The Department of Energy is backing a major battery project to bolster Puerto Rico’s fragile electric grid — even as the Trump administration axes funding for key clean energy initiatives across the U.S. territory. The loan was finalized by the agency’s renamed Office of Energy Dominance Financing, known as the Loan Programs Office under previous administrations. Notably, the DOE loan scrapped an earlier plan for Pattern to include a utility-scale solar project. A spokesperson for Pattern said the DOE loan will allow the developer to ​“continue advancing energy storage projects that improve grid reliability and resilience.” Pattern didn’t specify when it expects to begin construction or start operating the battery systems, or what their total energy capacity will be in terms of megawatt-hours.