The Trump administration this week unveiled a revamped organizational structure for the Energy Department, eliminating several departments focused on renewable energy while promoting nuclear fusion.
The reorganization will eliminate the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Clean Energy Demonstration (OCED), Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, Office of State and Local Energy Programs, Office of Grid Deployment, and Office of Federal Energy Management Programs.
On the other side of the ledger, the DOE created a new Office of Fusion and integrated geothermal and fossil fuels under the Office of Hydrocarbon and Geothermal Energy.
E&E News notes that some of these moves are likely to spur legal challenges, given that at least one agency involved in the organization, OCED, is authorized by Congress under bipartisan infrastructure legislation.
Donald Kettle, a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told E&E News that “Cabinet secretaries have very limited authority to move major functions and offices, especially when those offices are created and funded by an act of Congress. Congress has tight handcuffs on reorganizations, and plans typically require Congressional approval or an opportunity for Congressional review.”
The creation of the Office of Fusion was likely facilitated to facilitate the commercialization of this technology. Previously, fusion was under the jurisdiction of the Office of Science, and the focus was on research rather than commercialization.
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