White House aide: US Energy Loan Office should fund oil and gas

A White House aide stated on Tuesday that the U.S. Energy Department loan office should finance oil and gas infrastructure.

Jarrod Agen said, "One of our biggest problems is that the loan program office was used in the past for many of these renewable energy projects" at a Politico Energy conference.

Thanks to the legislation that was passed during Joe Biden's term, the Loan Programs Office has grown rapidly and now has hundreds of millions of dollars of loan and guarantee capacity.

Agen stated that the administration has changed the priority of LPO. This is to assist in financing emerging energy projects which show promise, but have difficulty obtaining bank loans. Agen stated, "Yes, we do want to prioritize oil and gas related projects and nuclear related projects."

The new Energy Dominance Council of President Donald Trump has been focused on increasing the already record high oil and gas production and reducing climate and pollution regulations for fossil fuels.

Trump used the LPO only to finance Vogtle Nuclear Plant in Georgia during his first term.

According to the White House's budget for fiscal year 2026, the Trump administration plans to provide tens billions in LPO funding over the next two-years to projects that develop nuclear and geothermal energy and minerals used to produce everything from solar and wind power to weapon systems. Republicans in the House are pushing to cut LPO lending.

(source: Reuters)