Trump wants to slash 25% of funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The EERE, set to be reduced by half a billion dollars for the 2017 fiscal year, was a key player in making residential solar affordable. Source: Flickr/Tax Credits

The Trump administration plans to make good on threats to cut ‘unnecessary’ regulation pertaining to energy and the environment, with plans to cut 25% of the budget for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

EERE, a US$2 billion limb of the Department of Energy (DOE), is a central hub for renewable energy research at the federal level, and is the body responsible for making rooftop solar affordable for US citizens. For the fiscal year of 2017, Trump plans to cut the organisation’s budget by US$516 million, according to a White House FY 2017 reductions options document obtained by E&E news

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Whilst the cuts have yet to be cleared by Congress, they remain a reminder that the Trump administration is serious about dismantling much of the climate action and renewable energy initiatives of the previous federal government. The EERE and SunShot Initiative have been under fire since a leaked memo in January indicated that the two bodies would be scrapped altogether.

If approved, the cuts pose a serious threat to domestic research and technological innovation in clean energy. EERE is the central scientific hub for research in alternative energy resources, EV, LED lighting and other drivers of a low-carbon economy and a chief promoter of energy efficiency standards.

In the 2016 fiscal year, the DOE spent more than US$2 billion on energy efficiency and renewable energy, nearly US$1 billion on nuclear energy and more than US$600 million on fossil fuels.

Funding from the EERE was instrumental in NREL achieving a 74% price reduction in solar panels since 2010 prices.

The proposed cuts come as Trump, who bashed wind and solar power for much of his campaign, seeks to boost defence spending by US$54 billion while offsetting that spending with cuts from other government departments. 

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

July 11, 2025
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has revealed that several utility-scale solar PV power plants experienced curtailment of above 25% in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in 2024.
July 10, 2025
German renewables company BayWa r.e. has secured a €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) loan for 'operational initiatives and pipeline expansion.'
July 10, 2025
US renewables developer Invenergy has launched commercial operations of 250MW Fairbanks Solar Energy Center in Sullivan County, Indiana. 
July 10, 2025
A report published by the US Department of Energy (DOE) this week claims that the previous government’s support for renewable energy could cause blackouts to “increase by 100 times” by 2030.
July 10, 2025
UbiQD has signed a supply agreement with First Solar to supply its fluorescent quantum dot technology for use in the latter’s PV panels.
July 10, 2025
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced a new AU$60 million (US$39.4 million) funding round to bolster R&D efforts to achieve ultra-low-cost solar.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK