Energy Department scuttles $3.7B in clean-energy projects
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The Energy Department said Friday it's canceling over $3.7 billion in awards for 24 projects through its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations created under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
Why it matters: It's among the biggest and most specific cases yet of Trump 2.0 officials pulling the plug on the Biden administration's unprecedented subsidies for low-carbon energy.
- Axios Pro Energy reported last month that the department was aiming to close the clean-energy office and terminate nearly half its awarded funding.
Driving the news: The terminated support was aimed mostly at carbon capture and various other "decarbonization initiatives," DOE said in a statement.
- "DOE found that these 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," it said.
- DOE also alleged that Biden officials "failed to conduct a thorough financial review" and noted that 16 of the awards were "signed" between the election and President Trump's inauguration.
Zoom in: The cancellations include:
- $500 million approved for Heidelberg Materials to capture CO2 from cement production nearly $332 million for Exxon's Baytown Olefins Plant Carbon Reduction Project in Texas;
- $500 million for the Lebec Net Zero Project to produce "carbon neutral" cement in California;
- $170 million for Kraft Heinz for clean-energy projects at 10 U.S. plants.
The other side: "The abrupt termination of $3.7 billion in clean energy investment is shortsighted and malicious," said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee's energy panel.
- "This decision will raise energy costs for American families and undermine our nation's competitive edge," Kaptur said.
What we're watching: Other projects that could be on the chopping block.
- In mid-May DOE said it had launched case-by-case audits and initially seeking info on 179 awards totaling over $15 billion.
