EIR's Billions Remain Up for Grabs
Energy attorney Taite McDonald spoke with IJ Global about the Inflation Reduction Act. One of the provisions in the legislation, known as the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program, assures up to $250 billion in loan authority from the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO) to replace current electric and petroleum energy infrastructure that have stopped operations with clean energy technology or retrofit operating fossil fuel assets. Smaller energy companies are exhibiting more interest and developing distinctive ways to use the loans than big oil and gas companies.
"A lot of people when it was passed, thought the utilities would come in and just gobble it up and they would be ready," said Ms. McDonald.
She explained that oil companies and big utilities typically use their relationships with banks to get good deals on the market.