Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm spends final days in office sending billions to home state, defying inspector general

The Department of Energy’s inspector general warned that agency officials were not following conflict of interest rules

The Department of Energy, in one of its final actions under President Joe Biden, allocated billions of dollars in green energy loans to utility companies based in the state of Michigan, home Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm defying the agency’s inspector general, who called out the Biden administration. to suspend the loan program due to conflict of interest concerns.

Some of Granholm’s biggest campaign benefactors during his Michigan gubernatorial campaign were among the businesses that received large last-minute loans.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Loan Programs announced Thursday that it has awarded a staggering $22.9 billion in loan guarantees to utility companies to develop green energy projects in 12 states . Of that total, more than $14 billion was awarded to DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, the two Granholm-related companies, just for projects in Michigan.

Additionally, on Friday afternoon, the bureau announced a $1.3 billion loan to the Michigan Potash Company to help finance a sustainable fertilizer plant in Osceola County, Michigan.

DTE Energy’s political action committee contributed more than $34,000 to Granholm’s gubernatorial campaign in 2006, state records show. Stephen Ewing, then CEO of DTE Energy, whom Granholm appointed to serve on the executive committee of the state’s Early Childhood Investment Corporation, personally donated an additional $3,400 to Granholm’s campaign in 2004.

Consumers Energy’s political action committee donated $25,000 to Granholm’s gubernatorial campaign during the same period, additional data shows. And Brandon Hofmeister, the company’s current senior vice president of strategy, sustainability and external affairs, served as an energy and climate policy advisor and deputy legal counsel to Granholm when she was governor.

The profligate spending on Michigan is the latest activity by the Office of Loan Programs that raises questions about the integrity of the office’s spending programs. Since the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 revived the bureau, giving it tens of billions of dollars in lending authorization and making it a central pillar of the Biden administration’s climate agenda, it has unveiled a A staggering $107.4 billion in green loans, the vast majority of which follows President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.

Biden administration officials continued to make lucrative loans even after the Department of Energy’s inspector general issued a report in December calling on the Department of Energy to suspend the program. The watchdog warned that agency officials were not following conflict of interest rules and that the program carried a “significant risk of fraud.”

THE Free tag reported in January, for example, that Office of Loan Programs Director Jigar Shah held a financial stake in Plug Power through his green investment company before joining the Biden administration, raising concerns conflict of interest. The Office of Loan Programs finalized a $1.7 billion loan for Plug Power on Thursday.

Chris Wright, Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy, said during his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that he was aware of the inspector general’s report and would immediately address the program s he was confirmed.

CNBC first reported Granholm’s financial ties to DTE and Consumers Energy in 2020 after Biden chose her as his nominee for energy secretary. Granholm served as governor of Michigan between 2003 and 2011.

“I am proud of the dedicated federal workforce that has and will continue to be committed to using every tool available to ensure our country remains competitive and energy secure,” Granholm said in a statement Friday touting his agency’s accomplishments over the past four years. .

The Energy Department did not respond to a request for comment.