US To Pull Back $13 Billion In Funds Meant For Green Energy

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to cancel over $13 billion in funding that could have supported clean energy deployment, including solar and wind.  

It intends to return this amount in unobligated funds that were initially appropriated to advance what the DOE terms as the previous administration’s ‘wasteful Green New Scam’ agenda. 

“By returning these funds to the American taxpayer, the Trump administration is affirming its commitment to advancing more affordable, reliable and secure American energy and being more responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars,” said the US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.  

However, the brief statement from the DOE does not specify which projects will face funding cuts, nor does it say which areas they will be diverted to, except that this will enable the department to refocus its attention to its ‘core mission’.

The DOE is pulling back this funding under the Trump administration’s Working Families Tax Cut, which directs the department to rein in ‘bloated’ federal spending and expedite the unobligated funds to the US Treasury.

The DOE’s move follows the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cancelling already awarded $7 billion in funding to the Solar for All program, effectively ending it for good (see North America Solar PV News Snippets).

Having made its disdain for renewable energy clear, the US federal government has been cutting support for clean energy in favor of natural gas and nuclear energy. Speaking at the TaiyangNews’ Solar – Made in the USA 2025 conference at RE+ 2025, Smirnow Law Principal John Smirnow said that natural gas has emerged as a strong competitor for federal policy support after solar energy’s hot streak comes to an end (see US Solar PV Manufacturing Confronts Supply Chain And Policy Risks).