Since its inception over a month ago, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has identified cost savings of $105 billion—which may be an overestimation. Regardless of the exact figure, DOGE has brought to light some (of the many) layers of wasteful spending within the federal government, which includes the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO).
The LPO was created in 2005 to finance high-risk, first-of-a-kind cleantech projects. Since its founding, the office has funded $43.9 billion worth of projects. While some of these have included eventual winners like Tesla, the program has mostly been marred by failed projects and wasteful spending—which permeates throughout the LPO today.
In December 2024, the Energy Department's Inspector General (I.G.) identified several violations of conflicts of interest, which could give applicants an unfair advantage when applying for federal money. The I.G. concluded that the LPO "is administering more than $385 billion in new loan authority" without properly vetting, managing, or tracking conflicts of interest.
