United States Department of Energy


The United States Department of Energy is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and energy conservation.
The DOE was created in 1977 in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis. It sponsors more physical science research than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories. The DOE also directs research in genomics, with the Human Genome Project originating from a DOE initiative.
The department is headed by the secretary of energy, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the Cabinet. The current secretary of energy is Chris Wright, who has served in the position since February 2025. The department's headquarters are in southwestern Washington, D.C., in the James V. Forrestal Building, with additional offices in Germantown, Maryland.

History

Formation and consolidation

In 1942, during World War II, the United States started the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After the war, in 1946, the Atomic Energy Commission was created to control the future of the project. The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 also created the framework for the first National Laboratories. Among other nuclear projects, the AEC produced fabricated uranium fuel cores at locations such as Fernald Feed Materials Production Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 split the responsibilities of the AEC into the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which was charged with regulating the nuclear power industry, and the Energy Research and Development Administration, which was assigned to manage the nuclear weapon, naval reactor, and energy development programs.
The 1973 oil crisis called attention to the need to consolidate energy policy. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Department of Energy Organization Act, which established the Department of Energy. The new agency, which began operations on October 1, 1977, consolidated the Federal Energy Administration, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Federal Power Commission, and programs of various other agencies. Former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, who served under Presidents Nixon and Ford during the Vietnam War, was appointed as the first secretary.
President Jimmy Carter proposed the Department of Energy with the goal of promoting energy conservation and energy independence, and developing alternative sources of energy to reduce the use of fossil fuels. With international energy's future uncertain for America, Carter acted quickly to have the department come into action the first year of his presidency. This was an extremely important issue of the time as the oil crisis was causing shortages and inflation. With the Three Mile Island accident, Carter was able to intervene with the help of the department. Through the DOE, Carter was able to make changes within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including improving management and procedures, since nuclear energy and weapons are responsibilities of the department.

Weapon plans stolen

In December 1999, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating how China acquired plans for a specific nuclear device. Wen Ho Lee, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was accused of passing nuclear secrets to the Chinese government. Before any formal charges, federal officials, including Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, publicly identified Lee as a suspect. The U.S. Congress held hearings on the DOE’s handling of the case, with some senators proposing that nuclear security be managed by an independent agency. Of the 59 charges brought against Lee, all but one were later dropped after investigators concluded the leaked plans could not have come from him. Lee later received a $1.6 million settlement from the federal government and several news organizations.
In the wake of the scandal and allegations that direct management by the Department of Energy had resulted in U.S. nuclear secrets being leaked to China, the National Nuclear Security Administration was proposed. Originally proposed to be independent, NNSA was instead chartered as a semiautonomous agency within the Department of Energy to be headed by an administrator reporting to the secretary of energy.

Loan guarantee program of 2005

In 2001, American Solar Challenge was sponsored by the DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. After the 2005 race, the DOE discontinued its sponsorship.
Title XVII of Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the DOE to issue loan guarantees to eligible projects that "avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases" and "employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued". In loan guarantees, a conditional commitment requires to meet an equity commitment, as well as other conditions, before the loan guarantee is completed.
In September 2008, the DOE, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, and the International Atomic Energy Agency partnered to develop and launch the World Institute for Nuclear Security, an international non-governmental organization designed to provide a forum to share best practices in strengthening the security and safety of nuclear and radioactive materials and facilities.
In December 2024, the Loan Programs Office announced it would extend the largest loan ever sanctioned – a $15 billion low-interest loan to support the modernization of Pacific Gas & Electric’s hydroelectric power structure, enhance transmission lines critical for renewable energy integration, data center operations, and the growing fleet of electric vehicles. Initially requested as a $30 billion loan, the amount was reduced due to concerns over the company’s repayment capacity.

Genesis Mission and AI partnerships (2025)

In November 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order launching the Genesis Mission, an initiative involving the Department of Energy and U.S. national laboratories to apply artificial intelligence and advanced computing to accelerate scientific research and support energy and national security-related capabilities. On December 18, 2025, the Department of Energy announced collaboration agreements with 24 organizations to support the initiative.

Organization

To implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the department announced a reorganization with new names of under secretaries in 2022.
The second Trump administration announced a departmental reorganization in November 2025, without Congressional authorization. The chart below reflects the 2022 reorganization.
The department is under the control and supervision of a United States Secretary of Energy, a political appointee of the President of the United States. The Energy Secretary is assisted in managing the department by a United States Deputy Secretary of Energy, also appointed by the president, who assumes the duties of the secretary in the secretary's absence. The department also has three under secretaries, each appointed by the president, who oversee the major areas of the department's work. The president also appoints seven officials with the rank of Assistant Secretary of Energy who have line management responsibility for major organizational elements of the department. The Energy Secretary assigns their functions and duties.

Symbolism in the seal

Excerpt from the Code of Federal Regulations, in Title 10: Energy:
The official seal of the Department of Energy "includes a green shield bisected by a gold-colored lightning bolt, on which is emblazoned a gold-colored symbolic sun, atom, oil derrick, windmill, and dynamo. It is crested by the white head of an eagle, atop a white rope. Both appear on a blue field surrounded by concentric circles in which the name of the agency, in gold, appears on a green background."
"The eagle represents the care in planning and the purposefulness of efforts required to respond to the Nation's increasing demands for energy. The sun, atom, oil derrick, windmill, and dynamo serve as representative technologies whose enhanced development can help meet these demands. The rope represents the cohesiveness in the development of the technologies and their link to our future capabilities. The lightning bolt represents the power of the natural forces from which energy is derived and the Nation's challenge in harnessing the forces."
"The color scheme is derived from nature, symbolizing both the source of energy and the support of man's existence. The blue field represents air and water, green represents mineral resources and the earth itself, and gold represents the creation of energy in the release of natural forces. By invoking this symbolism, the color scheme represents the Nation's commitment to meet its energy needs in a manner consistent with the preservation of the natural environment."

Facilities

The Department of Energy operates a system of national laboratories and technical facilities for research and development, as follows:
Other major DOE facilities include:
Airstrip:
In total, the DOE oversees approximately 83 field locations, including the national laboratories and national security production facilities.