The Trump administration has announced the cancellation of $7.6bn in grants for clean energy projects across 16 states.
The funding supported more than 200 initiatives, including battery plants, solar farms, hydrogen projects, electric grid upgrades, and carbon capture efforts.
The decision was disclosed on Wednesday in a post by White House budget director Russell Vought, who said: “Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”
The move comes amid an ongoing standoff between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over the federal government shutdown.
Cancelled projects
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), 223 projects were cancelled following a review that concluded they did not sufficiently advance US energy needs or were not financially sustainable.
The department stated the grants came from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and other divisions.
One of the most significant cancellations involves $1.2bn allocated to California’s planned hydrogen hub. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said the hub had attracted $10bn in private investment and warned that cutting the project could endanger over 200,000 jobs.
“Clean hydrogen deserves to be part of California’s energy future – creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs and saving billions in health costs,” Newsom said.
Senator Alex Padilla of California called the cancellation “vindictive, shortsighted and proof this administration is not serious about American energy dominance.”
Environmental groups expressed concern over the cuts. Jackie Wong, senior vice president at the Natural Resources Defence Council, said: “This is yet another blow by the Trump administration against innovative technology, jobs and the clean energy needed to meet skyrocketing demand.”
The states affected include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
Previous blows to solar
The news comes over a month since the administration’s August announcement that eligibility rules for clean energy tax credits were being tightened, threatening the country’s upcoming renewable projects. Solar, in particular, was highlighted.
August also saw the cancellation of the $7bn Solar For All programme, which was set to provide easier access to solar power for over 900,000 low-income households.
These targeted blows to the solar – and wider renewable energy – sector are part of a policy shift heralded by the signing of Executive Order 14315, Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources, and the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The motivation behind this shift is to re-prioritise fossil fuels, according to the US Department of the Interior.
