Trump Energy Department reorganizes to focus on fossil and nuclear priorities

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Thursday a reorganization of its agency, which prioritizes oil and nucleic resources over offices dedicated to renewables or efficiency.

DOE released a new organization chart along with a short statement stating that the changes aligned to President Donald Trump’s agenda of energy dominance.

The chart includes several new divisions including the Hydrocarbons Office, Geothermal Office and Office of Fusion. The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (established by the Biden Administration) has been eliminated.

This chart does not include the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. It also excludes the divisions that were dedicated to research on solar, wind and vehicles.

The Office of Energy Dominance Financing, which finances innovative projects in the energy sector, has been renamed to the Loan Programs Office.

Officials were not available to comment immediately. The DOE has not said whether the jobs of the agency will be affected.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated in a statement that "thanks to President Trump’s leadership, Energy Department is aligning their operations to restore common sense to energy policy, reduce costs for American businesses and families, and ensure responsible stewardship taxpayer dollars." These changes will allow us to better fulfill the DOE mission, which is to provide affordable, reliable and safe American energy. (Reporting and editing by Nick Zieminski, Nichola Groom)

(source: Reuters)