The Trump administration has decided to revoke nearly $8 billion in grants allocated to support hundreds of clean energy initiatives across 16 states.
The states impacted by this decision coincidentally supported Democrat Kamala Harris in the previous year’s presidential election.
This action is part of Donald Trump’s strategy to implement significant budget cuts amidst his ongoing conflict with congressional Democrats regarding the government shutdown.
The shutdown has resulted from a deadlock between Republicans and Democrats over the approval of a bill to fund government operations from October onward. Consequently, non-essential government activities have been halted due to these agencies’ reliance on Congressional funding approval. The shutdown took effect on Wednesday (October 1) and continues as of October 3.
However, The Energy Department remains operational, and a recent statement disclosed that 223 clean energy projects were discontinued following a review that found they either did not significantly contribute to national energy objectives or were not financially viable.
Officials have not disclosed specific details regarding which projects will be affected, but they indicated that funding was sourced from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, along with other Energy Department divisions.
Environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defence Council suggests that the cuts will likely impact battery plants, hydrogen technology initiatives, improvements to the electric grid, and carbon-capture projects, among others.
This decision to scale back on clean energy projects coincides with recent news that the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California is set to close in the near future.
The construction of the solar facility cost a staggering $2.2 billion, and despite these efforts, it will be permanently shut down next year due to its failure to meet energy production goals.
A significant portion of the funding, amounting to $1.6 billion, was provided by then-President Barack Obama’s Department of Energy.
The premature closure of the solar facility has led to criticism, with some people describing it as a misuse of taxpayer money.
“It another left-wing taxpayer-funded boondoggle turns out to be a useless waste of money,” an individual expressed online.
Another commented: “Both a waste of money and an environmental disaster that will take decades to clean up.”
Critics have also argued that the solar farm has been detrimental to the environment, as it has reportedly caused birds flying into the concentrated sunlight to ‘burst into flames,’ according to Science Alert in 2016. Approximately 6,000 birds are said to have died each year as a result of this phenomenon.