OAKLAND, Calif. – California’s Democratic leaders are pushing back against the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to cancel billions in approved clean energy projects, calling the move unlawful and politically motivated. Congresswoman Lateefah Simon of Oakland joined Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, Representative Zoe Lofgren, and 26 other California Democrats in denouncing the $7.6 billion in cuts that affect 79 projects nationwide — including more than $3.3 billion in investments across California.
In California’s 12th Congressional District, Simon said the Trump Administration scrapped over $200 million in energy and infrastructure projects. “Just two days into this Republican government shutdown, the Trump Administration cancelled over $200 million dollars’ worth of energy and infrastructure projects specifically located in CA-12,” Simon said. “These projects would have brought clean, affordable, and reliable energy to Californians, and thousands across the East Bay. It has never been about cheap energy or American energy dominance to this Administration. Political retribution against Democratic districts is the point.”
The lawmakers’ letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought called the cancellations “unlawful” and warned they would weaken electrical grids and eliminate good-paying jobs. “We write to express our outrage at the unlawful cancellation of nearly $8 billion of crucial Department of Energy grants supporting projects which, if reinstated, would make our country’s electric grids, industrial processes, and workforce stronger, safer, and more resilient,” they wrote.
Among the cancelled projects is $1.2 billion for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) hydrogen hub in Oakland, as well as $30 million for energy storage at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera and $500 million for the National Cement Company’s Lebec Net-Zero Project. Lawmakers said the DOE’s actions will harm working families, stifle innovation, and delay California’s transition toward affordable, reliable clean energy.