The Department of Energy is canceling $1 billion in federal funding intended to jump-start a green hydrogen hub in the Pacific Northwest.
The federal spending cuts are part of a broader effort announced this week by the White House to scale back spending in Democratic states on clean energy projects and initiatives.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said, “Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled … The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA.”
Washington state politicians decried the move as a politically motivated attack on Democratic states that did not vote for President Donald Trump.
“President Trump’s campaign of political retribution continues, and hardworking Washingtonians are now part of the collateral damage,” U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Medina, said in a statement.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson connected the cuts to the partial government shutdown that began Wednesday.
“It is outrageous that this administration is using a government shutdown to punish blue states like Washington. We’re working with the Attorney General’s Office to fight this illegal action,” wrote Ferguson in a social media post.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a news release that the canceled grants deliver on Trump’s promise to protect taxpayer dollars and expand the country’s supply of affordable and reliable energy.
According to DelBene’s office, the cuts include over 200 projects, totaling $7.56 billion nationwide, including $142 million in grants for 10 other projects than the hydrogen hubs in Washington.
The Department of Energy said that following a “thorough, individualized financial review,” these projects “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs” and do not “justify continued investment.”
In 2023, the Department of Energy said it would contribute $1 billion to establish a handful of green hydrogen production sites across Washington, Oregon and Montana. That money would be added to supplement around $5 billion to $6 billion in private funding and eventually be used in agriculture and heavy-duty industry and transportation.
Hydrogen is a colorless, flammable gas that does not emit carbon or other greenhouse gases when combusted. Currently, it is used for producing fertilizer and refining petroleum, though advocates of the technology say it could be used to replace natural gas to heat buildings or power long-haul trucks or ships through hydrogen fuel cells, among other uses.
The funding cuts had been long anticipated since Trump took office. In April, 16 Washington Republican lawmakers submitted a letter to Wright urging the continued funding for the Pacific Northwest hydrogen hub.
Other canceled grants in Washington were awarded to Nippon Dynawave Packaging, Paccar, CleanFiber, Washington State University, Spokane Edo LLC and Silfab Solar, according to DelBene’s office. The awards were issued by DOE’s office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains.
This story will be updated.
