They told you it was about saving the planet. Turns out it was about saving their friends.
In her final act as U.S. Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm funneled $14 billion in sweetheart loans to Michigan energy companies — including her own former campaign donors — despite explicit warnings from the department’s Inspector General about rampant conflicts of interest and fraud risk.
The watchdog called it a “significant risk of fraud, waste, and abuse.” Granholm called it Tuesday.
WTF Is Going On?
In December 2024, Granholm’s Department of Energy handed out billions in below-market loans to companies like DTE and Consumers Energy — for-profit utilities with government-backed monopolies in Michigan.
The breakdown:
- DTE Electric Clean Energy: $7.17B
- Consumers Energy Clean Energy: $5.23B
- DTE Gas Clean Energy: $1.64B
- AEP (Ohio-based): $1.6B
All told, $14 billion in public money greenlit for companies that don’t just operate in Michigan — they own it. And some just happened to have backed Granholm’s political rise.
Meanwhile, the DOE’s own Inspector General was screaming into the void: these loans posed a glaring conflict of interest and the office lacked any real system to prevent fraud. Projects were “inherently risky,” she warned, and lacked proper oversight.
Granholm approved them anyway.
Who’s Saying What?
The legacy press? Silent.
The watchdogs? Furious.
Rep. Jay Obernolte and Rep. Brandon Williams, who launched a House investigation in 2023, accused the Energy Department of having a “well-documented culture of disregard” for basic ethics and transparency.
Granholm’s defense? There wasn’t one. The department simply ghosted press inquiries.
Narrative Reversal
The same bureaucrats who lecture you about “equity,” “transparency,” and “protecting democracy” just dropped billions into the laps of monopoly energy firms — firms that fund their campaigns, hire them after office, and write the rules they pretend to enforce.
Call it the Green Industrial Complex. Or just call it looting in daylight.
Why It Matters
This wasn’t just a sloppy farewell. It’s part of a larger pattern:
- Granholm violated federal stock disclosure laws nine times in one year.
- She failed to report her husband’s Ford stock.
- She approved a $9.2B loan to a Ford-Korean battery venture — while under investigation.
- She once awarded Dow Chemical $108M as governor… and joined their board weeks after leaving office.
See the pattern yet?
Deeper Dive
DTE and Consumers aren’t just utilities. They’re regime partners. Both claim they’re on track for “net-zero emissions by 2050” — a fantasy belied by Michigan’s actual energy math.
The state consumes nearly 5x more energy than it produces. Renewables are a tiny fraction. And yet, under Granholm and Gov. Whitmer’s plans, ratepayers and taxpayers will foot the bill for failed green pipe dreams while insiders pocket the cash.
Even the climate justification doesn’t hold. Michigan’s “clean” energy promises are riddled with escape clauses and SEC disclosures that say the quiet part loud: nothing is guaranteed, especially not your money back.
What Happens Next?
Granholm is out. The money’s gone. And the accountability? Don’t hold your breath.
But the message is clear: clean energy isn’t clean. And it sure as hell isn’t free.
It’s not a conspiracy. It’s a business model.