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The Trump administration’s war on renewables is escalating. Last week, the administration cancelled more than $7.5 billion worth of clean energy projects. And now, reports suggest an additional $12 billion in funding for clean energy and electric vehicles may be on the chopping block.
The so-called “kill list” of projects, first reported by Semafor, targets major carbon removal and clean hydrogen programs that the Department of Energy (DOE) approved under the Biden administration. It reportedly includes projects led by major oil and gas companies such as Occidental and Chevron. Reuters, which also reviewed the list, reported that it targets more than $1.5 billion in EV projects as well.
Many of the grants appear tied to EV manufacturing, according to Reuters. They reportedly include a $500 million award to General Motors to convert its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan to produce EVs; $335 million to Stellantis to convert the idled Belvidere Assembly plant in Illinois to build mid-size electric trucks; and another $250 million to Stellantis to convert its Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo to produce EV parts.
According to Politico’s E&E News, which also reviewed the list, the two largest federally-backed direct air capture hubs are reportedly on the chopping block as well. Direct air capture extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The potential cuts threaten roughly $500 million in matching funds for Occidental Petroleum’s hub project in Texas and another project in Louisiana.
The list also reportedly includes more than $4.5 billion in funding for five federally-backed hydrogen hubs authorized under the Biden administration, E&E News reports. The hubs were intended to demonstrate the production and transportation of clean fuel around the U.S. Two hubs on the West Coast have already been scrapped as a result of last week’s cuts.
On top of last week’s cut—and an earlier $3.7 billion cut in May—the list would bring the total amount in DOE funding targeted to roughly $23 billion. However, some of the projects on the new list include grants the DOE said it cancelled in May, according to Reuters. It’s unclear if or when the Trump administration will carry out the additional cuts.
On the morning of last week’s $7.5 billion cut, Trump touted the ongoing government shutdown as an “unprecedented opportunity” to weaken “Democrat Agencies.” The cuts exclusively targeted projects in Democratic-leaning states
“I understand this is the full list that was sent to Office Management and Budget a few weeks ago,” an energy lobbyist told E&E News. “Last week, they basically just pulled out most, if not all, the blue state projects, and that’s what they announced as cuts.”
If enacted, the additional cuts on the new list would impact “a lot more red states and red districts,” the lobbyist said.
In a statement, DOE Press Secretary and Chief Spokesperson Ben Dietderich told Gizmodo that “no determinations have been made other than what has been previously announced,” and that “the Department continues to conduct an individualized and thorough review of financial awards made by the previous administration.”
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Source: Gizmodo