Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Secret 'hit list' targets clean energy projects
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Monday, March 31, 2025
The Denali National Park gateway community of Healy, Alaska, whose project to transition from coal to renewables is on the 'hit list.' NNECAPA Photo Library via Flickr ([link removed]) /CC BY 2.0 ([link removed])
Despite declaring an 'energy emergency' and pushing an 'energy dominance' agenda, the Trump administration is working to roll back billions of dollars in funding for energy projects. Officials at the Department of Energy (DOE) are developing a 'hit list' of clean energy projects that were awarded federal funding during the Biden administration, including through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and annual appropriations made by Congress.
According to Heated ([link removed]) , the 'hit list' of proposed cuts includes:
* $156 million for long-duration energy storage projects—in other words, improved batteries to address the intermittent nature of renewables;
* $900 million in grants made by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy;
* $700 million from DOE's Grid Deployment Office for projects including transmission projects across 16 states and offshore wind projects.
"Cutting funding that Congress has appropriated for specific programs and that federal agencies have already promised to recipients raises numerous legal concerns—from constitutional violations like separation of powers and faithfully executing laws to arbitrary and unreasoned decision-making," Jill Tauber, vice president of climate and energy litigation at Earthjustice, told Heated ([link removed]) .
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, ranking member on the Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee, agreed: "An unelected billionaire who made his vast fortune off government contracts should not be able to unilaterally stop these programs," Kaptur said ([link removed]) in a statement. "At a bare minimum, we demand the Department to follow the law as intended."
** Quick hits
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Resolution seeks to release thousands of acres of wilderness study areas from preservation
Daily Montanan ([link removed]) | Missoula Current ([link removed])
The U.S. coal industry is dying. Trump threw it a lifeline
Washington Post ([link removed])
Congress is searching for trillions of dollars in cuts. Will the oil industry’s tax breaks skate by?
Inside Climate News ([link removed])
Trump's anti-DEI push suspends $20M grant for a Nevada Tribe's water infrastructure
Nevada Independent ([link removed])
A return to the fight against Alaska's Ambler Road
High Country News ([link removed])
Sink or swim time for Salton Sea? Momentum builds for pricey lake restoration
USA Today ([link removed])
How Lee Zeldin went from environmental moderate to dismantling the EPA
New York Times ([link removed])
The controversial California city backed by tech elite has a new plan: Boats
The ([link removed]) Guardian ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” The problem with creating lasting solutions for WSAs is not with the locally developed collaboratives or the balanced proposals that they’ve developed. The problem is with Washington, D.C., and their inability to pass legislation in a timely manner.”
—Noah Marion, Wild Montana, Daily Montanan ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
Yellowstone National Park’s largest hot spring, Grand Prismatic, spans 200-330 feet in diameter and plunges more than 121 feet deep. Located in Midway Geyser Basin, its brilliant colors come from heat-loving microorganisms called thermophiles— microscopic life thriving in extreme conditions.
Stay safe in hydrothermal areas: always stay on boardwalks, supervise children and respect the park’s unpredictable nature. @yellowstonenps ([link removed]) is wild and powerful—respect the heat!
Photo by Abhik Mondal
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