The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the termination of 321 financial awards that supported 223 projects, leading to an estimated savings of $7.56 billion for taxpayers. According to the DOE, a detailed review found that these projects did not sufficiently support national energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not offer a positive return on taxpayer investment.
The canceled awards came from several DOE offices, including Clean Energy Demonstrations, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Grid Deployment, Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and Fossil Energy.
Secretary Wright stated, “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. 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.”
DOE data shows that 26% of the terminated awards were granted between Election Day and Inauguration Day. These particular awards represented more than $3.1 billion in funding.
In May 2025, Secretary Wright issued a memorandum titled “Ensuring Responsibility for Financial Assistance,” which established new guidelines for assessing financial awards. The policy allows program offices to seek additional information from awardees and requires case-by-case reviews aimed at reducing waste and safeguarding public funds while supporting national security goals.
Under this updated review process, DOE concluded that none of the affected projects met necessary economic or security standards to justify continued funding.
Award recipients have been given 30 days to appeal termination decisions as specified in the memorandum. Some appeals are already underway.
