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Inside the national purge hitting BETA and UVM
When Vermonters learned on October 2, 2025, that federal grants for BETA Technologies and the University of Vermont (UVM) had been canceled, the initial news left more questions than answers. The termination of a ~$1.8 million grant for BETA and a ~$3.4 million grant for UVM was part of a larger federal action, but the reasons why remained unclear. This article fills in the missing pieces to provide a complete picture of why these specific Vermont projects were defunded and what it means for the state.
The National Picture: A Politically Targeted Action
To understand what happened in Vermont, we must first look to Washington. The cancellation of the BETA and UVM grants was not an isolated event. On that same day, the Trump administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) announced the termination of 223 projects nationwide, totaling nearly $7.6 billion in funding, according to reports from the Washington Post and Associated Press.
The administration’s official reason was that after a “thorough, individualized financial review,” the projects were deemed “not economically viable” and failed to advance the nation’s energy needs, according to the DOE’s press release. However, a stark political pattern quickly emerged. Political observers and news outlets like Utility Dive immediately pointed out that all 223 canceled projects were located in the 16 states that had voted against President Trump in the 2024 election.
This pattern was reinforced by the administration’s own rhetoric. White House OMB Director Russell Vought publicly framed the cuts as canceling “nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding,” according to PBS News. This language suggested the decision was driven less by sober financial analysis and more by a political agenda to dismantle the previous administration’s clean energy policies in states led by their political opposition.
A Closer Look at the Vermont Projects
The administration’s broad-brush justification of cutting “Green New Scam” projects falls apart when examining the specific grants awarded in Vermont.
BETA Technologies: A Matter of National Security
BETA’s project was not a typical environmental initiative. Its goal was to solve a critical logistical problem for the U.S. military: how to rapidly recharge electric aircraft and vehicles in remote or forward-deployed locations with no power grid. According to federal grant documents, the project was designed for “austere environments”—a term commonly used in defense and disaster response.
This project had direct applications for national security and military readiness, aligning with BETA’s existing contracts with the U.S. Air Force. The decision to cancel this grant suggests that the project’s “clean energy” label was enough to condemn it, regardless of its strategic importance to national interests the administration claims to prioritize.
University of Vermont: Empowering Local Communities
UVM’s “Energyshed” project was designed to embody Vermont’s tradition of local control. In partnership with national energy labs, UVM was developing tools to help local planning committees and citizens—not just experts—understand the trade-offs of different renewable energy options, according to the Department of Energy. The project was about empowering data-driven, town-level decision-making.
The cancellation of this grant presents a sharp contradiction. A federal administration that often champions local control took direct action to defund a project specifically created to enhance it. This indicates the administration’s ideological opposition to renewable energy overrode any philosophical alignment with the project’s community-focused, Vermont-style approach.
The Response: A Calculated Silence
The sweeping, politically targeted cuts sparked outrage from Democrats and environmental groups nationally. In Vermont, however, the reaction was more muted, largely due to the broader political context.
- Vermont’s Congressional Delegation: While no immediate statements were found from Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch or Representative Becca Balint on these specific cuts, their records show they were already deeply engaged in fighting other widespread federal funding cuts targeting Vermont. For instance, Senator Sanders was battling the cancellation of the “Solar for All” program he had authored, according to his Senate office. The delegation was fighting a war on many fronts, and this was another battle.
- The Governor’s Office: Republican Governor Phil Scott was in a difficult position as the leader of a targeted state. No public statement on the matter was found, likely reflecting a strategic decision to avoid a public conflict with a president from his own party.
- BETA and UVM: The affected institutions themselves remained publicly silent. For UVM, this was likely a calculated move. The university was already dealing with the termination of other federal grants and, as its Vice President for Research told Seven Days earlier in the year, was trying to assess its “risk exposure” to an administration actively looking for targets. Protesting loudly could have invited more unwanted attention.
