The cancellations are part of a wider rollback of climate-focused and DEI-related programs enacted under the prior administration.
The Department of Energy has canceled 24 clean energy demonstration projects worth nearly $3.7 billion, citing concerns over financial viability, insufficient return on taxpayer investment, and a failure to meet the energy needs of Americans.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced the decision on May 30, describing the awards as hastily approved in the final days of the Biden administration and misaligned with the Trump administration’s energy and economic priorities. The cancellations come after an internal review ordered earlier this month under a new departmental policy aimed at increasing accountability and rooting out waste in federally funded energy programs.
“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. “Today, we are acting in the best interest of the American people by cancelling these 24 awards.”
According to a department list reviewed by The Epoch Times, the terminated awards include high-dollar carbon capture and industrial decarbonization projects involving firms such as ExxonMobil, Calpine, Heidelberg Materials, and Kraft Heinz. Sixteen of the 24 awards were signed between Election Day 2024 and Inauguration Day 2025.
The rescinded projects span a range of industries and regions, including glass manufacturing facilities in Ohio, carbon capture efforts in Texas and California, and decarbonization initiatives at food production sites nationwide. The largest award canceled was a $500 million grant to Heidelberg Materials for a carbon capture project in Louisiana.
The move follows a May 15 memorandum issued by Wright titled “Ensuring Responsibility for Financial Assistance,” which established new standards for evaluating financial assistance programs. Under the policy, DOE is now requiring detailed financial, technical, and legal documentation from all recipients and reserving the right to modify or terminate awards that fail to meet economic or national interest benchmarks.
By Tom Ozimek
