Article Image

IPFS News Link • Economy - Economics USA

Latest $269 Million DOE Loan Causes Major Controversy

• http://www.zerohedge.com, Submitted by Darrell

The loan in fact covers the costs for new factory capacity at Alcoa's Tennessee plant, which the company announced nearly two years ago and which is due for completion in mid-2015.

It was the first loan in DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program in four years after several misfires brought the program into ill repute, and the first since Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a year ago that component technology would also be eligible for loans. The program still has more than $16 billion in allocated funding available.

But the new loan came under immediate fire for being superfluous since Alcoa was proceeding with the plant with or without DOE assistance.

Paul Chessler, associate fellow at the National Legal and Policy Center, noted that Alcoa had proceeded with its plans in Tennessee as well as additional capacity in an Iowa plant because of high demand from automakers for the lightweight metal.

"So the project is happening without need for the DOE loan," Chessler said. "It's pretty audacious that DOE and Secretary Moniz would try to extract credit for a project that was already two years into development and construction."


AzureStandard