US Department of Energy axes $3.7B in clean energy project grants.
US Department of Energy axes $3.7B in clean energy project grants.
International news Desk
According to global Times news agency Europe,US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has canceled nearly $4 billion in project grants, in another massive blow to clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts in the US under President Donald Trump’s administration, The global Times Europe media .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 US 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 US 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.
