DOE funding shift ruled unlawful in clean energy appropriations dispute

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Ashutosh Sureka

4 hours ago

DOE funding shift ruled unlawful in clean energy appropriations dispute — DOE funding rules challenged

A legal fight over federal energy spending is intensifying after the Government Accountability Office found the Department of Energy improperly redirected congressionally approved money away from wind and solar research. The decision centers on fiscal year 2025 funding and raises the prospect that DOE may need to report an Antideficiency Act violation if it obligated funds above permitted levels.

Highlights

GAO ruled that the Department of Energy violated appropriations law by diverting hundreds of millions away from Congressionally-mandated clean energy R&D funding for fiscal 2025.
In fiscal year 2025, the administration allocated only $29.8 million for wind and $41.9 million for solar, representing 78% and 87% cuts from prior Congressional levels.
DOE's funding decisions, including obligating $146.5 million for geothermal versus Congress's $118 million, led to higher energy costs, canceled R&D awards, and job losses at national laboratories.

GAO decision on fiscal 2025 energy allocations

As reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Government Accountability Office says the Department of Energy violated appropriations law by steering hundreds of millions of dollars away from clean energy research and development funding set by Congress for fiscal year 2025.

The review follows a request first made in July 2025 by Senator Patty Murray, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and ranking member of the Energy and Water Development subcommittee, and Representative Marcy Kaptur, ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. They asked GAO to assess whether DOE's spending plan breached the Purpose Statute and the Antideficiency Act.

GAO says DOE must obligate and spend its fiscal year 2025 appropriations in line with the congressional control point amounts referenced in the fiscal year 2024 explanatory statement. It adds that, to the extent DOE obligated or spent fiscal year 2025 funds above appropriated amounts, the department should report an Antideficiency Act violation.

Clean energy funding cuts and wider sector impact

Congress provided $137 million in fiscal year 2024 for wind energy and $318 million for solar energy, and the fiscal year 2025 full-year continuing resolution kept those levels in place after President Trump signed it into law in March 2025. But in a spending plan made public on July 2, 2025, the administration allocated only $29.8 million for wind and $41.9 million for solar, equivalent to cuts of 78% and 87%, respectively.

The dispute widened on February 25, 2026, when Murray and Kaptur renewed their GAO referral after DOE began obligating funds, including through a funding opportunity notice that made $146.5 million in fiscal year 2025 funds available for geothermal energy even though Congress provided $118 million. In their response to the ruling, the lawmakers say the funding changes raised energy costs, canceled university and industry research awards, and contributed to job losses among scientists at national laboratories.

Our earlier coverage of the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) outlined how House lawmakers sought to rebuild U.S. defense production capacity through industrial-base provisions alongside a $1.15 trillion authorization. That report highlighted concerns about fragile supply chains, low stockpiles, and the need for tighter financial oversight, framing the broader debate over how federal dollars are directed and monitored.

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