The Trump Administration finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to AEP Transmission to upgrade nearly 5,000 miles of power lines in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia that primarily serve fossil-fuel powered grids. The move, part of the Trump Administration’s new “Energy Dominance Financing” program, aims to boost grid reliability amid rising demand from data centers.
This announcement comes at a time when efforts to modernize permitting for renewable energy projects are stalled, with Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) on Wednesday saying that the Trump Administration’s attacks on renewable energy projects remain one of the biggest obstacles to getting a bipartisan permitting overhaul through Congress. Specifically, Magaziner said that Democrats who are “open-minded on permitting reform” and have been working with Republicans on improving the federal process fear President Trump won’t honor clean energy aspects of any bipartisan deal, which could delay legislative efforts on permitting reform until Trump leaves office.