New Director is Clearest Signal Yet that LPO is Open for Business
By Sydney Bopp, Kevin Curley, Swaroop Parekh, and Michael Obeiter
Following the 2024 election, and through the first two months of the Trump administration, it was an open question whether and how the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the Department of Energy (DOE) would function in the coming years. But recent statements, actions, and personnel moves leave little room for doubt–the LPO will continue to play an important role in financing manufacturing, infrastructure, and innovation.
Perhaps most importantly, money is flowing. Since January 20, LPO has announced disbursements to two projects that closed during the Biden administration, and BSP is aware of additional disbursements that were not publicized. On March 10, DOE Secretary Chris Wright made clear that this administration will follow the law on existing loans and continue to use LPO’s loan authority to finance new projects that “can deliver more affordable, reliable, secure energy.” And if personnel is policy, then we view the appointment of Lane Genatowski as Director of LPO to be a very good sign indeed.
In the first Trump administration, Lane was Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the office within DOE tasked with supporting high-risk, high-reward innovation. Under his leadership, ARPA-E launched 11 focused programs with up to $342.5 million in total funding, 19 solicitations with up to $41.25 million in total funding, and the Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program. He has spent most of his career investing in energy projects; in short, an excellent combination of finance and energy sector experience for the LPO Director role.
Lane’s appointment comes as the programmatic freeze within LPO has begun to thaw. From our conversations with career and political staff within DOE, we know they are slowly returning to regular order–accepting new applications, and moving existing deals through diligence to conditional commitment and closing.
If you’ve been waiting to see how things play out before you engage–or re-engage–with LPO, the past few weeks have made it clear that while some priorities may be recalibrated, the office will continue to support advanced energy and manufacturing projects. And LPO is no longer the only game in town; there are new and expanded lending authorities across the government that can be tapped for low-cost financing.
With our decades of combined experience working in the DOE Loan Programs Office and with other federal lending programs, BSP is the ideal partner to help you access the debt capital you need to help your projects scale.
