/>iIn March 2025, the Department of Energy was rumored to be reviewing projects, which were awarded billions of dollars under the Biden Administration. This review reportedly targeted any program or project that had spent less than 45% of its appropriated or awarded funding. As discussed in a prior client alert, an initial list of projects included billions for hydrogen hubs, carbon capture hubs, industrial demonstrations and more.
On May 15, 2025 the U.S. Department of Energy announced additional steps that could eventually roll back billions of dollars in energy grants awarded under the Biden Administration.
A May 15 memorandum from U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright provides greater insight on exactly how this review will take place. The Department of Energy is starting this process by requesting additional information on 179 awards totaling more than $15 billion. Initially, large-scale commercial projects will be prioritized, but the DOE may expand its inquiries into other, smaller grants in the future.
According to the memorandum, to conduct this review, DOE may utilize information previously submitted by the award recipient, DOE’s own investigation or analyses or the agency will submit information requests to recipients for information relevant to the project to help inform DOE’s decisional process. The requested information could include information regarding a project’s financial health, a project’s technological and engineering viability, market conditions, compliance with award terms and conditions and compliance with legal requirements, including those related to national security.
If the agency determines a project meets “Standards,” then those projects will proceed. If it is determined that projects do not meet Standards, DOE warns that it may modify the project but that it may also terminate the project.
Finally, the agency warns, “if a recipient of financial assistance fails to respond to information requests within the provided timeframe, does not respond to follow-up questions in a timely manner, or offers incomplete responses that do not reasonably facilitate DOE’s review, DOE may treat as the recipient’s refusal to cooperate as grounds for termination of the award or the withholding of funding.”
This new policy paves the way for DOE to terminate funding agreements without having to rely on conclusory assertions that the agreement or program no longer meets agency priorities. With this policy, the DOE presumably hopes to establish an administrative record that fortifies its defense against any challenges to terminations.
As this process unfolds, it will be important for recipients to fully participate in whatever audits or information requests occur. They also should focus on creating an administrative record that includes all available information supporting an argument that the termination is contrary to DOE priorities or otherwise unreasonable/contrary to law. Should you receive a DOE audit request and require assistance, don’t hesitate to contact our experts.
