US axes 24 clean energy projects, including at Exxon's Baytown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. has axed awards to 24 green energy projects issued during President Joe Biden's administration that totaled more than $3.7 billion, including one at an Exxon refinery complex in Texas, the Energy Department said on Friday.

The administration of President Donald Trump has said it is evaluating publicly-funded awards and loans issued to emerging technology projects during Biden's administration. It's occurring as the Trump administration pursues the maximization of already record-high oil and gas output while dismantling swaths of Biden's policies on climate and clean energy.

The Office of Clean Energy Demonstration awards for carbon capture and storage and other technologies the department axed include nearly $332 million to a project at Exxon Mobil's Baytown, Texas refinery complex, $500 million to Heidelberg Materials, US in Louisiana, and $375 million to Eastman Chemical Company in Longview, Texas.

The Baytown award was meant to cut carbon emissions by enabling the use of hydrogen instead of natural gas for the production of ethylene, a feedstock used in producing textiles and plastic resins.

The department said nearly 70% of the awards had been signed between the November 5, 2024, election day and January 20, Biden's last day in office.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Carbon capture projects aim to help curb climate change by removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide directly from the air or from the pollution streams of facilities including refineries and plants that burn coal and make ethanol, for storage underground. Sometimes the gas is injected into aging oil fields to push out remaining crude.

Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, said the move was short-sighted and could stifle innovation.

“Locking domestic plants into outdated technology is not a recipe for future competitiveness or bringing manufacturing jobs back to American communities," Nadel said.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner. Additional reporting by Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Mark Potter and Bill Berkrot)