The Department of Energy axes $3.7 billion in clean energy project grants

Key Points

• The Department of Energy led by Secretary Chris Wright canceled $3.7 billion in clean energy grants, axing 24 awards for carbon capture, cleaner cement, natural gas and other emissions-reduction projects approved late in the Biden administration.
• These cancellations are part of a broader review of 179 projects totaling over $15 billion, a move officials say aligns with the Trump administration’s push for “responsible” taxpayer spending and an “American energy dominance” agenda.
• Clean energy advocates and industry groups warn the decision undercuts U.S. competitiveness, risks thousands of union jobs, could raise energy prices, and halts progress on critical greenhouse-gas reduction technologies.
• The action follows a pattern of rolling back Biden-era environmental ambitions, shifting federal support away from climate-focused initiatives toward increased oil and gas production.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday he canceled nearly $4 billion in project grants, in another massive blow to clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts in the U.S. under President Donald Trump's administration.

The grants, largely awarded during former President Joe Biden's final few months in the White House, were primarily for programs to capture carbon emissions and store them underground. Other targeted efforts span cleaner cement, natural gas and more.

Some of the 24 canceled awards include $500 million to Heidelberg Materials US, Inc.; $375 million to Eastman Chemical Company; $95 million to Nevada Gold Mines, LLC; and $270 million to Sutter CCUS, among others, according to a list provided by the Department of Energy. Sublime Systems, which lost an $87 million grant, was “surprised and disappointed,” the company said in a statement.

“Today’s action is bad for U.S. competitiveness in the global market and also directly contradictory to the administration’s stated goals of supporting energy production and environmental innovation,” said Conrad Schneider, a senior director at the Clean Air Task Force. It “undercuts U.S. competitiveness at a time when there is a growing global market for cleaner industrial products and technologies.”

The news was a swift follow-up to plans the Energy Department announced earlier this month to review 179 funded projects, totaling over $15 billion, that were awarded by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations created under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

It is part of Wright's pledge to ensure “responsible” spending — aligning with the government's broader efficiency and cost-cutting measures, such as those recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency, which has significantly impacted federal research, workers and agencies.

“While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment," Wright said in Friday's statement.

Moreover, the announcement marks the latest of the administration's attacks on clean energy, broadly, and its effort to slash federal support for projects addressing climate change.

The Trump administration has taken an ax to Biden-era environmental ambitions, rolled back landmark regulations, withdrawn climate project funding, and instead bolstered support for oil and gas production in the name of an “American energy dominance” agenda.

Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, called the news “shortsighted.”

Carbon capture has been a controversial climate solution, as skeptics say it enables the continued burning of fossil fuels oil, coal and natural gas that emit planet-warming greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide — and distracts from the need to cut ties with those energy sources altogether. Though investment in the technology has grown, it also remains challenging to scale.

Industry decries the news

Organizations quickly decried the secretary's actions, stressing that the cancelations don't align with the administration's goals to bolster domestic manufacturing or energy independence.

Jessie Stolark, the executive director of the nonpartisan Carbon Capture Coalition, said the news “is a major step backward" for carbon management technologies, which are “crucial to meeting America’s growing demand for affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.”

“These projects are not just reducing pollution, they are keeping the U.S. on the cutting edge of manufacturing technology," said Mike Williams, senior fellow on the energy and environment team at public policy and advocacy group the Center for American Progress. "Canceling these important projects will raise energy prices for consumers and sacrifice thousands of high-quality union jobs, all because the president wants to curry favor with Big Oil.”

Evan Gillespie, partner at decarbonization organization, Industrious Labs, said the move dismantles the economy and the future of American manufacturing and its workforce.

“Killing these projects means more emissions, more pollution, and more people getting sick,” he said.

___

Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

___

Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.