The US Department of Energy (DOE) has canceled 321 financial awards across 223 energy projects, saving taxpayers approximately $7.56 billion. The decision followed a detailed review that found the projects failed to meet economic, energy, and national security standards and lacked adequate return on investment. Many of the canceled awards, about 26%, were issued between the 2024 election and inauguration. The cancellations align with a new DOE policy under Secretary Wright, aimed at cutting waste and ensuring all energy investments support affordable, reliable, and secure energy. Affected awardees have 30 days to appeal. They write:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the termination of 321 financial awards supporting 223 projects, resulting in a savings of approximately $7.56 billion dollars for American taxpayers. Following a thorough, individualized financial review, DOE determined that these projects did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.
The awards were issued by the Offices of 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).
“On day one, the Energy Department began the critical task of reviewing billions of dollars in financial awards, many rushed through in the final months of the Biden administration with inadequate documentation by any reasonable business standard,” Secretary Wright said. “President Trump promised to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America’s supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy. Today’s cancellation’s deliver on that commitment. Rest assured, the Energy Department will continue reviewing awards to ensure that every dollar works for the American people.”
Of the 321 financial awards terminated, 26% were awarded between Election Day and Inauguration Day. Those awards alone were valued at over $3.1 billion.
In May 2025, Secretary Wright issued a Secretarial Memorandum entitled, “Ensuring Responsibility for Financial Assistance,” establishing a new policy for evaluating financial awards. The policy authorized program offices to request additional information from awardees. It also required that awards be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to identify waste, safeguard taxpayer dollars, protect America’s national security, and advance President Trump’s commitment to deliver affordable, reliable, and secure energy for the American people.
Using this review process, DOE evaluated each of these awards and determined that they did not meet the economic, national security or energy security standards necessary to justify continued investment.
As outlined in the Secretary’s memorandum, award recipients have 30 days to appeal a termination decision. Some of the projects included in this announcement have already begun that process.
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