Judge restores $82.1 million in grants at U.s. Energy Department

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amit Mehta ruled Thursday for the plaintiffs and overturned the u.s. energy department’s cancellation of $82.1 million in clean energy grants. The judgment restores funding tied to 11 projects in five states and becomes a final, appealable judgment.

Mehta’s Thursday ruling

Mehta wrote, "The Court enters judgment in favor of Plaintiffs" and added, "This is a final, appealable judgment." The case covered projects in New York, Oregon, Connecticut, Minnesota and Colorado, with the New Buildings Institute saying four Oregon grants were among the cancellations.

The grants came from the department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, later consolidated into the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation. The plaintiffs said the cancellations hit states that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, and their complaint tied the cuts to a post by Russell Vought saying nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding was being cancelled.

Chris Wright on Capitol Hill

One day before the ruling, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, "We did not involve politics in the decision-making of our review process. Hands down". He also said, "I keep hearing that charge. It’s bulls–t, we’re going to say it a million times."

The dispute touched awards beyond the $82.1 million at issue here. The October terminations included more than $7.5 billion in financial awards to clean energy projects in states that voted for Kamala Harris, along with a $49.8 million award to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and a $6.1 million award to Proton Energy Systems Inc.

Appealable Judgment

For the grantees in New York, Oregon, Connecticut, Minnesota and Colorado, the practical effect is immediate: the department’s cancellations no longer stand under Mehta’s order. The next step is an appeal, which the judge’s ruling explicitly leaves open because the judgment is final and appealable.