A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.
Last Friday, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright disclosed that the Department of Energy is scrapping $3.7 billion in “green” energy and infrastructure projects introduced by the Biden administration. Interestingly, a significant portion of these grants, nearly three-fourths, were given out post the November 5th election yet before January 20th.
The Trump administration has opted to revoke $3.7 billion in grants meant for various climate-related infrastructure initiatives, with most approvals taking place during the last days of former President Joe Biden’s tenure after the 2024 election loss.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, in the announcement made on Friday, pointed out that these 24 projects did not align with the energy requirements of the American populace, lacked economic feasibility, and were unlikely to yield a beneficial return on the taxpayers’ investment.
The department said that after a “thorough and individualized financial review of each award,” it found that nearly 70% of the awards (16 of the 24 projects) had been signed between election day on Nov. 5 and Biden’s last day in office on Jan. 20.
You don’t say.
Here are a couple of examples of what went on the chopping block:
The cuts include nearly $332 million pulled from a project at ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas, refinery complex, $500 million to Heidelberg Materials in Indiana and $375 million to Eastman Chemical Company in Longview, Texas.
Carbon capture, often referred to as carbon capture and storage (CCS), is a climate change mitigation technology designed to prevent carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere or from the pollution streams of facilities, including refineries and plants that burn coal and make ethanol, for storage underground.
That’s a lot of boondoggle on the taxpayers’ dime.
