The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued up to $4bn in loan guarantees to support innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the country which can avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions.

Issued in support of the President’s Climate Action Plan, the solicitation marks a step ahead in supporting the DOE’s effort to deploy innovative, clean energy technologies at commercial scale in the US.

UA DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz said: “As the president emphasised in his Climate Action Plan, it is critical that we take an all-of-the-above approach to energy in order to cut carbon pollution, help address the effects of climate change and protect our children’s future.

“Through previous loan guarantees and other investments, the Department is already helping launch or jumpstart entire industries in the US, from utility-scale wind and solar to nuclear and lower-carbon fossil energy.”

The solicitation, which supports technologies that are catalytic, replicable and market-ready, includes the Department’s sample list illustrative of potential technologies for consideration.

Five key technology areas of interest have been identified by the DOE, which include advanced grid integration and storage; drop-in biofuels; waste-to-energy; enhancement of existing facilities including micro-hydro or hydro updates to existing non-powered dams; and efficiency improvements.

The Department’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) will now accept applications in three areas, which also include the $8bn advanced fossil energy projects solicitation and the $16bn advanced technology vehicle manufacturing (ATVM) loan programme.