The Full Picture and What Vermonters Can Do
The evidence strongly indicates that the BETA and UVM grants were not canceled on their individual merits. Instead, they were casualties of a national, politically motivated strategy to punish “blue states” and dismantle clean energy initiatives, regardless of their strategic or community value.
For Vermonters seeking to understand the issue and decide on the best path forward, several key questions remain unanswered:
- Where is the proof? The administration never released the documents from its supposed “individualized financial review.”
- Did Vermont appeal? It is unknown if BETA or UVM used the 30-day window to appeal the decision.
- What is the long-term impact? The full effect on jobs, innovation, and Vermont’s tech sector is yet to be determined.
By looking beyond the initial headline, it becomes clear that this was not just a story about two canceled grants, but about how national politics can directly impact Vermont’s future in innovation, community planning, and even national security.
Compass Vermont is an independent, native publication focused on a collaborative resource model. This ensures thorough research and reporting that serves every resident, not just specific interest groups.
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Categories: Business, National News, Science and Technology
This should be a wake up call to Vermont. Alternative energy products are more expensive and less efficient than conventional energy. This is not a political move but rather an economic one. Should the country invest in that for which the cost benefit ratio is paltry? Probably not. Perhaps we should have more local hydro power, locally owned and operated, or perhaps we should have locally owned and operated small modular reactors. Solar fields are not clean and entail loots of off shore resources many produced with nearly slave labor. They are a scar on the landscape and undernerneath them accumulates toe residues of herbicides so these fields do not obliterate the solar panels and also,do not catch fire. The wind turbines are even uglier and they are loud, they require tremendous amounts of concrete and other resources and they too require a ton of maintenance and are subject to blade failures for which there is no viable recycling. They disturb bird populations and who knows what other creatures they confuse.
A well disguised propaganda piece that shifts blame to Trump for wrong thinking and ideologically based lucrative projects (fed fund babies) based on lies.
What’s really happening is failure of relevance is exposed and this is the price: defunding.
The truth shall be revealed.
Re: “This project had direct applications for national security and military readiness, aligning with BETA’s existing contracts with the U.S. Air Force. The decision to cancel this grant suggests that the project’s “clean energy” label was enough to condemn it, regardless of its strategic importance to national interests the administration claims to prioritize.”
‘The decision suggests that…..” yada, yada, yada.
No it doesn’t. The decision may just as well suggest that the application was no longer necessary, or that it was rendered obsolete by alternative technologies, or that the return on the investment was marginal.
Re: “Compass Vermont is an independent, native publication focused on a collaborative resource model. This ensures thorough research and reporting that serves every resident, not just specific interest groups.”
Yah, right.
Interesting angle since same people want to throw the Air Guard with responsibility of patrolling the Northeastern coast against intruders out of Vermont, really care for USAF? Nice to see that there is finally a crackdown on ‘The Green New Scam’
In early 2025, the Beta Industries Alia CX300 flew from Plattsburgh to Santa Monica, CA in a mere 22 days. That’s a lot of recharging. So now what?
as far as beta is concerned, it’s called a diesel generator for off the grid charging, as far as UVM, didn’t we just burn thru a billion taxpayers dollars for the studies for clean energy, all that carbon credit nonsense that was gonna add $1.00 or more per gallon for us to heat our homes? As far as I’m concerned, it’s all not needed.
“BETA’s project was not a typical environmental initiative. Its goal was to solve a critical logistical problem for the U.S. military: how to rapidly recharge electric aircraft and vehicles in remote or forward-deployed locations with no power grid.”
The patent stupidity is obvious. More cuts of programs like this, please.
Tyler, the Pentagon just cut the electric fighting vehicles program, what is it going to recharge?
Why would the military be using electric vehicles or aircraft? That would be just pain nuts. War is not a game nor a place for failed environmental programs. Hybrids yes!
