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DOGE Comes for Clean Energy, Putting Exxon and Occidental Projects at Risk
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Today: Thousands of DOE jobs are expected to be eliminated as Trump goes after a favorite target; how the U.S. lost its place as the world’s manufacturing powerhouse; Equinor suspends Empire Wind project.
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A fuel-switching demonstration project at an Exxon plant in Texas is at risk of losing Energy Department funding. Photo: Lao Chengyue/Zuma Press
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Welcome back: The Energy Department is preparing dramatic cuts that could halt nearly $10 billion in federal funding for clean-energy projects—and some of its highest profile partnerships with Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum are at stake, the WSJ's Jennifer Hiller reports.
The proposed cuts would upend government contracts with energy companies working on hydrogen, carbon capture, long-duration energy storage and other technologies, according to department memos reviewed by the Journal. Thousands of DOE jobs are expected to be eliminated.
The cuts are part of a broad campaign by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency to shrink the scale of the government and its spending. DOGE efforts, led by Elon Musk, have slashed contracts and resulted in thousands of job cuts across the federal workforce so far.
The $10 billion sum reflects potential funding cuts in two DOE offices and likely a slice of the DOGE-driven cancellations under consideration across the Energy Department, according to current and former officials.
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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How Leveraging Sustainability Data Can Create Business Value
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AI and digital tools can significantly accelerate the collection, analysis, and reporting of sustainability data that can help drive business value, says Salesforce’s Steffen Müller. Read More
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How the U.S. Lost Its Place as the World’s Manufacturing Powerhouse
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President Trump says his sweeping tariff regime is aimed at bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. Economists are skeptical and worry that the damage they create will outweigh any benefits.
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The Journal’s Justin Lahart lays out how the U.S. lost its place as the world’s factory powerhouse, with 9.4% of private-sector jobs in manufacturing today, down from 35% in the 1950s. Growing wealth and education shifted domestic demand and investment toward services, and factory jobs leveled off while services jobs grew from the mid-1960s through early 1980s.
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Meanwhile, less-developed countries started picking up low-cost production slack. This intensified in the 1990s with the North American Free Trade Agreement, and then shifted completely once China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
By 2008, China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s No. 1 exporter of goods. Meanwhile, the U.S. took command of the global market for services, and now exports over $1 trillion of services a year.
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Equinor Suspends Activity at Empire Wind Project as It Mulls Appeal
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A wind turbine in the North Sea. Equinor said its Empire Wind project project had a gross book value of around $2.5 billion. Photo: Oeyvind Gravaas / Equinor/via Reuters
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Equinor said it is suspending construction activities for its Empire Wind project off the coast of New York following a halt-work order from the U.S. government as it considers legal options including an appeal, Adrià Calatayud reports for WSJ Pro Sustainable Business.
The Norwegian energy group said Thursday that it is in the process of ascertaining the impact of the move on the project and financing. The project had a gross book value of around $2.5 billion and $1.5 billion drawn from a loan as of the end of March, it said.
In a full-stop scenario, the $1.5 billion would be repaid to project-finance lenders and the company would be exposed to termination fees to suppliers, Equinor said.
The company said it is engaging with authorities to clarify the matter after it received Wednesday notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt all activities until a review is completed.
The Interior Department directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt all construction immediately on the Empire Wind project after a federal review suggested the Biden Administration rushed the project’s approval without sufficient analysis, Secretary Doug Burgum said in an X post Wednesday.
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Here is our weekly roundup of stories from across WSJ Pro that we think you'll find useful.
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President Trump wants to revive the U.S.’s commercial shipping fleet as a matter of national security. America doesn’t have enough sailors to do it.
Nuclear energy is hot again. Can AI help manage the power plants?
U.S. private-equity exits and their total value rose in the first quarter from a year ago, but recent market volatility puts that momentum at risk.
J.M. Smucker, the owner of Hostess baked goods like Twinkies and Ding Dongs, is courting a new group of snackers: stoners.
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Farmers’ favorite weedkiller nears its end, Bayer warns. (WSJ)
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BP suffers biggest AGM protest vote in five years. (FT)
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Geely, Renault working on way to turn EVs into hybrids. (Bloomberg)
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Apple achieves over 60% reduction in GHG emissions. (ESG News)
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Not so fast. Large institutional investors still care about DEI. (Barron's)
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Trump opens protected marine zone to commercial fishing. (NYT)
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SBTi wants more small companies to set net-zero goals. (Trellis)
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Rechargeable home batteries: a look at some options (WSJ)
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Why your fancy boat might have termites (WSJ)
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