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Business|Biden Administration to Lend $6 Billion for Rivian E.V. Factory
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/business/biden-loans-ev-auto-industry.html
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The financing for a factory in Georgia is part of a last-minute effort to establish climate policies before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.
Nov. 25, 2024, 11:00 p.m. ET
The Biden administration said on Monday that it would lend $6 billion to help Rivian build an electric car factory in Georgia, part of an effort to lock in Democratic climate policies before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.
Rivian, a relatively new company that makes only electric vehicles, plans to produce sport utility vehicles and hatchbacks at the factory, in Social Circle, Ga., near Atlanta.
The loan agreement will be binding once the Department of Energy and Rivian sign a contract, which is expected to take place before Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January.
“Rivian will work closely with D.O.E. to close the loan quickly,” the company said in a statement.
The project is in a congressional district represented by a Republican, highlighting how much Biden administration clean energy policies have benefited regions where most voters back conservative politicians, including Mr. Trump.
Republicans have opposed use of federal money to promote electric cars, but some of them may be unwilling to interfere with projects that bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to their districts. In August, 18 Republican representatives sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson describing full repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden’s signature climate law, as a “worst-case scenario.”
Attempts to disrupt the financing would probably also face opposition from carmakers. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group, asked Mr. Trump not to roll back electric vehicle tax incentives in a letter this month.
