The Trump administration has canceled $3.7 billion worth of grants for multiple climate-related infrastructure projects, the majority of which were approved in former President Joe Biden’s lame duck period after he lost the 2024 election.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright made the announcement on Friday and said the 24 projects failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.
The department said that after a “thorough and individualized financial review of each award,” it found that nearly 70% of the awards (16 of the 24 projects) had been signed between election day on Nov. 5 and Biden’s last day in office on Jan. 20.
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The grants were primarily awarded to programs to capture carbon emissions and store them underground. Other targeted efforts span cleaner cement, natural gas and more. The news comes as Trump seeks to dismantle swaths of Biden’s policies on climate and clean energy.
“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,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. “Today, we are acting in the best interest of the American people by canceling these 24 awards.”
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The cuts include nearly $332 million pulled from a project at ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas, refinery complex, $500 million to Heidelberg Materials in Indiana and $375 million to Eastman Chemical Company in Longview, Texas.
Carbon capture, often referred to as carbon capture and storage (CCS), is a climate change mitigation technology designed to prevent carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere or from the pollution streams of facilities, including refineries and plants that burn coal and make ethanol, for storage underground.
Climate change activists claim human-produced carbon emissions cause the earth to warm. Trump has long dismissed the theory and has often referred to progressive climate and energy policies as the “Green New Scam,” a play on the “Green New Deal,” a sweeping climate and economic proposal championed by progressive Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Environmental groups focused on energy decried the cuts. Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, said the move was short-sighted and could stifle innovation.
“Locking domestic plants into outdated technology is not a recipe for future competitiveness or bringing manufacturing jobs back to American communities,” Nadel said.
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions estimated that the cuts to the projects, meant to be test cases for huge industrial programs, could result in the loss of 25,000 jobs and $4.6 billion in economic output.
The review of the projects came after the Energy Department sought to identify waste, protect America’s national security and advance President Trump’s goal to unleash affordable, reliable and secure energy for the American people, the agency said.
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On Friday, Wright said that the Biden administration “strangled” the state of Alaska with restrictions and red tape that was beyond levels imposed on North Korea, Iran and Venezuela combined.
Wright made the comments at the inaugural Reagan National Economic Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to celebrate Trump’s executive orders “unleashing American energy” and how the administration is tackling regulations that have prevented the growth of coal and nuclear energy in recent history. Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo moderated the energy-focused panel.
Fox News’ Emma Colton and Reuters contributed to this report.
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