This week, the Trump administration introduced a revised organizational structure for the Department of Energy, removing several divisions dedicated to renewable energy and giving greater prominence to fusion.
As part of these changes, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, the Grid Deployment Office, and the Office of Federal Energy Management programs have all been dissolved.
Conversely, the DOE has established a new Office of Fusion and consolidated geothermal and fossil fuel initiatives into the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office.
According to E&E News, some of these organizational adjustments may prompt legal disputes, since at least one affected office, the OCED, was created by Congress through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Cabinet secretaries have very restricted powers to reorganize major departments and offices, particularly when those entities were set up and funded by congressional legislation. Congress has imposed strict limitations on such reorganizations, and typically, any plans require either direct congressional consent or a period for congressional review,” Donald Kettl, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, explained to E&E News.
The establishment of the Office of Fusion appears to be aimed at advancing the commercialization of fusion technology. Previously, oversight of fusion was under the Office of Science, which primarily concentrates on research rather than bringing technologies to market.


