The office has 141 active applications totaling $121.1 billion in value requested. The obvious lesson for the private sector is that the LPO is open for business. “How the public-private partnership was structured, and what role the city played, and what role the state energy financing institution played, what role the utility played-just kind of lay it out deal by deal.” “The only way to do this is by showing people loan by loan how this occurs,” says Shah. The LPO loan guarantee can help show banks it’s worth financing these projects across the country. Using hydrogen to store energy-including clean energy-has been proven to work, but it has yet to achieve widespread adoption. Last summer, for example, the LPO made a $504.4 million loan guarantee for the world’s largest hydrogen storage facility to be constructed in Utah. Shah says the best way to convince companies to engage with the program is to show how it works by simply making loans. “And we’re finally telling them to dream big.” “They have been told over and over and over again that doing these kinds of big bold ideas is above your pay grade, don’t dream big,” says Shah.

Just as challenging, many of the managers typically empowered to make big investment decisions resist exploring avenues to finance projects beyond the traditional lenders they’re accustomed to doing business with. Shah says that companies will often send their government relations staff to meet with his office-even though these officials don’t typically have the authority to make investment decisions. Working with the LPO also requires businesses to think differently.

“Never! I’ve got to work with each one of them across the finish line, to put the resources into getting it done. I heard your podcast and I went on your website and filled out a loan application,” he told me. “I wish it got easier and people were like, ‘oh, Jigar. It helps that Shah is a trusted voice with a storied career in the private sector and a recognizable role co-hosting a well-known clean energy podcast, but the challenge has remained nonetheless. Shah has devoted significant time and resources to getting facetime with private sector leaders and convincing them to do business with his office. I caught up with Shah on April 24, in New York City’s Penn Station of all places, as I arrived in the city and he was heading home from a clean energy finance conference.

Read more: Why Investing in Climate Action During a Recession Is a Smart Business Moveīut it’s easier said than done. But Shah’s work also offers a bigger lesson: succeeding in the energy transition will inevitably require businesses to challenge themselves to change ingrained practices. After the office was first funded in 2007, for example, it made a crucial loan to Tesla that helped the company become the superpower that it is today. His office has the unique ability to single-handedly accelerate the energy transition, giving huge loans to key projects and companies that can help bring critical technologies to market. Shah’s work is important in its own right. “Every one of them is their own kind of impossible.” “I can’t name a single sector that’s been easy,” he says. He told me that he’s seen an uptick in interest from the private sector since he took the job in the early days of the Biden Administration, but nonetheless getting companies to commit remains harder than one might think. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), Shah has the ability to loan companies more than $400 billion collectively to help finance clean technology projects.

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