The New US DoE organization

Par admin8598Non classé

I had a look at the new organisation chart of the US DOE over the weekend… and the message is pretty clear

➡️ What are the main changes?
• The 2 major clean energy pillars EERE (Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) and OCED (Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations) disappear or are absorbed into other branches
• New centres of gravity emerge: Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy, Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, and a new financing arm redesigned around the narrative of US energy dominance
• Nuclear power, fusion technologies, fossil resources and critical minerals are now at the centre of the institution, with fusion elevated into its own dedicated office reflecting new strategic ambitions

➡️ Key winners and losers
• Winners: critical minerals players, nuclear + fusion innovators, geothermal developers in particular
• Losers: clean-energy demonstration projects + efficiency programmes

➡️ What it reflects
• Washington is clearly shifting from a “clean-energy rollout mindset” to a resource security and industrial sovereignty doctrine, with priority that moves toward domestic minerals, domestic fuels and domestic power generation
• The rebranding of the Loan Programs Office into “Energy Dominance” also probably signals a sharper focus on oil & gas and large mineral projects

➡️ Unclear today
• Allocation of ongoing EERE/OCED grants, incl. H2 hubs + long-duration storage
• Staffing, budget continuity and programme timelines across DOE offices
• Possible friction with Congress: OCED was created under the 2021 infrastructure law by Congress.
• Short-term delays across states, national labs and cleantech developers? Slowed contracting?

❓For US energy/resources ‘colleagues’: was anyone surprised? Something expected is finally missing?

Key sources: US DoE | E&E News | Reuters | AIP | Latitude Media

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