Biden gives $6.6B conditional loan to EV-maker

Energy & Environment

The Big Story

Biden gives $6.6B conditional loan to EV-maker

The Biden administration has preliminarily said it would give a $6.6 billion loan to electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian for a plant in Georgia.

The administration said the loan would support the construction of a facility where Rivian will make up to 400,000 “mass-market” electric SUVs and crossovers.

Specifically, it will support construction of Rivian’s R2 and R3 models, which the company says will be sold at a “significantly lower price point” than its flagship R1 vehicle, which is considered to be a luxury car.

The announcement comes as the incoming Trump administration is poised to take aim at EVs. President-elect Trump has pledged to roll back standards that were expected to force traditional automakers to make a greater share of their fleets electric or hybrid.

The funds for the conditional loan to Rivian come from the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, which lends money to support the development of new technologies.

That office, which also gave funds to Tesla in 2010, has doled out billions of dollars under the Biden administration.

The incoming Trump administration is expected to be much less interested in delivering loans for emerging low-carbon energy technology.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who will co-run a new nongovernmental commission aimed at improving government efficiency, slammed the loan in a post on social platform X.

“Biden is forking over $6.6B to EV-maker Rivian to build a Georgia plant they’ve already halted," Ramaswamy wrote. He said the "justification" that it creates 7,500 jobs implies spending $880,000 per job, which he called "insane."

Read more at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

Biden administration finalizes nearly $8B in CHIPS funding for Intel

Intel will receive about $7.86 billion in funding from the CHIPS and Science Act to build new semiconductor manufacturing facilities across four states under its finalized agreement with the Biden administration.

Full Story

Scientists identify potential link between wildfire smoke exposure and dementia diagnoses

Exposure to the tiny pollutants emitted by wildfires may be increasing the older adult population’s odds of dementia diagnosis, a new study has found.

Full Story

Climate-driven impacts on water in US West will raise the cost of grid decarbonization: Study

The western U.S.’s plans to decarbonize electricity grids by 2050 may be much more expensive than anticipated, as such targets fail to account for the effects of climate change on water resources, a new study has found.

Full Story

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Biden officials, Republicans point fingers over exhausted disaster loans program

A blame game between the Biden administration and GOP lawmakers is underway after a key disaster loan program saw its funds run out in the middle of a destructive hurricane season.

Full Story

What We're Reading

News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

US oil firms unlikely to go 'drill, baby, drill' under Trump, says Exxon executive (Reuters)
Energy Department to deploy AI on power grid backlog (Axios)

What Others are Reading

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Homan says he is willing to put Denver mayor ‘in jail’ over deportation position

Tom Homan, President-elect Trump’s pick for “border czar,” said he is willing to put Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) in jail over his vow to protect migrants in the city after Trump promised a mass of deportations — particularly in sanctuary cities — when he returns to the White House. Read more

Trump signs MOU with Biden White House for next phase of transition

After a lengthy delay, President-elect Trump has signed off on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the White House, which will allow officials to meet with counterparts at departments and agencies ahead of the January transition of power. Read more