Renewable Energy Projects That Kowtow To King Trump And King Musk Get Funded – CleanTechnica

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

---

Last Updated on: 16th February 2025, 05:41 pm

I wrote recently how more than 160 solar energy executives showed up on Capitol Hill doorsteps begging to engage in some Extreme Lobbying. The action was part of larger attempts that the clean energy industry is making to convince Congressional Republicans that solar, wind, and other renewable energy projects should be part of the US energy dominance toolkit.

“We don’t have to say ‘climate change,’” Todd Borgmann, CEO of Montana Renewables, told the Washington Post at the time. Borgmann’s company had closed a $1.44 billion loan guarantee on January 10 to build a plant that will turn vegetable oil into jet fuel. “We can say energy transition — motivated by national interest, motivated by energy independence, motivated by national defense.”

It’s not the first reframing of renewables this year. In fact, a number of companies are repositioning their clean energy projects as “defense tech.” (By the way: Did you know technology and federal contractors outnumber federal workers by more than two to one? These contractors are concentrated in the Department of Defense.)

What is new, however, is that renewable energy companies have started to kowtow to King Trump and King Musk and their lackeys in order to keep their renewable energy projects viable in the state of flux that is now the US government in all its branches.

What is Montana Renewables?

Montana Renewables‘ slogan is “Renewable Energy for the 21st Century.” The company calls itself “a leader in North America’s energy transition movement.”

Soon it will receive its first installment of a nearly $1.7 billion loan from the federal government to increase production. The decision comes after delays from the Trump Administration’s federal funding freeze. Montana Renewables, a subsidiary of the Calumet Refinery, was selected to receive the loan from the US Department of Energy as part of the Biden administration’s funding of clean energy development. The loan will expand the company’s production of alternative jet fuel derived from a combination of animal fats and vegetable oils.

An aviation fuel company, Montana Renewables says on its website that it is pioneering the renewable fuels industry by developing technology for green hydrogen use in a conversion process to further lower the carbon footprint of the planet. They add that their location in Great Falls, Montana, is “at the heart of target-rich renewable feedstocks.”

The Montana Renewables refinery opened in late 2022 and produces about 140 million gallons a year of biofuels. The loan will allow it to expand production to 315 million gallons per year and produce about half of North American SAF, a fuel made from fats from seed oils and tallow that is lower in greenhouse gas emissions than conventional jet fuel.

Reuters notes that there have been widespread worries among green energy backers that finalized loans of the department’s Loan Programs Office would be clawed back by the Trump administration. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act boosted LPO’s loan authority by $100 billion. Efforts by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut spending with the LPO and other programs have wreaked havoc.

How did Montana Renewables bore through the “drill, baby, drill” mantra that drives the Trump administration? After all, the president issued executive orders freezing all dollars associated with the Inflation Reduction Act, yet Montana Renewables will receive its first payment of a $782 million loan from the Energy Department.

It’s all in who you know — and the backroom promises made.

US Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) said the approval only happened after he pressed the White House and emphasized that it helped reach Trump’s goal of “energy dominance.” Daines said the expansion is expected to create close to 500 jobs.

Although it approved the disbursement of the Montana loan, the Energy Department “is continuing to conduct a department-wide review of all funding, including grants and loans, to ensure all activities are consistent with the law and in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders and priorities,” a spokesperson said. [Editor’s note: The Inflation Reduction Act was passed by Congress, and Congress is in charge of all funding (it holds “the power of the purse”), so it is not in the president’s — or Elon Musk’s — power to end the Inflation Reduction Act or not pay out grants. Of course, many people in this administration do not seem to understand which powers they rightfully have and which they do not. —Zach]

The company has looked to offload the wastewater generated from its fuel production by injecting it into old oil and gas wells along the Rocky Mountain Front, as reported by Montana Public Radio. In response to the loan announcement, Pondera County Commissioners released a statement urging the company to develop its own wastewater treatment facility and avoid pouring thousands of gallons of wastewater underground in their community.

California, Water Issues, and Weakening Climate Mitigation Efforts

In addition to the need to bow to Kings Trump and Musk, fake solutions for desperate climate issues have been a hallmark of the duo’s collaboration.

An example is Trump’s release of a significant amount of water from two dams in the Central Valley that will hurt farmers later in spring and summer months when irrigation is more critical. The goal of “maximizing water supplies throughout California” was disinformation intended to show how the Trump administration would have prevented the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires. Actually, the rivers filled and spilled into streams and diversion canals that are separated from Los Angeles by mountain ranges and 150 miles — untenable measures to help first responders.

Trump’s approach to “solving” the water problem in California is wound up in the administration’s desire to weaken or remove the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California building regulations — including requiring infrastructure to be more resilient in fighting wildfires, the Safe Drinking Water Act, other relevant state water code reforms, and policies to reduce climate pollution.

Evan George on Legal Planet warns, “Prepare for a flood of disinformation about California regulations — claims that clearly don’t hold water.”

Final Thoughts about Renewable Energy Projects in the US Today

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in collaboration with the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), has launched the TruthTell Hackathon, as related by MSN. The innovative competition aims at developing AI-powered solutions to combat misinformation in live broadcasting journalism.

This hackathon is part of the Create in India Challenge (CIC) – Season 1, under the inaugural World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025. With a prize pool of Rs10 lakh, the challenge invites developers, data scientists, and media professionals to create real-time misinformation detection and fact-checking tools.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, misinformation spreads rapidly through AI. The initiative seeks to address this issue by enhancing trust and transparency in media reporting through AI-driven verification systems. The Hackathon has already received an overwhelming response, with over 5,600 registrations from across the globe, including 36% participation from women.

Winning teams will receive cash prizes, mentorship opportunities, and incubation support from leading technology experts.

It’s a far cry from the political climate of disinformation that the US government has embraced, isn’t it? Orwell would be so sad, as are we.