The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6bn in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election.
The move comes as Donald Trump threatens deep cuts in his fight with congressional Democrats over the government shutdown.
The energy department said in a statement on Thursday that 223 projects were terminated after a review determined they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable. Officials did not provide details about which projects are being cut, but said funding came from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and other energy department bureaus.
The cuts are likely to affect battery plants, hydrogen technology projects, upgrades to the electric grid and carbon-capture efforts, among many others, according to the environmental non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council.
Russ Vought, the White House budget director, highlighted the cutbacks in a social media post late on Wednesday, saying money “to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled”.
He said projects are on the chopping block in: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state.
Vought and the energy department did not explain how they came up with their list of targeted states, considering that dozens of states have clean energy projects. But all 16 targeted states supported Harris, and in each of those states, both US senators voted against the Republican’s short-term funding bill to keep the government working.
The cuts include up to $1.2bn for California’s hydrogen hub that is aimed at accelerating hydrogen technology and production, and up to $1bn for a hydrogen project in the Pacific north-west. A Texas hydrogen project and a three-state project in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania were spared, according to clean energy supporters who obtained a list of the energy department targets.
Trump said in an interview taped on Wednesday with One America News, a conservative outlet, that his administration could cut projects Democrats want – “favorite projects, and they’d be permanently cut”.
Trump’s comments show that he and Vought are treating American “families and their livelihoods like pawns in some sort of sick political game”, said Patty Murray, a Democratic senator for Washington.
“This administration has had plans in the works for months to cancel critical energy projects, and now they are illegally taking action to kill jobs and raise people’s energy bills,” she said in a statement. “This is a blatant attempt to punish the political opposition.”
California governor Gavin Newsom said the private sector has committed $10bn for the state’s hydrogen project, known as the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, (Arches). The cut threatens more than 200,000 jobs, Newsom said.
Alex Padilla, a Democratic senator from California, called cancelation of the project “vindictive, shortsighted and proof this administration is not serious about American energy dominance”.
The California project is one of seven clean energy projects from West Virginia to Washington state selected by the Biden administration for a $7bn program to kickstart development and production of hydrogen fuel, part of former president Joe Biden’s agenda to slow the climate crisis.
“President Trump promised to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America’s supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy. Today’s cancellations deliver on that commitment,” energy secretary Chris Wright said.
Wright told CNN on Thursday night that the cancellations had nothing to do with the shutdown or politics. “These decisions are made – business decisions on whether it’s a good use of the taxpayer money or not. So, no, these projects will not be restored” when the government reopens, he said.
While the current cancellations are in Democratic-led states, Wright said other projects, including hydrogen proposals in West Virginia, Texas and Louisiana, are being evaluated.
“We’ve announced project cancellations before in red and blue states. And as this fall goes on, you’ll see cancellations in red and blue states,” Wright said. “We’ve got to save Americans money.”
Award recipients have 30 days to appeal the energy department’s termination decision.
The Trump administration has broadly targeted climate programs and clean energy grants, and is proposing to roll back vehicle emission and other greenhouse gas rules it says can’t be justified. Last week, the energy department rescinded $13bn that was intended for clean energy projects. The money was authorized by Congress in the 2022 climate law signed by Biden but had not yet been spent.
Democrats and environmental organizations were quick to slam the latest cuts, saying they would raise energy costs.
“This is yet another blow by the Trump administration against innovative technology, jobs and the clean energy needed to meet skyrocketing demand,” said Jackie Wong, a senior vice-president at NRDC.
Conrad Schneider, senior director at the Clean Air Task Force, said the move “pulls the rug out” from dozens of communities and workers that are counting on the projects. It also “weakens the US’s position in the global marketplace” for innovative energy technologies, he said.
