The Energy Department plans to eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for major renewable and efficiency projects this year, the latest move by the Trump administration to undo efforts to shift the nation away from fossil fuels.
The cuts, which would take money away from projects budgeted for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, focus on solar and wind projects, as well as state and local assistance for low-income families, according to an Energy Department document reviewed by The New York Times and Democratic lawmakers in Washington. Critics argue that the moves are illegal because Congress had previously approved the funding for specific projects.
In a joint statement about the funding changes, ranking Democrats on the Senate and House energy subcommittees called it a “reckless decision” and demanded the agency immediately reverse its action. They argued that the moves would harm efforts to strengthen U.S. energy independence and drive up costs for all consumers.
“This outrageous, unlawful decision by the Trump administration is a direct attack on our energy independence and American families’ ability to afford their monthly energy bill,” wrote Senator Patty Murray, Democrat from Washington, and Representative Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio Democrat. “This isn’t a bureaucratic misstep — it’s a deliberate, partisan effort to sabotage bipartisan law and redirect funding.”
In response to inquiries about the cuts, an Energy Department spokeswoman said in a statement that the agency is working to “instill a culture of transparence, performance and common sense.” .
“The Department of Energy is working to advance its critical mission of unleashing affordable, reliable and secure energy for all Americans while increasing efficiency and promoting better stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” the spokeswoman said. The new funding levels “help ensure that the Department accomplishes its critical mission for the American people.”
The changes would cut up to 90 percent of the funding from the two fastest growing renewable energy technologies, according to the document, which details planned budget appropriations. Cuts include reducing money for wind power projects to about $30 million from $137 million, and solar power to about $42 million from $318 million.
In addition, the plan cuts nearly all of the money from state and local government community energy programs, which help reduce heating and cooling costs and assist with services like home energy audits and increasing insulation in homes.
The Trump administration has targeted solar and wind power and energy efficiency programs for funding cuts in its push to reshape the nation’s energy future. The administration has emphasized broader use of fossil fuels, including natural gas for electricity and oil for transportation.
That strategy also calls for rolling back emissions standards to encourage more use of oil and gas — a major reversal of the Biden administration’s policies to reduce carbon emissions and encourage the use of clean energy technologies such as solar and wind power, and electric vehicles. Earlier this year, the Energy Department said that it would roll back energy and water conservation standards for a long list of electric and gas appliances. The Environmental Protection Agency is shutting down the popular Energy Star program.
The shift away from the clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives could lead to a dramatic increase in costs for all consumers.
Solar and onshore wind power are among the least expensive sources of electricity. And energy efficient appliances have helped keep residential electric bills a bit in check.
But extreme weather events, driven by climate change, are driving up energy costs as utility companies invest in long-overdue upgrades to the aging power system. And electricity demand has grown in recent years because of energy-hungry data centers that technology companies are using to support the development of artificial intelligence.
That growth in demand and the need for increased power supply and storage has created challenges in the reliability of the electric grid.
“Solar and storage is the fastest — and in most cases the cheapest — way to meet the skyrocketing demand from A.I., data centers, and American innovation,” Abigail Ross Hopper, chief executive of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said in response to the planned cuts. “In the race to ensure global A.I. leadership and energy independence at home, we should be focused on getting every electron that we can generate on the grid.”
Solar and wind power have become more readily available to meet some of those needs, along with battery storage. But a lack of supply of massive turbines — used to generate electricity from natural gas — has slowed the construction of new fossil fuel generators, and hopes for new nuclear power plants remain far into the future.
Some of the money designated for solar and wind power in the budget has been redistributed to other clean energy resources, such as hydroelectric power and geothermal energy, but those also are expensive to build and can take years to bring online.
That has left critics of the cuts questioning the strategy the Trump administration is using at a time of grid constraints and rising costs.
The nationwide average cost for the typical 1,000 kilowatt-hours of use by a residential consumer rose almost 4 percent to $175 a month in April compared to the same time a year ago, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
That has added an even greater burden on those who can least afford the higher costs, who now face cuts to programs like the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the community energy assistance dollars.
“Both of these programs are incredibly important for affordability,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a California organization that helps low-income energy consumers. “Zeroing out the state community energy programs will directly harm low-income families.”
Ivan Penn is a reporter based in Los Angeles and covers the energy industry. His work has included reporting on clean energy, failures in the electric grid and the economics of utility services.
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