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The Trump administration canceled a $20 million EPA grant for a wind project in Kotzebue, Alaska, leaving the project paused, according to the Native Village of Kotzebue’s energy project manager. Brookings researchers also report that federal cuts removed hundreds of millions of dollars from tribal programs, disrupting clean-energy, resilience and infrastructure work. The status of individual projects and any replacement funding remains unclear.
The Trump administration canceled a $20 million Environmental Protection Agency grant for a wind project in Kotzebue, Alaska, leaving the project paused and the community reliant on diesel for most of its electricity, according to the Native Village of Kotzebue’s energy project manager. The cancellation is one of broader federal cuts that Brookings Institution researchers say have disrupted tribal clean-energy, climate-resilience and infrastructure projects.
Kotzebue, a small city in northwest Alaska, gets about 75% of its power from diesel. Its location on a gravel spit north of the Arctic Circle means it can receive fuel by sea for only a limited period each year; ice blocks freight barges for much of the year. The source report says residents spend about 20% of their income on energy, more than three times the average energy burden for low-income households nationwide.
The EPA announced the grant in 2024 as part of a $150 million allocation for tribal infrastructure in Alaska. Chad Nordlum, energy project manager for the Native Village of Kotzebue, told Grist that the wind project could have reduced the community’s reliance on diesel to about 40% to 50%. The administration canceled the grant in May 2025, and Nordlum said more than a year later the project remained paused.
The report also cites two Brookings reports on federal funding changes. Brookings researchers said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended many funding streams created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, while the Department of Government Efficiency removed $468 million in funding for Indian Country. About half of that amount was allocated for environmental and natural-resources work, according to the source report; another 11% targeted agriculture. The affected work included renewable energy, climate resilience and jobs programs.
Diesel Costs Keep Kotzebue Exposed
The Kotzebue grant shows how the loss of a single award can affect a project intended to reduce a community’s exposure to costly imported fuel. Nordlum told Grist that the community has little control over diesel prices, while a local wind project could give residents more control over energy supply and related economic decisions. The project’s projected reduction in diesel use is an estimate described by Nordlum, not a completed result.
For tribal communities more broadly, cancellations can interrupt work on energy systems, infrastructure and preparations for climate-related hazards. Brookings researchers Rob Maxim and Glencora Haskins said Indigenous communities face severe climate impacts after years of underinvestment. The scale and consequences vary by project, and the available material does not provide a complete accounting of which canceled awards can be replaced.
The funding dispute also concerns the federal government’s relationship with tribes. Maxim told Grist that tribal funding is tied to federal trust and treaty obligations. The Brookings researchers argue that interruptions to such funding impede tribal sovereignty and community well-being; that is their assessment, rather than a determination in the source material of the legal status of any particular cancellation.
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Federal Funding Before the Cuts
Tribal communities received more than $700 million in climate, energy and infrastructure funding after the pandemic under the Biden administration, according to the source report. The awards covered a range of projects, including climate action plans and food-systems analysis. The report describes those investment levels as unusually high against a longer history of federal underinvestment.
One example was a $25 million grant to the Hopi Tribe to install solar panels at 600 homes. The source says that grant was cut along with the $7 billion Solar for All program. These examples illustrate the range of affected work, but do not establish that all projects funded through federal climate programs were canceled or that every tribal award was affected in the same way.
The Brookings researchers cited by Grist argue that recent cancellations fit a longstanding pattern rather than representing a one-time break from consistent federal support. Maxim described the post-pandemic funding as an exception to the pattern. The source report says the White House and EPA did not respond to requests for comment.
“This underinvestment is kind of the default for the U.S. rather than a blip.”
— Rob Maxim, a Mashpee Wampanoag fellow at Brookings Metro
Replacement Funding Remains Unclear
The source report does not say whether Kotzebue has secured another grant, whether the project could proceed at a smaller scale, or when work might resume. It also does not provide a full list of canceled awards, the number of tribes and projects affected, or a breakdown of how much funding each community lost.
The $468 million figure is presented as a total removed from Indian Country; the report does not specify the timeframe or provide a comparison baseline for that amount. The source also does not establish the final status of every funding stream affected by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act or explain whether any canceled grants are being challenged or reconsidered. The White House and EPA did not respond to the report’s requests for comment, so their rationale for the Kotzebue cancellation is not included.
Congressional Protections Proposed
Maxim and Haskins recommend that Congress pass legislation preventing the cancellation of grants and contracts for tribes and making clear that funding for Indigenous nations serves federal trust and treaty obligations, even when the program has another stated purpose. They also propose requiring federal money to flow directly to tribes rather than requiring communities to pay costs first and seek reimbursement from the U.S. Treasury.
The source report does not identify a bill, a congressional timetable or an administration plan to restore the canceled awards. For Kotzebue, the next practical milestone is whether the community can find replacement funding or another path to restart the wind project. Nordlum’s stated hope for the project is reported, but the material does not confirm a new award or a construction date.
Key Questions
What grant was canceled in Kotzebue?
The EPA canceled a $20 million grant announced in 2024 for a wind-energy project in Kotzebue, Alaska, according to the source report.
How could the wind project have changed Kotzebue’s energy supply?
Energy project manager Chad Nordlum told Grist the project could have reduced the community’s reliance on diesel from about 75% of its power to roughly 40% to 50%. That figure is a projection, not a measured outcome.
How much federal funding did Brookings say was removed?
The source report says Brookings researchers reported $468 million removed from Indian Country by the Department of Government Efficiency. It does not specify the timeframe or a comparison baseline for that total.
Has Kotzebue received replacement funding?
The source report does not say that replacement funding has been secured. It says the wind project remained paused more than a year after the grant was canceled.
What changes are Brookings researchers seeking?
Rob Maxim and Glencora Haskins recommend legislation to protect tribal grants and contracts from cancellation, recognize the connection to federal trust and treaty obligations, and allow funds to flow directly to tribes instead of through reimbursement.
Source: canarymedia.com
