American President Barack Obama has announced a massive pot of funding from his Government’s budget will be put toward helping developing renewable technologies through grants, financial and tax incentives. The pledge toward green energy has been poorly received by the fuel companies which had big subsidies drastically cut.

The budget includes $2.3 billion (£1.47bn) for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and is part of an energy strategy that is re-directing its priorities in clean energy. The US Department of Energy announced $12 million (£7.65m) would be going toward helping the department’s SunShot Incubator program which aims to make solar energy cost competitive by the end of the decade.

The budget has controversially removed an annual subsidy of $4 billion going toward “inefficient and outdated” fossil fuels.

Charles T. Drevna, President of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers said removing support would hurt the American people: “If the president’s proposal is enacted by Congress it will drive up energy costs for American consumers and prevent the creation of desperately needed new jobs for American workers.

“America would be better off if the president opened up more parts of the United States to oil and natural gas production, reduced harmful overregulation that is raising fuel costs and approved construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to bring 700,000 barrels a day of oil to American refineries.”