As political support for clean energy has waxed and waned over the past twenty years, so has the government's financial backing. In the 2010s, critics pointed to the failed solar startup Solyndra, which the Department of Energy had backed to the tune of half a billion dollars, as a poster child of wasteful spending.
But under President Biden, in addition to major clean energy incentives passed in the Inflation Reduction Act, the DOE's Loan Programs Office borrowing authority grew ten-fold. Now, under a second Trump administration, the tide turned again. The loan office, and clean energy spending, have scaled back significantly.
So how has federal support of nascent clean energy technologies evolved? What could be done today to lower energy costs while boosting the reliability of the electric grid? Where is domestic manufacturing headed and how does that impact both energy and national security? And what could be done today to lower energy costs while boosting the reliability of the electric grid?
Today on the show, Jason Bordoff speaks with Jigar Shah to discuss the current state of clean energy investing and innovation.
Jigar is the co-managing partner at the clean tech advisory firm Multiplier and co-hosts the Open Circuit podcast. He directed the DOE's Loan Programs Office during the Biden administration. Before that, he co-founded and was the president of the investment firm Generate Capital. Early in his career he co-founded the solar service company SunEdison.
Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.
