Trump Energy Department Drops Renewables, Promotes Fusion In Office Reshuffle

In Brief

The Trump management revealed this week a revamped organizational floor plan for nan Department of Energy, 1 which dumps respective offices focused connected renewable power while elevating fusion.

The shakeup eliminates nan Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), nan Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), nan Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, nan Office of State and Community Energy Programs, and Grid Deployment Office, and nan Office of Federal Energy Management programs. 

On nan different broadside of nan ledger, nan DOE has created a caller Office of Fusion and merged geothermal and fossil fuels nether nan Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office. 

Some of these moves will apt spur ineligible challenges, E&E News points out, fixed that astatine slightest 1 agency caught up successful nan reorg, nan OCED, was authorized by Congress nether nan Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

“The authority of Cabinet secretaries to move astir awesome functions and offices is very limited, particularly erstwhile those offices were established and funded done legislature action. Congress has put tight handcuffs connected reorganizations, and plans typically require either legislature support aliases nan opportunity for legislature review,” Donald Kettl, a professor emeritus astatine nan University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told E&E News.

The creation of nan Office of Fusion was apt spurred to promote commercialization of nan technology. Previously, fusion fell nether nan Office of Science, which is focused connected investigation alternatively than commercialization.

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