The Trump administration is continuing to destabilize federal support for renewable energy deployment by eliminating or altering certain Dept. of Energy offices supporting decarbonizing the grid.
The New York Times first reported that several offices present under the Biden administration’s Dept. of Energy, and that were vital to renewable energy research and deployment for decades, have been replaced or shuttered in President Donald Trump’s DOE. In a department organizational chart published Thursday, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) are gone, and offices centered on nuclear energy and fossil fuel deployment have taken their place.
The EERE had existed in some form since 1973, but was named in 1993 during a DOE reorganization. The EERE retained 10 sub-offices responsible for advancing federal programs supporting decarbonizing efforts on the grid, in transportation, industry, buildings and agriculture. Under the EERE, the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) was made in 2000 and named in 2012. SETO had issued millions of dollars in funding opportunities for solar energy projects and research annually.
Since taking office, Trump has openly shown hostility toward the renewable energy sector, following on promises to cut federal funding supporting the technology. In August, the Environmental Protection Agency cancelled $7 billion in project funding through the Solar For All program. That same month, the Dept. of Agriculture halted funding for solar and wind projects through the Rural Energy for America Program, which has been an economic lifeline for farmers and small rural businesses to build solar.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the energy department is aligning its operations to restore commonsense [sic] to energy policy, lower costs for American families and businesses and ensure the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
