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ENB Pub Note: This is an interesting article from Politico. The critical point is that the Department of Energy is not looking to cut any good energy sources. I define good sources of energy as those that offer more energy than it takes to harvest or create. Hydrogen and ethanol take more energy to make than they can produce or provide to consumers. So if we see them tackle the handouts to the corn farmers, we will know they are serious. I love our great farmers, but the ethanol subsidies need to be shut down as well.
The cuts, if carried through, would politicize the federal funds that Congress and the Biden administration awarded to seven regional applicants as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
A list circulating inside the Energy Department suggests cutting funding for the development of four hydrogen production hubs in mostly Democratic-leaning states while maintaining funding for three hubs spread across mostly red states, three people familiar with the plan said Wednesday.
The cuts, if carried through, would politicize the federal funds that Congress and the Biden administration awarded to seven regional applicants as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
The funding cuts are under consideration amid President Donald Trump’s directive to cut government waste and eliminate climate-focused spending enacted during the Biden administration. Previous submissions for spending cuts from DOE offices included potentially eliminating federal funding for all seven of the hydrogen hub projects.
A spreadsheet of the projects prepared by DOE and obtained by POLITICO labeled each hub as “cut” or “keep.” Out of seven projects, only the four planned for primarily Democratic-leaning states are recommended to have their funding pulled back, according to people familiar with the latest iteration of the plan.
On the cut list: the Pacific Northwest hub spanning Oregon, Washington and Montana; the ARCHES hub in California; the Midwest regional hub linking Illinois, Indiana and Michigan; and the Mid-Atlantic hub in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
On the keep side: the Heartland hub that spans Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota; the Appalachia hub in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania; and HyVelocity in Texas and Louisiana.
The hubs proposed to maintain funding include those powered at least in part by natural gas with carbon capture. The Midwest hub is also set to rely on natural gas, while the other three eyed for cutting would be powered by renewables or nuclear energy.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also previously applauded the Heartland hub’s selection when he was governor of North Dakota.
Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association CEO Frank Wolak said the list originated with DOE, but cautioned it’s not clear yet what action the administration ultimately intends to take.
Wolak noted Congress authorized the spending for the projects, and said lawmakers would have to formally rescind those dollars to cancel them. His organization warned several congressional offices on Tuesday that projects in their states are on the cut list and urged them to press DOE and the Trump administration to keep the investments.
“We’re asking them, one to be aware that this is happening, and two, communicate to the secretary of Energy and to the administration that these are important,” Wolak said. “They’re important to their states and that they need an understanding of what is intended by the labeling of something being cut.”
DOE officials also recommended sweeping cuts to dozens of clean energy initiatives across the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, according to a separate document obtained by POLITICO.
The 17-page list tallied roughly $800 million of projects for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, wind turbines, solar panels and hydropower, among other projects.
Many of the projects shown on the list are primarily located in Democratic-leaning states, although not exclusively so. The suggested cuts included a mix of infrastructure law spending and appropriated funds.
It does not focus on the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 law Democrats passed that amounted to the largest U.S. investment in fighting climate change.
The Energy Department did not confirm the existence of the EERE list Tuesday evening.
“The Department of Energy is conducting a department-wide review to ensure all activities follow the law and align with the Trump administration’s priorities,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The Department of Energy is hard at work to deliver on President Trump’s promise to restore affordable, reliable, and secure energy to the American people.”
The department reiterated in a separate response Wednesday that the department-wide review is still ongoing.
“The review is ongoing, and speculation by anonymous sources about the results of the review are just that — speculation,” said Ben Dietderich, press secretary for the department.
The Biden administration struggled to deploy federal dollars across its climate and infrastructure laws before Trump took over, leaving deals vulnerable to cancellation. The Trump administration has targeted dollars in part that were largely assumed to be safe from roll back.
Whether the Trump administration could legally cut projects backed by the infrastructure law and base appropriations is questionable. Nixing those projects could violate precedent set by the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which prevents the executive branch from unilaterally withholding congressionally approved spending. Federal courts have on several occasions blocked Trump’s attempts to do just that.
By Zack Colman, Ben Lefebvre, Kelsey Tamborrino and James Bikales
The post Trump admin considers killing big energy projects in Dem states appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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