Biden goes gangbusters on climate projects in final days in White House
The president, topping off an exceptional record on the climate, has pushed hard in his final weeks in the White House by rolling out initiatives to lock in greater protections for the environment. Read More

It’s last call time for President Joe Biden, and his team is ordering an aggressive round of climate-related actions as he seeks to “Trump-proof” his legacy. The battery of activity in the Biden administration’s last two months includes nearly $23 billion in loans for utilities, a ban on new offshore natural gas drilling and a new target to slash the nation’s emissions by up to two-thirds by 2035.
In his farewell address Jan .15, the president talked up his work to tackle the climate crisis and build a domestic clean energy economy. “You know, it will take time to feel the full impact of all we’ve done together,” referencing landmark policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. “But the seeds are planted, and they’ll grow, and they’ll bloom for decades to come.” Without naming incoming President Donald Trump, a climate change denier, Biden drew a clear contrast between his work and what to expect ahead.
For example, Biden took credit for reviving factory jobs in the United States, a reference to the CHIPS and Science Act. He also described launching “one of the greatest modernizations of infrastructure in our entire history,” a nod to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
Out the door, existential threats
On a darker note, Biden warned: “The existential threat of climate change has never been clearer. Just look across the country, from California to North Carolina. That’s why I signed the most significant climate and clean energy law ever, ever in the history of the world. And the rest of the world is trying to model it now. It’s working, creating jobs and industries of the future. Now we have proven we don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and growing the economy.”
Without naming the richest man in history, Elon Musk, or any other billionaires in Trump’s next administration, Biden warned of a “dangerous” oligarchy forming among the ultrawealthy. He said that “powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we’ve taken to tackle the climate crisis, to serve their own interests for power and profit.”
The outgoing president also cited an “avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power” and called for checks on the “profound possibilities and risks” of artificial intelligence.
Trump tensions
“Biden is doing everything possible to make the TRANSITION as difficult as as possible, from Lawfare such as has never been seen before, to costly and ridiculous Executive Orders on the Green New Scam and other money wasting Hoaxes,” Trump complained Jan. 6 on Truth Social. “Fear not, these ‘Orders’ will all be terminated shortly, and we will become a Nation of Common Sense and Strength. MAGA!!!”
Trump’s Department of Energy pick Chris Wright took a less combative tone during his Jan. 15 nomination hearings. He pledged to implement Trump’s “aggressive energy policies” yet also acknowledged the reality of climate change, which he previously denied. The nominee, who founded fracking company Liberty Energy in 2011, has advocated for a diverse energy mix, including fossil fuels, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind and geothermal sources.
In addition to exiting the Paris Agreement again, Trump and his surrogates have trumpeted subsidies for electric vehicles, folding the Loans Programs Office and other efforts to unravel the work of the 46th president.
Although Biden’s executive actions and agency regulations could fall to a Trump wrecking ball, investments under the IRA and BIL are less vulnerable as their impacts have become embedded into the market. For example, at least three-quarters of Inflation Reduction Act funding serves areas that typically vote Republican.
Below are some of the most ambitious recent actions by Biden as he closes shop:
Executive order on AI infrastructure
On Jan. 14, Biden signed an executive order for the Departments of Energy and Defense to choose and lease data centers for artificial intelligence. It requires powering the centers with clean energy and locating them near high-transmission power lines. Data center energy use could triple by 2028 and eat up one-fifth of the nation’s energy, according to the Department of Energy.
$22.9 billion in loans to energy utilities
To help utilities retool, repurpose or replace energy infrastructure in favor of low-emissions technologies, the U.S. Department of Energy on Jan. 16 announced $22.92 billion in loans for energy utilities. Utilities in 12 states will receive the conditional loans.
For instance, the $8.8 billion for DTE Energy Company of Detroit would support the Trenton Channel Battery Energy Storage System and modernize natural gas pipelines. The $5.23 billion for Consumers Energy Company of Jackson, Michigan, would boost renewable energy and replace gas pipelines. The $3.52 billion for PacificCorp of Portland, Oregon would create wind power transmission lines.
Another flurry from the Loan Programs Office
Inflation Reduction Act funding is administered through the Loans Programs Office (LPO), which entrepreneur Jigar Shah leads. The office has made 32 deals of close to $55 billion total. Among the latest LPO deals in the past month alone:
- $9.6 billion on Dec. 16 for BlueOval SK to build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, supplying to Ford Motor Company.
- $1.76 billion to help a Hydrostor subsidiary on Jan. 13 to advance an underground compressed-air energy storage project for Rosamond, California.
- $1.6 billion on Jan. 10 for Montana Renewables to expand sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
- $1.45 billion on Dec. 19 for Qcells to build a solar facility in Georgia.
- $1.25 billion on Dec. 12 to help EVgo add 7,500 vehicle chargers to its network.

$5 billion for infrastructure
On Jan. 10, the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg revealed $5 billion of grants under the infrastructure law for railway safety, bridges, roads and other projects. The more than 560 projects, for all 50 states as well as U.S. territories, include $1.3 billion in 109 surface transportation infrastructure projects, which could include highway and road maintenance. An additional $1.1 billion is set to improve railway crossings.
Eighty-one projects in 31 states will receive $544 million to help “reconnect communities that were cut off by past transportation infrastructure decisions,” such as the openly racist redlining and “urban renewal” programs of the 20th century.
Boosts for clean hydrogen
Details over the IRA subsidies for clean hydrogen technologies were unclear until the Treasury Department finalized rules Jan. 3. Under the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, companies must meet low-carbon emissions standards to produce hydrogen. The purpose is to galvanize an industry that would rapidly help to drive net zero in high-emissions sectors.
Meanwhile, the Energy Department on Nov. 20 awarded $2.4 billion for two hydrogen hubs in the Gulf Coast and Midwest. It’s under the BIL, which allocated $8 billion for a national network of clean hydrogen infrastructure. In all, the law has backed 72,000 projects worth $591 billion.
Two new national monuments
Biden on Jan. 10 designated two new national monuments to protect their ecosystems and acknowledge their cultural importance: Chuckwalla in Southern California and Sáttítla Highlands. The move serves his goal to protect 30 percent of the nation’s land and water by 2030.
