The U.S. Department of Energy plans to return more than $13 billion that had been approved under the Biden administration to incentivize the development of renewable energy projects.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the decision reflects the Trump administration’s focus on more affordable, reliable, and secure American energy and on careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

This shift follows an executive order by President Donald Trump directing the Treasury Department to terminate the clean-electricity production and investment tax credits for wind and solar under Sections 45Y and 48E. Treasury was instructed to complete this termination within 45 days of the Budget Reconciliation Bill’s enactment and to implement tighter foreign entity of concern restrictions described in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Treasury was asked to issue new or revised guidance that is appropriate and consistent with the applicable law, ensuring that policies concerning the “beginning of construction” are not circumvented. The Secretary should achieve this by preventing the artificial acceleration or manipulation of eligibility and restricting the use of broad safe harbors unless a substantial portion of a subject facility has been built.

Trump has stated multiple times that the federal government has allowed American taxpayers to subsidize what he considers costly and unreliable energy sources, such as wind and solar, for a considerable period. He claimed these projects displaced affordable, reliable, and dispatchable domestic energy sources, weakened the electric grid, and harmed the nation’s natural landscape.

He has also said that dependence on green subsidies has exposed the U.S. to foreign-controlled supply chains, threatening national security. Ending these taxpayer-funded handouts, according to the President, is crucial for achieving energy dominance, fostering economic growth, ensuring national security, and maintaining fiscal stability.

Trump signed a 940-page domestic policy and tax package into law on July 4, after the House adopted the Senate’s reconciliation bill without changes in a 218–214 vote.