The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced late Wednesday that it is canceling 321 clean energy awards valued at approximately $7.56 billion, dealing a significant blow to several high-profile renewable energy initiatives across the country.

While the DOE has not released a full list of affected projects, reports from E&E News and Heatmap suggest that most cancellations target states that supported Vice President Kamala Harris in the last presidential election. A smaller number of projects in Republican-leaning states were also impacted.

Among the most notable cancellations is California’s $1.2 billion hydrogen hub project, part of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems. Hydrogen hubs in Texas and Louisiana are also reported to be cut. In addition, at least ten direct air capture (DAC) projects worth $47.3 million have been eliminated, although several DAC initiatives in Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana, and North Dakota will continue.

The sweeping cancellations extend to multiple Democratic-leaning states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Florida, Iowa, and Tennessee were also among those hit.

Political reaction has already intensified. Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, confirmed the cancellations in a post on social media, claiming that “the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.” His statement listed only Harris-voting states while leaving out Republican-led states that also lost projects, highlighting the partisan undertones surrounding the move.

The affected awards span several DOE offices, including the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, Clean Energy Demonstrations, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy, Grid Deployment, and Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains. According to DOE, about 26% of the awards were granted between Election Day and Inauguration Day, a period during which the previous administration retained authority to issue funding decisions.

Recipients of the canceled awards now have 30 days to appeal. The DOE confirmed that several appeals have already been filed.

This is not the first wave of cancellations. In May, the DOE rescinded $3.7 billion in clean energy and manufacturing awards, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also canceled $20 billion worth of climate-related contracts. Some lawsuits against these actions are ongoing, with mixed rulings from federal courts over whether such cancellations are lawful.

The latest cancellations underscore the Trump administration’s continuing efforts to slow down the clean energy transition, favoring policies that maintain reliance on fossil fuels.

Source: Techcrunch