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Odd Lots

Jigar Shah on the Pathway to Clean, Cheap, and Abundant Energy

Oct 6, 2023
Jigar Shah, Head of the Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy, discusses the clean energy system, nuclear power, and building momentum towards more deployment at the Texas Tribune Festival. They also talk about financing energy projects, government financing and profit versus risk, innovation and flexibility in the Texas energy grid, social requirements for infrastructure development, building clean energy manufacturing facilities, and the challenges and opportunities of nuclear power.
01:02:55

Episode guests

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Quick takeaways

  • The Loan Program Office at the Department of Energy has a loan authority of around $400 billion to invest in clean energy projects and accelerate their commercialization.
  • Efforts are needed to expedite the building of transmission infrastructure and reform the permitting process to accommodate the increasing demand from renewable energy sources.

Deep dives

The Loan Program Office and its Expanded Remit

The Loan Program Office was created in 2005 to provide commercial debt for innovative projects that the DOE invents but cannot get commercial financing for. The office's focus has expanded to include tribal energy programs and energy infrastructure refurbishment. They now have a loan authority of around $400 billion, and there's already significant interest in the refurbishment program, with billions of dollars in loans being prepared.

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