Governor warns Trump Administration that rolling back already-approved awards at a time of record-high energy demand and rising costs would be reckless
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers sent a letter amid reports that the Trump Administration plans to terminate over 600 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding awards, including more than $1.5 billion in approved funding to Wisconsin-based companies and organizations or projects located in Wisconsin with energy-related goals and objectives. In a letter to DOE Secretary Chris Wright, Gov. Evers noted that terminating these funding awards at a time of record-high energy demand and rising costs would be “counterintuitive, reckless, and ill-advised.”
This letter comes as the governor recently highlighted that efforts by President Trump and Republicans in Congress to roll back clean energy investments will cause the average household energy costs across the U.S. to increase by an additional $170 annually over the next decade, according to a recent analysis by Energy Innovation. In Wisconsin alone, Wisconsinites will face a $300 annual increase on household energy bills due to the actions of the Trump Administration by 2035.
Among the Wisconsin-based projects, companies, and organizations facing terminated funding, totaling over $1.5 billion, include:
- Honeywell International Inc. – $123.8 million
- Slipstream Group Inc. – $5.1 million
- Johnson Controls Inc. – $33 million
- A.O. Smith Corporation – $25 million
- Modine Manufacturing – $15.7 million
- Honeywell International Inc. – $14.7 million
- Harley Davidson Inc. – $89 million
- University of Wisconsin System – $2.9 million
- University of Wisconsin System – $9.9 million
- City of Kaukauna – $3 million
- Generac Power Systems Inc. – $50 million
- Wisconsin Power and Light Company – $50 million
- Generac Grid Services LLC – $49 million
- Komatsu America Corp – $2.5 million
- Kohler Co. – $51 million
- Wisconsin Power and Light Company – $30.7 million
- Nextera Energy Resources Development LLC – $49.1 million
- Dairyland Power Cooperative – $28 million
- Heartland Hydrogen Hub LLC – $925 million
- Slipstream Group Inc. – $3.9 million
- Slipstream Group Inc. – $2.8 million
- Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership Inc. – $1.5 million
A copy of the governor’s letter to U.S. DOE Secretary Wright is available here, and a transcript of the letter is available below.
Dear Secretary Wright:
I am writing to express my concern regarding potential terminations of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding awards to entities and businesses in Wisconsin and to urge the Trump Administration to reconsider any plans to terminate these awards. Federal support plays a critical role in advancing the Wisconsin Idea and American innovation, lowering energy bills for families across America, supporting clean energy development to improve energy independence and resilience, creating good-paying jobs in innovative industries and sectors, and maintaining our nation’s leadership in science and technology.
Given these clear benefits and the importance of these investments to Wisconsin’s and our nation’s economy, I was deeply concerned to see reporting last week containing a list of over 600 DOE funding awards that are potentially going to be targeted for termination with no clear reasoning or justification.
From that list, awards to Wisconsin-based companies and organization or projects located partially or fully in Wisconsin total over $1.5 billion alone.
The funding awards in question span across multiple programs with multiple energy-related goals and objectives. For example, multiple funding awards to Wisconsin entities through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program are targeted for termination. The GRIP Program is designed to enhance grid flexibility and improve the resilience of power systems against extreme weather. Terminating this funding will harm Wisconsinites and leave communities more susceptible to power outages and more costly repairs from future extreme weather events.
In addition, the list includes multiple funding awards to Slipstream Inc., a Wisconsin-based organization, to help communities implement energy-saving power systems in buildings. These technologies reduce energy use and lower energy bills, both of which are critical in this moment as we are seeing record-high energy demand and folks across our state are struggling with rising costs. Multiple funding awards through the Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstrations Program are also listed, including a $28 million award to Dairyland Power Cooperative, headquartered in La Crosse, to build out behind-the-meter energy storage systems to increase energy capacity and improve resilience in rural communities. Further, multiple Wisconsin entities were awarded funding from DOE to help increase domestic production of electric heat pumps through the Heat Pump Defense Production Act Program to drive energy innovation and security while creating new good-paying jobs nationwide. These funding awards are also included on the reported list for termination, creating significant uncertainty.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is also among the recipients included in the proposed list of projects to be terminated. Our state university system has long been a hub for advanced energy research, and federal funds support cutting-edge work in fields like battery storage, carbon capture, grid modernization, and biofuels. These are areas that are critical for the future of U.S. energy independence, and losing this support will slow technological progress and hamper critical research into new and emerging technologies.
Finally, a roughly $1.5 million award to the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) to support energy-related workforce training is included in the list for potential termination. Wisconsin is a national leader in apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programing, thanks to the work of state and local partners like WRTP. As new technologies develop and building code updates move forward in Wisconsin, a skilled energy workforce will become even more essential.
The projects and funding awards highlighted here are just a few of the many Wisconsin-connected awards and projects facing potential termination. Terminating these funding awards at a time of record-high energy demand and rising costs would be counterintuitive, reckless, and ill-advised. I urge you to reaffirm DOE’s commitment to honoring these funding awards and to continue supporting these investments that drive Wisconsin’s and the nation’s energy landscape forward.
Yours in service,
Tony Evers
Governor
An online version of this release is available here.