The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the termination of 321 financial awards that supported 223 projects. The decision is expected to save approximately $7.56 billion for taxpayers. According to DOE, a detailed financial review found that these projects did not sufficiently contribute to the country’s energy goals, were not economically sustainable, and would not offer a positive return on taxpayer investment.
The cancelled 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 noted that 26% of the terminated awards—valued at over $3.1 billion—were granted between Election Day and Inauguration Day.
In May 2025, Secretary Wright issued a memorandum called “Ensuring Responsibility for Financial Assistance,” which established a new policy for assessing financial awards. This policy allows program offices to request more information from recipients and requires case-by-case reviews to identify waste and safeguard public funds while protecting national security interests.
Under this process, DOE reviewed each award for economic impact as well as national and energy security standards before deciding whether continued investment was justified.
Recipients have 30 days to appeal any termination decision; some have already started this process.
