(Bloomberg) – The Trump administration is eliminating Energy Department offices focused on clean energy and renewables and, instead, creating units dedicated to hydrocarbons and fusion energy.
The changes are part of an agency reorganization unveiled Thursday. The plan made no mention of staffing reductions as part of the realignment, and the agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Among the units eliminated are the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which under former President Joe Biden awarded billions of dollars for technologies such as carbon capture and hydrogen hubs. The Trump administration previously recommended shutting down the office and reducing its staff of roughly 250 people to 35, while cancelling billions of dollars in awards.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which funded research for LED light bulbs, plug-in electric trucks, and solar and wind technologies, was also cut, according to an organizational chart. It wasn’t immediately clear if those offices were folded into other areas of the Energy Department, which has a broad mission ranging from overseeing the nation’s emergency oil reserves protecting the power grid from cyber threats to manufacturing nuclear weapons.
As part of the changes, the Energy Department created a Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office and an Office of Fusion.
“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,” the department said in a statement.
