A dozen federal grants that support energy projects in Connecticut are on the chopping block as the Trump administration cuts more funding in the early days of a government shutdown.
President Donald Trump has warned that his administration could wield executive power to make a shutdown painful for Democrats and “[cut] things that they like.” And he’s appearing to quickly follow through on that threat in mostly blue states — and Connecticut is among the targets.
The U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday it’s terminating nearly $8 billion that supports hundreds of clean energy and other climate-related projects across 16 states, including Connecticut. After reviewing all financial awards, the agency decided they “did not meet the economic, national security or energy security standards necessary to justify continued investment.”
The Department of Energy has yet to publicly provide a state breakdown of each affected project, and it didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the specific funding cuts in Connecticut.
The Energy Department did provide information to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office on Thursday, but the Connecticut Democrat is still trying to track down the exact projects and funding amounts that will now dry up.
“I am demanding more information and specifics into this threatened cut for climate change projects, which are essential for Connecticut,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “We will not be bullied by this destructive and illegal withholding of critical support.”
The funding awarded to Connecticut came from two offices at DOE: the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Office of Fossil Energy. Between the eight recipients, they were expected to receive nearly $53 million for various projects, according to House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro.
RTX Corporation, Mott Corporation, Proton Energy Systems Inc., Linde Inc., Calcify Inc., Karpman Consulting LLC, the University of Connecticut and FuelCell Energy were awarded contracts. But the exact amount each will lose is unclear because some projects have been in the works for years and already received parts of the funding.
Some of the projects include funding for a Carbon Capture Machine, the development of a hydrogen refueling station for heavy-duty trucks, and the design of “coated titanium porous transport layers (PTLs) used for water electrolysis.”
At least one recipient doesn’t expect the termination to have much of an effect.
FuelCell Energy, which is headquartered in Danbury, has been working on performance improvements for fuel cell systems for several years. And because that effort has wrapped up, the company anticipates receiving the rest of the money from DOE, which it has worked with since the 1970s on various research projects.
“This particular project has been underway for nearly five years and is now at its conclusion. We have already received the majority of the contract compensation and expect the small remaining balance to be honored, as the work has been fully completed,” FuelCell Energy spokesperson Kathleen Blomquist said in a statement.
The initial news of cuts a day earlier sparked a wave of confusion since there was little information. The state’s congressional delegation was frustrated that the White House would try to “bully” them during the ongoing funding standoff.
About a quarter of the projects under fire were awarded during the final months of the Biden administration, following the November elections, according to DOE. Others date back from years earlier. The Energy Department said the award recipients have 30 days to file an appeal.
Hours into the shutdown, White House Budget Director Russ Vought started posting on social media the various projects and funding that would go away. He first posted that New York City would lose about $18 billion in infrastructure projects, specifically naming the Hudson Tunnel Project and Second Avenue subway.
A few hours later, he announced the $8 billion in climate funding cuts. Every state target by those cuts voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 election, and almost all are led by Democratic governors. They are also represented by Democratic U.S. senators who opposed the GOP funding bill.
“President Trump promised to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America’s supply of affordable, reliable and secure energy,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “Today’s cancellation’s delivers on that commitment. Rest assured, the Energy Department will continue reviewing awards to ensure that every dollar works for the American people.”
Connecticut officials and lawmakers have received little, if any, information from federal agencies.
James Fowler, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said earlier Thursday that the agency has not received any notice from federal authorities about which projects will be affected by the decision.
“We’re working with what resources we have to figure [it] out,” he said.
Funding awarded to utilities in Connecticut appear unscathed. A spokesperson for Avangrid, the parent company of United Illuminating, confirmed that none of its projects have been affected by the cuts.
While the loss of funding will have real-life consequences in Connecticut, the underlying motives feel political to Democrats. Connecticut’s congressional delegation argues the administration is holding up Democratic priorities like clean energy as “partisan extortion.”
“Terminating critical energy projects in Democratic states weaponizes policy for political revenge and will only drive energy bills higher, increase unemployment and eliminate jobs,” DeLauro said. “It is reckless and betrays both common sense and public trust.”
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, also raised concerns about the potential for layoffs and higher energy costs.
“Connecticut residents are already dealing with the rising cost of living and cannot afford increasing energy bills,” Hayes said in a statement.
Since taking office, Trump has made federal funding cuts a centerpiece of his second administration, saying he wants to cut waste, fraud and abuse. But some of the initial cuts led to confusion and chaos earlier this year when he temporarily paused all federal grants. The administration has lifted freezes on certain funds.
But the issue has again gripped Washington, and the finger-pointing over the shutdown has only intensified in recent days.
The parties couldn’t agree to a stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution, that would keep government agencies running at current levels.
“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” Trump said Tuesday. “And you know all you all know Russell Vought. He’s become very popular recently, because he can trim the budget to a level that you couldn’t do any other way. So they’re taking a risk by having a shutdown.”
But the latest maneuver could have the opposite effect as Democrats dig in further over the energy funding cuts.
“Just naked and brazen corruption,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Time to stiffen our spines and demand that we only fund a government that obeys the law.”
CT Mirror reporter John Moritz contributed to this story.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
