From the Stack
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Alumni Network regularly produces articles and original analysis on issues impacting the Department through the Network’s Substack. Catch up on the latest publications below and be sure to subscribe to receive future articles.
Are you a DOE alumni interested in authoring a Substack? Reach out to aaron.morales@doealumni.org.
Budget Breakdowns
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Date: June 11, 2026
The administration's Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget proposes to zero out funding for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO). This office represents fifty years of investment in research teams, institutional knowledge, and research infrastructure that has made the United States the world leader in wind innovation. Eliminating the wind program limits the nation's innovation capacity at precisely the moment when rapidly growing electricity demand and rising energy prices makes that capacity critical.
This Network Substack by James Ahlgrimm, WETO alum; Mike Derby, WETO Alum; Kevin Lynn, EERE alum; Jocelyn Brown-Saracino, WETO alum; Paul Donohoo-Vallett, OP/EERE alum; and additional WETO alumni to learn more about how defunding DOE’s wind programs will put decades of investment and expertise at risk.
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Date: June 9, 2026
On May 20, 2026, the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water Development Subcommittee released its Committee Report to accompany the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) appropriations bill.
The bill provides $50 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a 3% increase over FY26 levels, but the bill and report do much more in directing how the Department spends its funds. Notably, this bill makes certain changes to oversight, management, and transparency requirements to ensure the appropriate use of funds.
Want to learn more? Check out this Network Substack authored by DOE alums Nicholas Montoni, EERE alum; Janie Thompson, CI alum; and Paul Donohoo-Vallett, OP/EERE alum, for a few quick hits and major takeaways from the House bill across the DOE enterprise.
Read the full article here. -
Date: May 14, 2026
This alumni-authored Substack breaks down the Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for the Department’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), formerly known as the Loan Programs Office.
We thank LPO alum Kyle Winslow for reflecting on how this year’s request stacks up against past budgets, congressional actions, and administration priorities.
Updates from DOE
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Date: May 12, 2026
On April 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) told Congress that it had reviewed a portfolio of 2,271 projects and intends to retain or modify 1,951 of them. In some cases, DOE has already requested that projects modify– or “rescope” in DOE’s terminology– their awards to better align with the administration’s priorities. As DOE asks retained and reinstated projects to rescope, many questions remain unanswered.
This Substack from the DOE Alumni Network and Lawyers For Good Government explores some of the considerations both DOE and its awardees should weigh when rescoping a project.
Project and Funding Statuses
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Date: June 4, 2026
DOE’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) was established as the “front door” to local, state, and Tribal governments, as well as schools, nonprofits, workforce development agencies, and community organizations. Together, SCEP’s nearly 30 programs play an essential role in deploying billions in funding to lower energy burdens and costs, improve energy efficiency, plan future energy needs, strengthen reliability, and build more sustainable, resilient communities.
Unfortunately, last year’s pause in disbursements by the Department for most federal grant and loan programs has uniquely impacted SCEP’s programming. This Network Substack by SCEP and DOE alumni breaks down what this means for programs and projects, and the communities this funding was meant to benefit.
Read the full article here.