Biden revives ‘clean energy’ program with $1B loan guarantee

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has issued its first clean energy loan guarantee, reviving an Obama-era program that disbursed billions of dollars in guarantees to help launch the country’s first utility-scale wind and solar farms a decade ago but has largely gone dormant in recent years. The Energy Department said it would guarantee up to $1 billion in loans to help a Nebraska company scale up production of “clean” hydrogen to convert natural gas into commercial products that enhance tires and produce ammonia-based fertilizer. Lincoln-based Monolith Inc. says it can create both products while vastly shrinking greenhouse gas emissions. With $40 billion in loan authority, the Energy Department says it expects to make more loan commitments in 2022.