In a move raising significant ethical concerns, Jigar Shah, the former head of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO), approved a $1.6 billion taxpayer-funded loan to Plug Power, a green hydrogen company advised by his current business partner, Jonathan Silver. The loan, finalized on January 16, 2025, aims to finance six of Plug Power’s planned green hydrogen production facilities across the United States.
Jonathan Silver, who served on Plug Power’s board from 2018, entered into a 12-month consulting agreement with the company in July 2023, which remained active during the loan’s approval process. Corporate filings reveal that Silver earned up to $143,645 annually in cash, stocks, and options during his tenure on the board.
The relationship between Shah and Silver extends beyond their roles at the DOE and Plug Power. In April 2025, the two announced the launch of a green energy advisory firm aimed at accelerating the growth of green energy startups in exchange for “modest equity stakes.”
Shah has denied any direct involvement in the loan’s approval, “I didn’t work on the loans directly. I focused on building our team and getting folks to apply for loans,” Shah told the Washington Free Beacon. However, records indicate that Shah’s team encouraged Plug Power to pursue the loan, and he personally met with the company’s CEO in May 2021, a month after the company was invited to submit the second part of its loan application.
The Department of Energy’s inspector general had previously warned of a “significant risk of fraud” within the LPO, urging an immediate halt to all loans. Despite this, the office proceeded with the Plug Power loan, among others, in the final weeks of the Biden administration.
