Trump’s clean energy attacks put manufacturing projects at risk

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Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office became a powerful force for funding clean energy projects, including factories. A Ford EV battery plant in Tennessee, a Qcells solar panel factory in Georgia, and Eos Energy’s battery factory in Pennsylvania — they’re among the 53 projects issued a total of more than $107 billion by Biden’s LPO.

The office finalized about half of those deals before President Donald Trump stepped in, according to a comprehensive list published by Canary Media last week. The rest remain stuck in conditional status.

But Trump’s new LPO head is reportedly searching for a way to nix these already-issued loans, generating deep — and consequential — uncertainty for the companies banking on that money.

Take battery manufacturer Kore Power as an example. The firm spent several years and millions of dollars trying to secure funding from the LPO for a planned $1.2 billion facility. In 2023, it paid off, and Kore Power landed an $850 million loan to build a Phoenix-area factory.

But the possibility of the LPO rescinding the loan contributed to Kore Power’s decision to cancel its factory plans, announced last week alongside news that its CEO is departing. The company is now searching for an existing factory to outfit to make batteries in hopes of cutting project costs, new CEO Jay Bellows told Canary Media’s Julian Spector.

Also at risk: Any clean energy manufacturing investment spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act, given the Trump administration’s ongoing pause on IRA funds and looming efforts to further dismantle the law. Beyond battery firms like Kore Power, U.S. solar manufacturers and wind industry suppliers have also suffered setbacks, per reporting from Canary’s Julian Spector and Clare Fieseler.

New data from Atlas Public Policy maps where these IRA-funded manufacturing projects are located, and as The New York Times notes, roughly 80% of them are in Republican congressional districts.

Two more big things

Trump pauses EV charger funding, leaving state projects uncertain

The Trump administration last week moved to halt the disbursal of funding for NEVI — the $5 billion program launched under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law to build out EV chargers across the country. Echoing ongoing questions about Trump’s broader funding freeze, state leaders told The New York Times they’re unsure if the move applies only to unallocated money or if ongoing projects are at risk. Some states are already pausing charger construction projects out of fear they’ll lose funding, while others are pressing on.

Clean energy–essential metals are caught up in trade wars

President Trump on Monday imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, claiming they’ll help the U.S. reduce its reliance on foreign imports of the critical metals. But in the short term, those charges will make it more expensive to build solar panels, wind turbines, and other clean energy components in the U.S. Also this past week, Grist reported on two more obscure metals that are likewise critical to clean energy manufacturing — and caught up in the U.S.-China trade war.

What to know this week

Federal funding freeze continues: A federal judge found the White House hasn’t followed his order to resume disbursement of federal funding and directed the administration to do so. The Trump administration appealed the decision. (Associated Press)

Coal lives on: Utilities have extended the retirement dates of nearly one-third of coal plants across the country since 2017, even as a study shows that it’s more expensive to run nearly every U.S. coal plant than to build renewable replacements. (New York Times)

Preserving federal climate records: Community-led groups and universities are scrambling to download data and launch trackers on regulatory rollbacks as the Trump administration directs agencies to scrub climate references from government websites. (Inside Climate News)

Permitting paralyzed: A clean energy trade association says chaos within the Trump administration has virtually paralyzed solar and wind permitting on federal and even some private lands. (Heatmap)

Mayors for clean energy: A letter signed by 133 mayors and local leaders calls on Congress to protect clean energy tax credits that have created hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments. (Inside Climate News)

Lobbying under a new lens: Solar industry leaders went to Capitol Hill last week to try to convince congressional Republicans that clean energy can contribute to ​“American energy dominance.” (Washington Post)

Carbon capture carries on: The Trump administration appears unlikely to bolster the carbon capture industry, but experts and industry advocates say utilities will still pursue the technology as they try to meet state-level climate goals. (Associated Press)

Cold weather EV tips: An expert shares why it’s important to look for an electric car with a heat pump if you live in a cold area and suggests ways to boost battery range in low temperatures. (Canary Media)

Making sense of methane fees: Congressional Republicans introduced legislation to roll back the U.S. EPA’s fee on methane emissions from oil and gas drilling, even though it encourages companies to plug leaks and ​“stop wasting a valuable product,” a law professor notes. (Inside Climate News)