overview: Grants, Loans and Shifting Federal Priorities
The Department of Energy (DOE) has been a center for energy advancements since its creation in 1977. Over the years, the department has provided numerous federal funding opportunities across several key offices and loans through the Loan Programs Office (now known as the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF)). To date, these federal grant opportunities have appealed to a wide range of energy industries including battery technology, solar, wind, grid deployment, nuclear, and efforts to support the critical mineral industry.
Under the Trump Administration, the DOE has prioritized federal funding across the nuclear, coal, geothermal, transportation, and critical mineral industries, in part to support growing power demands from artificial intelligence data centers. This reprioritization has changed the way the DOE operates and how it funds projects, including its recent restructuring of the department to focus on new offices that align with these priorities.
Shifting Priorities for DOE Under the Trump Administration
Under the Biden Administration, the office focused on investments that supported job creation and pollution prevention in the clean energy space, committing more than $107 billion in conditional commitments, loans, and loan guarantees.
DOE Rebrands Loan Programs
However, the loan and loan guarantee funding priorities have since shifted following the passing of H.R.1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) and the Energy Dominance Financing Amendments. The DOE Loan Programs Office was rebranded as the Office of Energy Dominance Financing, focusing on the new energy and financing priorities of the Trump administration under the direction of the recently announced Director of EDF, Greg Beard.
The Energy Dominance Financing Program plans to support a wide range of projects, including:
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Upgrading or uprating energy infrastructure so it can restart or operate at higher output
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Replacing retired energy infrastructure with new energy infrastructure to increase power available to the grid
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Building new dispatchable or baseload power generation facilities
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Maintaining, enhancing, or replacing electric grid and transmission infrastructure
Priority Sectors Include:
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Nuclear
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Coal, oil, gas, and hydrocarbons
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Critical materials and minerals
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Maintaining, enhancing, or replacing electric grid and transmission infrastructure
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Grid and transmission
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Manufacturing and transportation
DOE Restructuring Plans for $80B in Loans as EDF Expands Nuclear and Energy Financing
The DOE announced plans to cancel or restructure more than $80 billion in loans and conditional financings made during the Biden era, with projects including the Grain Belt Express Project and a $1.8 billion conditional loan to Arizona Public Service for renewable power projects. Currently, $30 billion is in the process of de-obligation, including $9.5 billion in wind and solar projects that have since been replaced with natural gas and nuclear investments.
Looking Ahead: The Future of EDF Federal Funding
Though the office has significantly shifted its priorities, the EDF has no plans to stop funding altogether. EDF currently has $289 billion in loan authority as a result of the H.R.1, and through the recently approved spending plan that provides the DOE with $49 billion, the EDF will receive an additional $150 million to support financing small modular reactors and advanced nuclear reactors.
Discover How We Can Help
To assist with your applications, McAllister and Quinn’s team of experts are ready and well-versed in supporting proposals to offices across the Department of Energy. If you have questions about the process of applying for a federal loan, or require specific support with your application package, we can help. Contact us today for a free consultation.