The head of Trump's Energy Loan Office departs this week

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that the head of the U.S. Government's Energy Loans Office, which has provided funding to projects ranging from nuclear power and a sustainable aviation fuel facility supported by one of Donald Trump's Republican colleagues, will leave the agency in the coming week.

John Sneed was reappointed to the position of LPO (Loan Programs Office) on January 20, to oversee the transition from the first Trump administration to the second. He will serve for a period of 30 days. His appointment was extended for another month, until March 21.

Sneed stated in a press release that he would return to Texas and his family without providing any further details.

Sneed served as chief of staff for former Texas Governor Rick Perry in the first Trump administration.

Under the Democratic administration of Joe Biden, former president of the United States, LPO's ability to offer low cost loans and loan guarantee to emerging energy technologies has been vastly increased to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Biden's presidency saw the financing of technologies such as solar panels, advanced batteries and vehicles that have a hard time getting funding from private banks.

Trump used the LPO only to finance nuclear energy in his first term. It is unclear how he will utilize the agency during his second term.

Trump's LPO, so far in this term, has guaranteed a portion of the loan for Holtec's Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. The plant is hoping to become the first commercial reactor that can be restarted after a total shutdown.

After pressure from Republican Senator Steve Daines last month, his LPO approved the disbursement a loan guarantee of $1.67 billion for a Calumet sustainable aircraft fuel refinery located in Montana.

The DOE has said that it will announce its new LPO director within weeks. (Reporting and Editing by Marguerita Chy)

(source: Reuters)