Department of Energy, DOE, Energy Projects, Hydrogen, Investment, OCED, Trump, ARCHES
The Department of Energy announced on October 2, 2025, the termination of 321 financial awards that supported 223 energy projects. According to the DOE, this action will save American taxpayers approximately $7.56 billion. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that a "thorough, individualized financial review" determined the projects "did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment."
The DOE's review followed a May 2025 Secretarial Memorandum that established a new policy for evaluating financial awards, particularly targeting those "rushed through in the final months of the Biden administration." The DOE specified that 26% of the terminated financial awards, valued at over $3.1 billion, were issued between Election Day and Inauguration Day.
The terminated awards originated from several DOE offices like Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Grid Deployment (GDO), Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and Fossil Energy (FE).
The decision has ignited significant political controversy, with critics accusing the Trump administration of using the cuts as a political weapon against "blue states." White House budget director Russell Vought was explicit about the political nature of the cuts, posting on social media about "Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled," and listing the 16 states targeted, all of which voted for the Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
Among the highest-profile cancellations is the funding for California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), a major hydrogen hub project that had been projected to support up to 220,000 jobs. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Adam Schiff, both from California, called the cancellation "shortsighted," warning it would undermine economic opportunities.
Other affected projects include a $500 million award for the Lebec Net-Zero project in California, aimed at producing carbon-neutral cement, and an $87 million grant to Sublime Systems for low-carbon cement manufacturing in Massachusetts, which was expected to create between 70 and 90 jobs. The cuts also hit major grid and transmission initiatives, including a proposed $464 million in funding for transmission studies across seven Midwest states.
Critics argue the cancellations will result in the loss of tens of thousands of potential jobs, raise consumer electricity costs, and undercut U.S. competitiveness in critical clean technologies, despite the administration's stated goal of boosting American manufacturing. Recipients of the terminated awards have 30 days to appeal the decision, a process that some projects have already initiated.
