Energy Department Announces Organizational Realignment to Strengthen Efficiency and Unleash American Energy

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November 21, 2025

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(U.S. Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced an organizational realignment designed to strengthen DOE’s ability to execute President Trump’s bold agenda to restore American energy dominance. -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced an organizational realignment designed to strengthen DOE’s ability to execute President Trump’s bold agenda to restore American energy dominance. This realignment reflects the Administration’s priorities of expanding American energy production, accelerating scientific and technological leadership, and ensuring the continued safety and readiness of the Nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Energy Department is aligning its operations to restore commonsense 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. “These changes will help us better execute the DOE mission of delivering affordable, reliable and secure American energy for the American people." READ MORE

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DOE launches organizational realignment (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
Energy Department reorganizes, a move it says will help it align with Trump priorities (The Hill)
A Trump Overhaul of the Energy Dept. Breaks Up Clean Energy Offices -- The reorganization reflects the ongoing shift in the federal government’s energy priorities: less renewable energy, more fossil fuels. (New York Times)
Trump Energy department drops renewables, promotes fusion in office reshuffle (Tech Crunch/MSN)
Wright overhauls DOE, reflecting shift in US energy priorities -- The Energy secretary has reshaped the department to promote fossil fuels, nuclear power and critical minerals. (E&E News Greenwire)
DOE Reorganization Shifts Focus to Fossil and Nuclear (E+E Leader)
DOE Reorganization Removes Key Clean Energy Offices, Creating Uncertainty for Existing Programs (ACT News)
DOE removes ‘renewable energy’ from lab’s name, shifts focus -- A Department of Energy official says the National Renewable Energy Lab is "no longer picking and choosing energy sources." (Politioc Pro Energywire)

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The U.S. Department of Energy on Nov. 20 announced an organizational realignment. The current Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Bioenergy Technologies Office are among the DOE departments that will be impacted.

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The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is currently housed under the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Innovation and headed by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Currently, the EERE contains 10 technology offices, including the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), along with offices dedicated to advanced materials and manufacturing, buildings, geothermal, hydrogen and fuel cell, industrial efficiency and decarbonization, solar energy, vehicle technologies, water power and wind energy.

The BETO focuses on research, development and demonstration of technologies aimed to enable the use of domestic biomass and waste resources for the production of biofuels and bioproducts. It currently spearheads efforts related to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, CO2 utilization, transportation biofuels, waste-to-energy innovation, bioproducts production, wood heater innovation, and algae. BETO is also the DOE office that has published and updated the Billion-Ton Report.

According to a DOE spokesperson, the EERE has been renamed the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI). Some functions associated with the DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, Office of State and Community Energy Programs, and Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management have also been realigned to the newly formed CMEI. An update flow chart released by the agency indicates the CMEI will no longer be housed under the Office of Science.

The DOE did not elaborate on how the many functions of the EERE and BETO will be impacted as the agency rolls out the organizational realignment. READ MORE

Excerpt from The Hill: An organizational chart released to the public no longer lists the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. According to the department, this office will be renamed as the newly established Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.

That office will also take on pieces of what was formerly the Grid Deployment, Clean Energy Demonstrations and fossil energy and carbon management offices, among others.

Spokesperson Emery Washington said that the reorganization will not result in staff reductions.

In addition, the reorganization reassigns offices related to electricity and nuclear energy from falling under the under secretary for science and innovation to under the secretary’s office.

Similarly, the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office will also fall under the secretary. “Hydrocarbons” typically refer to fossil fuels.

The reorganization also appears to rename the Loan Programs Office to the Office of Energy Dominance Financing.

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At least one former Energy Department official warned that reorganizing the department might take away from its activities.

“Reorganizing Federal agencies is a disruptive effort, taking time away from an Agency capacity to serve the country. Given the recent talent drain and other challenges, let’s hope for the sake of U.S. energy security, competitiveness, and the business certainty that this is a positive,” Kathleen Hogan, a former senior career employee, said in a statement that was shared with The Hill. READ MORE

Excerpt from Tech Crunch/MSN: Some of these moves will likely spur legal challenges, E&E News points out, given that at least one office caught up in the reorg, the OCED, was authorized by Congress under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“The authority of Cabinet secretaries to move around major functions and offices is very limited, especially when those offices were established and funded through congressional action. Congress has put tight handcuffs on reorganizations, and plans typically require either congressional approval or the opportunity for congressional review,” Donald Kettl, a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told E&E News.

