The newly enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) brings
sweeping changes to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Loan
Programs Office (LPO), overhauling its authorities and reshaping
its future role in energy infrastructure financing. Most notably,
the law repeals the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) loan
authority for LPO programs and replaces the Section 1706 Energy
Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program with a new Energy
Dominance Financing authority. Additionally, the OBBB provides $1
billion in new funding for the program, which is estimated to
provide up to $200 billion in lending authority.
Repeal of IRA Loan Authority
Section 50402 of the OBBB rescinds the unobligated loan
commitment authority that was originally appropriated to LPO under
the IRA. This includes funding across multiple Title 17 categories
– including Innovative Energy (1703), State Energy Financing
Institutions (SEFIs), and the now-superseded 1706 EIR program.
Though LPO retains any
