Oregon is set to lose an additional $400 million in federal grants awarded for climate action and is among more than a dozen Democratic states losing federal funding after the Trump administration terminated nearly $8 billion for those states this week.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it was terminating 321 grants, claiming the awards did not meet “economic, national security or energy security standards necessary to justify continued investment.” The awards were granted by multiple federal agencies, but all focused on climate action, increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
For Oregon, 19 awards individual awards to 13 different entities. The smallest canceled grant was for $1.2 million and the largest for $250 million. Recipients facing cuts include Warm Springs Power Enterprises, Portland General Electric and Daimler Truck North America.
In total, the state is losing about $405 million.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said this “betrayal of clean energy investments is not shocking” and called it the latest disappointment in President Donald Trump’s history of prioritizing “political posture” over the future the country needs to build.
“Once again, the Trump Administration has chosen to abandon its commitment to clean energy and the American workers who depend on these promised projects, demonstrating the same shameful pattern of short-term thinking that is failing Oregon and states across the nation,” she said in an emailed statement.
The announcement first came through a social media post from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought. The administration specifically targeted Democratic states — meanwhile Republican states with similar projects remain unaffected. Among the 15 other states being targeted for a combined $7.56 billion in funding cuts are California, Washington, Colorado and New York.
Trump had already clawed back billions of dollars towards climate action since Day One of his presidency.
Most recently, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was ending the $7 billion Solar For All grant, a program aimed at boosting solar adoption for low-income residents. The state was awarded nearly $87 million and had already begun spending money to kickstart the program. Last month, the Oregon Department of Energy sent a letter asking the federal government to reverse that decision to terminate the program, saying it could cause “irreparable harm” to Oregonians.
The administration’s continued attacks on climate action programs could cause ripple effects throughout the state at a time when Oregon needs to add more renewable energy to the electrical grid as energy demand increases and state mandates force utility companies to reduce power generation with fossil fuels.
“Canceling hundreds of millions of dollars in energy projects in Oregon is a significant setback for reaching an affordable, reliable clean energy future,” Oregon Department of Energy Director Janine Benner said in an emailed statement. “Between these actions, various supply chain issues, tariffs on components, and federal agencies halting permitting even for projects not on federal lands, the federal government is making choices that may threaten reliability and will certainly increase costs for ratepayers.”
The districts of House Representatives Cliff Bentz, a Republican, and Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat, were hit the hardest, accounting for nearly all the cuts to Oregon grants.
A statement co-authored by Bonamici, along with other Democrats from the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, called the termination illegal.
“On day one of Republicans’ Government Shutdown, Trump’s Department of Energy announced that it would illegally terminate $7.5 billion dollars in federal funding for projects that would lower energy prices for all American families,” the co-authored statement said. “The specific projects targeted are no accident. The Trump Administration is deliberately and illegally cancelling projects in states they believe would hurt Democrats. These projects are not political, though. They are set to employ thousands of Americans, and would lower all Americans’ electricity bills, regardless of political affiliation.”
Rep. Bentz did not respond to a request for comment.
Nora Apter, Oregon director of nonprofit advocacy group Climate Solutions, said state leaders need to stand up and defend the state’s climate action values.
“Oregon needs more clean energy, not less, and taking money away from critical clean energy projects at a time of rising energy demand is bad for everyone,” Apter said in an emailed statement. “Let’s be clear eyed about the impact of this latest action by the federal government: it hurts our state’s ability to modernize our outdated electric grid and meet today’s rising energy demands with affordable clean energy, and Oregon families and businesses will be stuck with paying the tab.”
The administration also gutted $1 billion for the long-awaited Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub.
In a statement, staff at the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub said they were disappointed in the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to cut funding. But there is still a will to finish the work that was started.
“There is still immense opportunity for our region to finish what we started—establishing a national benchmark for hydrogen production that brings economic opportunities to communities across the region,” the statement read. “PNWH2 will continue to support our project and industry partners that have laid the foundation for a thriving hydrogen ecosystem throughout the Pacific Northwest.”
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.