Federal court rules Trump administration improperly denied clean energy grants

US District Judge Rules Administration’s Decision on Clean Energy Grants Unlawful

A US district judge has ruled that the Trump administration acted illegally when it cancelled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants to states that voted for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. The decision, made on Monday, found that the administration’s actions violated the Constitution’s equal protection requirements.

The grants were intended to support hundreds of clean energy projects across 16 states, including California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Washington state. However, the Trump administration cancelled these projects in October as part of a government shutdown. The administration claimed that it was targeting projects closely associated with the Democratic Party.

According to the judge’s ruling, the administration made grant-termination decisions primarily based on whether the awardee resided in a state whose citizens voted for President Trump in 2024. The grants included initiatives to create battery plants and hydrogen technology.

The city of St Paul, Minnesota, and a coalition of environmental groups had filed a lawsuit to contest the Trump administration’s decision. However, officials from the US Department of Energy have stated that they disagree with the judge’s ruling, citing their review process as evaluating awards individually and determining they did not meet standards necessary for continued spending.

This ruling is the second legal setback in recent hours for the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back clean energy programs in the US. A separate federal judge had previously ruled that work on a major offshore wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut can resume, handing the industry a temporary victory.

Source: Al Jazeera