The Trump administration has officially axed a $4.9 billion Biden-era loan guarantee for the massive Grain Belt Express transmission project. Designed to carry wind and solar energy 800 miles from Kansas to the Midwest and East, the project is now dead in the water.
During its final months, the Biden DOE approved the loan in November 2024, praising it as a “national energy security backbone.” But today’s DOE, under Trump control, terminated the funding, declaring the financial terms “unlikely to be met” and stressing that taxpayer resources should be used more responsibly.
The DOE stated, “After a thorough review of the project’s financials, DOE found that the conditions necessary to issue the guarantee are unlikely to be met… It is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project.”
Sen. Josh Hawley cheered the decision, calling the Grain Belt Express “a boondoggle” and applauding the Trump administration for pulling the plug. Meanwhile, the DOE indicated a new “lower risk tolerance” for federal backing of clean energy projects, and Trump’s executive orders now prioritize traditional energy sources: oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and hydropower.
Opposition from Midwest landowners—who saw the project as an eminent domain threat—kept growing. Even some renewable energy proponents argued that the plan unfairly coerced farmers and lacked sufficient buy-in.
This move marks a stark reversal from Biden’s green agenda, symbolizing a broader shift under Trump toward fossil fuels and energy dominance. Critics warn it lashes clean energy initiatives at a time when investing in renewables and grid resilience is critical.
