In JD Vance’s hometown, this OCED project is turning back to coal

A federal clean-energy grant meant to cut pollution at a steel plant in Middletown, Ohio, is being redirected toward a coal-based process instead. Cleveland-Cliffs, which runs the Middletown Works mill, had been awarded up to $500 million in 2024 through the Department of Energy's Industrial Demonstrations Program to replace a coal-fired blast furnace with cleaner equipment running on natural gas, and eventually hydrogen, paired with electric furnaces. That plan was expected to cut about a million tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year.

Under the Trump administration, the company will still get the full $500 million, but the money will now pay for upgrades to the existing coal-burning blast furnace, new material-handling equipment, AI-based process controls, and a cogeneration unit that recycles waste gas into electricity and steam. The total project cost stays at $1 billion, with the government matching the company's spending. Critics, including a Georgetown law professor, argue this violates the law authorizing the funds, which required the money go toward technology that reduces emissions toward net-zero, not toward locking in decades more of coal use.

This story is about federal industrial policy and a single steel plant, not a program homeowners can tap into. It does not affect home energy rebates, weatherization funding, or heat pump incentives directly. But it does signal how the current administration is redirecting Biden-era clean energy funding, which is worth watching if you're tracking whether other federal energy programs, including those tied to home upgrades, might see similar shifts.