No money changed hands in that example. It is for a loan "guarantee," not an actual loan. In other words, the Energy Department (US Govt) is guaranteeing to pay Abengoa's lenders if the company defaults.
The analogy to this would be a federally guaranteed student loan or mortgage guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Therefore, in this case, the term "conditional" had nothing to do with "money changing hands." Obviously, there were certain conditions Abengoa needed to satisfy before the loan guarantee was finalized.
If loans are considered "conditional" based on conditions the lender (instead of the borrower) needs to meet as is being claimed here, perhaps some of Clifford Pope's buddies sent him a letter saying, "hey Cliff, if we win the California lottery, we'll loan IJJP $10 million, but keep in mind that we don't have any lottery tickets."
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