A dozen states, led by California, are suing the federal government for the cancellation of billions in funding for alternative energy projects approved by Congress.
The suit was filed with a District Court in California, with the plaintiffs—a total of 13 states—alleging that “the termination and abandonment of funding violate the constitutional separation of powers, as the funding was approved by bipartisan majorities in Congress,” per a statement from the California Attorney General’s office.
“The President claims to seek ‘American Energy Dominance’ but, in California, his unlawful termination of over $1.2 billion in total funding for crucial clean energy projects means over 200,000 union job cuts, rising energy prices, and higher rates of pollution that wreak havoc on our health,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in the statement.
The Trump administration did a quick job of canceling billions in funding secured by the previous administration for transition-related projects, including wind and solar capacity installations, and EV and battery manufacturing.
Last year, the Trump administration imposed a deadline to qualify for certain solar subsidies, instituted a ban on offshore wind installations, and axed EV tax incentives. Last month, the Energy Department canceled another $83 billion in federal funding pledged by the previous administration for transition projects.
The California Attorney General is also planning a legal challenge to the recent rescinding of the so-called endangerment finding that classified CO2, methane, and four other gases as pollutants, providing the basis for essentially all climate change-related legislation since then. The Environmental Protection Agency revoked the endangerment finding earlier this month, prompting an outcry among environmentalist organizations and pro-transition politicians.
The move cancels all current requirements for tracking, reporting, and aiming to reduce emissions of the six gases included in the 2009 endangerment finding. “This amounts to the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States,” EPA’s head, Lee Zeldin, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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