Another Propaganda piece to try and get Vermonters to continue pouring money into the Green Scam .It takes more crude to build and maintain a windmill .They can’t find fields big enough to bury old solar panels in the ground . I agree Hydro and new safer nuclear a much more viable solution.
Lou, question for ya: Is it terrible that I have enough solar panels on my property to sustain my energy needs for the next 20 years? Just wondering. I do enjoy not paying a delivery service for the sun’s energy. Do you suppose energy independence is a terrible situation for an individual?
It sounds like @Nick answered his own question: for yourself, individually, you had plenty of information available to make your own decision that was right for you. Why on earth would you also need to add $3.2 + million dollars to the national debt? I am speculating here, but it sure sounds like that money would be used to grow the propaganda and control of the people by a single political viewpoint. Further speculation wonders if that money wasn’t earmarked for funding purely political “progressive” agenda.
” To create data-driven tools to help local Vermont communities make informed decisions about their own renewable energy future.” I can think of many pernicious uses of such a project. Once developed, it could be part of a social credit/control system allocating energy use of various types to politically compliant people. Obviously, monitoring energy usage would be necessary for any data-driven project. I am thankful this has been eliminated. Now, please end the subsidies for the solar and wind farms and develop clean, modern nuclear energy instead.
Great comment Carole, one thing to remember is “A Government Big Enough to Take Care of You, is Big Enough to ‘Take care of you'”!
It used to be common and rational to learn from the mistakes of others. One only has to look at what going Green has done to the economy and living standards in the former industrial power house of Germany and to a lesser extent other European countries and the UK. But Leftists don’t learn. Like with Socialism, the Left just claims that the other people didn’t do it right, but we’ll get it right this time. All we have to do is do what they tell us to do….or else.
Paul, regarding socialism, do you think it beneficial for the US government to invest in Intel and other businesses? Or is that type of social ownership totally cool and not even remotely socialism?
Yes, Nick,
It’s far preferable to have Ben Bernanke scribble a multibillion figure on a cocktail napkin and use that as the guidepost for Obama bailing out GM, AIG, and the banks that created the financial meltdown of 2008, with the people who bailed them out (you and I) receiving nothing in return. Right?
Tyler, it is amazing to hear republicans slide into socialism. And all because Trump says so. BTW, I was not a fan of what obama did. It was a terrible decision. And from what I gather, you want the federal government to own businesses as long as the government makes money off of it. THAT’S WHAT BERNIE SANDERS HAS BEEN SAYING FOR DECADES. I didn’t take you for a socialist. But if trump likes it, so goes his followers. Bye bye conservatism.
The data centers, data mining, data storage, data reporting, data for sale is now under the purview and control of Palantir and Oracle – in large part, if not whole.
If one viewed the spectacle of the who was front and center, seated at the grand banquet tables within the White House and Windsor Castle recently – who stood behind the resident’s inauguration in January 2025 – it should be plain to see who is running the show, with who’s blessings, and the contracts signed, sealed, along with the fates of every citizen – here and abroad.
The energy consumption the data centers use is of no consequence except to We, the People. The water consumption is of no consquence except to We, the People. The right to privacy and personal autonomy gone – right under our noses, for our sloth-like convenience, and woeful lack of appitude and awareness. The deals done dirty and no seems to notice and no one seems to care – unless you are one of the 1-5% holding all the marbles and strings now.
Brace and prepare yourselves for a series of shocks and awe no one thought plausible or possible.
“ The administration’s broad-brush justification of cutting “Green New Scam” projects falls apart when examining the specific grants awarded in Vermont.”
All arguments fall apart when you consider the highest law of the land: The DOE does not fall within the delegated powers of Article 1 section 8. We the People have not authorized that department and therefore its redirection of our tax dollars. Our tax burden would be lower and federal deficits unnecessary if the Constitution were enforced. See tacticalcivics.com for the plan.
Great cuts, we have many more things like this in Montpelier to cut, many more.