Energy Department Awards Loans to Green the Auto Industry

Following a post we did on smaller, more fuel-efficient cars profiting during a time when General Motors and Chrysler struggled, comes news from the Department of Energy that it really does pay for automakers to go green.

In an announcement Tuesday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the Obama Administration would award auto loans to Ford, Nissan and Tesla “for the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies that will create thousands of green jobs while helping reduce the nation’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil.”

Ford will receive $5.9 billion to transform factories across the country so that they can produce 13 more fuel efficient models. Nissan North America will get $1.6 billion to construct a factory producing electric cars in Tennessee and to build an advanced battery manufacturing facility. And Tesla will get $465 million to develop electric drive trains and cars in California.

These three companies are the first to receive loans in the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which intends to grant more loans to both car makers and suppliers in an effort to bring the U.S. auto industry up to speed in these times when more consumers want a greener product.

"By supporting key technologies and sound business plans, we can jumpstart the production of fuel efficient vehicles in America," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. "These investments will come back to our country many times over — by creating new jobs, reducing our dependence on oil, and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions."