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The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has added new categories of eligible projects to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office’s program authorized by Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as amended (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.). This requires immediate and material changes to DOE’s existing regulations (10 CFR part 609) implementing the Title XVII program for DOE to be able to accept applications and issue loan guarantees for those categories of projects. The loan authority and appropriations authorized under the IRA are available through September 30, 2026, making the implementation of the authority time-sensitive. The rule would also include changes to the existing regulations based on experience gained implementing the Title XVII loan guarantee program and to reflect amendments to Title XVII enacted by the Energy Policy Act of 2020 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. 

Following the passage of the IRA, LPO conducted significant stakeholder outreach to inform the design and implementation of the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program. In particular, LPO participated in 11 listening sessions that convened over 75 organizations and over 162 participants. Following the publication of the interim final rule and Guidance Document in May 2023, LPO ensured widespread dissemination of EIR Program through a variety of outreach channels:

- Updates to LPO website, creation of 1- and 2-pagers, publication of blog posts.
- Public webinar on June 7, 2023 (approximately 600 attendees).
- 100+ direct emails to prospective applicants, Fall listening session hosts, and other channel partners.
- Letter to current applicants describing the changes that would / would not impact them.
- Amplification through articles and speaking engagements.