Had the federal funding freeze not happened, Wyoming would be in the midst of designing its new Home Energy Savings Program.
The program would be housed under the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA), and is dependent on $69 million earmarked by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The idea was to connect qualifying Wyomingites with local contractors to complete energy savings projects in their homes, like a new heat pump or double pane windows, and use federal funds to pay for it.
But all that’s up in the air now, said Patrick Millin, WEA state energy program manager.
“We received a conditional [DOE financial] award while things were still shaking out between the November election and the January swearing in of President Trump,” said Millin. “That was subject to further negotiation with DOE, and we just have not been able to negotiate with DOE.”
That earmarked $69 million was conditional because it was dependent on Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding. Trump campaigned on rolling those funds back.
Millin said this caused some uncertainty with the program from the get-go. But Wyoming chose to still move forward with its application after a series of public input sessions.
“We received a lot of positive comments from both private citizens and potential contractors for the program, all in support for that overarching goal of trying to help save people money on their energy bills,” Millin said.
The sunset date to use the federal allocated funds was the end of 2031. But Millin said they had enough interest that they estimated Wyoming would’ve burned through the money three years early.
Millin said the initial timeline proposed to Wyoming, before Trump took office, indicated the $69 million would hit the program’s account in March. But there’s been no deposit and no word.
“We’re talking to our other state partners, trying to see who hears from DOE first,” Millin said.
Wyoming’s plan was to start designing the program in April and roll it out by the end of summer for Wyomingites to start applying. Now, Millin said it’s unclear if or when it’ll happen.
“We stand ready to move forward with the program, if that's the direction that DOE wants to take,” he said. “But at this time, we're still kind of on pause waiting for direction from DOE.”
When reached for comment, a DOE spokesperson confirmed the $69 million conditionally awarded in January to Wyoming’s program, but said future negotiation and “a future modification is required to lift conditions on the awards.”
They added that DOE is “conducting a department-wide review to ensure all activities follow the law and align with the Trump administration’s priorities. The American people provided President Trump with a mandate to govern and to unleash ‘American Energy Dominance.’”
DOE did not clarify when this review will be complete or when a modification will happen to lift conditions on Wyoming’s awards.