The creation of the Office of Fusion was likely spurred to encourage commercialization of the technology. Previously, fusion fell under the Office of Science, which is focused on research rather than commercialization. READ MORE

Excerpt from E&E News Greenwire: Audrey Robertson, who leads DOE’s efficiency and renewables office, told staff in an email obtained by E&E News that the office is now part of the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.

“With these changes, EERE will be combined with MESC, SCEP and FEMP along with the Minerals Sustainability Office from the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy office,” Robertson wrote. “We will also be welcoming elements of [Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations] and [Grid Deployment Office] as those offices will be wound down.”

The changes reflect Trump administration priorities to boost critical minerals, fossil fuels, nuclear and technologies such as fusion, while shrinking support for renewables, electric vehicles and low-carbon power. They will overhaul how the federal government distributes money on everything from oil and gas to efficiency projects.

DOE has gone through reorganizations before, including in Trump’s first term.

But OCED was authorized by the infrastructure law and other offices have specified appropriations, which is likely to spur legal questions.

“The authority of Cabinet secretaries to move around major functions and offices is very limited, especially when those offices were established and funded through congressional action. Congress has put tight handcuffs on reorganizations, and plans typically require either congressional approval or the opportunity for congressional review,” said Donald Kettl, a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. READ MORE

Excerpt from E+E Leader: Major Clean-Energy Offices Removed

According to the chart and corroborating internal sources, the following offices have been removed or merged without public explanation:

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED)
Grid Deployment Office (GDO)
Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP)
Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)

A DOE source speaking to Latitude on background said EERE’s functions are being absorbed by a newly created Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), an office that now reports directly to the Under Secretary of Energy.

Significantly, OCED, MESC, GDO, and SCEP were all created under the BIL to deploy billions for grid modernization, clean-energy manufacturing, and community energy initiatives. DOE has begun issuing cancellation lists indicating nearly $24 billion in awards may be rescinded.

This represents one of the largest rollbacks of congressionally directed clean-energy funding in U.S. history.

Priorities Shift to Fossil Fuels, Nuclear, and Critical Minerals

The restructuring elevates hydrocarbon and nuclear functions while rebranding others:

Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management → Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO): The renaming signals reduced emphasis on carbon management and expanded support for conventional fossil production alongside geothermal.
Loan Programs Office → Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF): This newly named office has already begun backing more nuclear and fossil projects, though it recently approved a $1.6 billion transmission loan.
New Offices Under Science and Technology: Office of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum (AIQ)
- Office of Fusion (OF)
- Office of Strategy & Technology Roadmaps (OSTR)
- Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC)

These additions mirror components of the former Office of Critical and Emerging Technology, created in 2023 to coordinate the work of national labs on AI, semiconductors, and quantum systems. That office no longer appears.

Outside experts note that while this shift deprioritizes decarbonization, it accelerates federal investment in nuclear, AI infrastructure, and critical mineral supply chains — all areas where the administration seeks geopolitical leverage.

According to IEA’s 2024 Critical Minerals Market Review, global clean-energy transitions still require a 150–250% increase in critical mineral supply by 2030. The prominence of CMEI on DOE’s new chart suggests that the administration sees mining, processing, and mineral security as the linchpin of U.S. energy strategy.

Billions in Clean-Energy Funding at Risk

Preliminary lists circulating among DOE staff and grant recipients indicate potential cuts in:

Grid resilience and transmission modernization (GDO)
Hydrogen hubs and demonstration-scale projects (OCED)
Battery and advanced energy manufacturing (MESC)
State and local energy programs (SCEP)

These cancellations could disrupt dozens of hydrogen, geothermal, and long-duration storage demonstrations — many of which were mid-design or in early construction phases.

The American Council on Renewable Energy warned earlier this year that rolling back BIL-funded deployments could “erode private-sector market confidence for years,” given that OCED-backed first-of-a-kind projects often crowd in private capital.

Nuclear Security Structure Remains Largely Untouched READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico Pro Energywire: The Department of Energy announced Monday (December 1, 2025) it is renaming the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, adding to the Trump administration's efforts to rebrand offices focused on wind, solar and low-carbon power.

The lab is now called the “National Laboratory of the Rockies," which a DOE statement said would be reflected in all official correspondence.

“The energy crisis we face today is unlike the crisis that gave rise to NREL,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. “We are no longer picking and choosing energy sources. Our highest priority is to invest in the scientific capabilities that will restore American manufacturing, drive down costs, and help this country meet its soaring energy demand.”

It is not fully clear if the rebrand will affect specific programs, although wind and solar remain listed as research areas on NREL’s website. When asked if the lab is cutting or renaming internal programs, NREL spokesperson David Glickson said “no such changes are planned at this time. Program funding is determined by the appropriations process.” READ MORE