On Wednesday night, the Department of Energy announced the cancellation of 321 awards, valued at $7.56 billion, which were largely dedicated to clean energy projects. The agency has not yet provided a list of the 223 affected projects. California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that one canceled project involved $1.2 billion for the state’s hydrogen hub, known as the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems.
Other states with affected projects include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. These states were confirmed in a public statement from Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Donald Trump. He indicated the cancellations earlier in the day, commenting that the left’s climate agenda was being canceled. All sixteen of these states voted for Kamala Harris in the last presidential election, and many are controlled by Democrats at the state level.
The awards were originally granted by several offices, including Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, Clean Energy Demonstrations, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy, Grid Deployment, and Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains. The Department of Energy stated that 26 percent of the awards were granted between Election Day and Inauguration Day in January. The president’s authority continues until Inauguration Day.
Awardees now have 30 days to appeal the decision. The Trump administration has been clear about its intent to undermine the transition away from fossil fuels. Last week, the Department of Energy banned staff from using specific words, including “climate change” and “emissions.” In May, the agency also canceled $3.7 billion in clean energy and manufacturing awards across various industries, from metal manufacturing and cement companies to power plant operators and chemical plants run by fossil fuel companies.
These aggressive cancellations have prompted many award recipients to sue the government to retain their funding. The Environmental Protection Agency, which quickly canceled contracts worth $20 billion, has been an early target of this legal action. The results so far have been mixed. While a federal district court called the EPA’s actions arbitrary and capricious, an appellate court later ruled in favor of the agency, stating the contract cancellations were valid and demonstrated proper government oversight. Regarding the recent Department of Energy cancellations, the agency confirmed that several award recipients have already filed appeals.