Trump finalizes $1.6 billion loan from gutted clean energy office

The Trump administration has finalized $1.6 billion in financing for a subsidiary of utility giant American Electric Power to upgrade thousands of transmission lines across five states.

The decision to close the loan was unexpected, as the administration has moved to cut the Department of Energy’s office in charge of distributing such financing, particularly for clean energy-focused projects. It marks the first time under President Donald Trump’s second administration that the Department of Energy has closed on a loan guarantee under its new Energy Dominance Financing Program and Loan Programs Office, which lost roughly half of its staff this year and has seen billions of dollars’ worth of loans canceled.