Downtown Birmingham viewed from Red Mountain. Two companies in the area will lose $75 million each after their grant funding was eliminated by the U.S. Department of Energy. (John Coletti/The Image Bank)
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday the cancellation of 24 awards issued by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that impacts
two businesses in Alabama.
American Cast Iron Pipe Company and United States Pipe and Foundry Company, LLC were both set to receive $75 million in grant money from the Department of Energy but will no longer receive the funding in light of the grants getting canceled.
“While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a DOE press release. “Today, we are acting in the best interest of the American people by cancelling these 24 awards.”
A message was left with both companies Friday seeking comment.
According to a press release, American Cast Iron Pipe Company made it to the negotiation stage of the awards process and was planning to use the funding to replace single cupola furnaces with four coreless induction furnaces. This would have reduced the facility’s CO2 emissions by an estimated 62% and the melting/holding process CO2 emissions by 95%.
The U.S. Pipe and Foundry Company said in a press release that they planned to use the money for Phase 1 of U.S. Pipe’s Iron Electric Induction Conversion project. The project involved replacing a coke-fired furnace with electric induction melting furnaces and would have resulted in an “estimated 73% reduction in carbon intensity at the Alabama Works ductile iron pipe production facility.”
Of the 24 awards given, nearly 70% were signed between Election Day last year and Jan. 20. By cancelling the awards, the Department of Energy is generating $3.6 billion in savings for Americans.
The DOE said the awards have been terminated because they “failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.”
From Alabama Reflector Post Url: Visit
Author: Andrea Tinker