The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the termination of 321 financial awards that supported 223 projects, resulting in an estimated savings of $7.56 billion for taxpayers. The DOE stated that these projects were found not to sufficiently support the country’s energy needs, lacked economic viability, and would not yield a positive return on taxpayer investment.
The terminated awards originated 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 commented on the decision: “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 those terminated awards, 26%—worth more than $3.1 billion—were distributed between Election Day and Inauguration Day.
In May 2025, Secretary Wright issued a memorandum titled “Ensuring Responsibility for Financial Assistance.” This new policy requires program offices to request further information from award recipients and mandates case-by-case reviews to prevent waste and safeguard taxpayer funds while advancing national security goals.
According to DOE procedures outlined in this memorandum, awardees have a 30-day window to appeal any termination decisions. Some project recipients have already begun appealing their terminations.
