The federal government has become increasingly involved in fields related to energy, first with hydropower and atomic development and then alternative energy research after the 1973 oil crisis. Federal scientists work with universities and corporations at the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories to improve existing power generation and management systems as well as develop new technologies like biofuels and fusion power. Engineers and inspectors also lead or fund research to make energy infrastructure like power plants cleaner, safer for employees and more resilient to disasters.
By the numbers
From 1992 to 2020, the Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR program, which aims to recognize and promote energy-efficient products, buildings and practices, saved more than $500 billion in energy cost and prevented 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.
Wind and solar power projects in development across the U.S. have been delayed or canceled due to a federal bottleneck in the permitting process.
Continuing a trend of recent government support for coal-fired power plants, the EPA has relaxed limits on heavy metals emissions like mercury and lead.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reduced the time its inspectors can devote to ensuring the nation’s nuclear reactors are safe and ready for emergencies.
Profile · On the Ground
Director of Advocacy for Earth Charter Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
In 2024, Earth Charter Indiana, an Indianapolis-based environmental sustainability nonprofit, received a portion of $117 million in federal funds granted to Indiana to invest in rooftop solar panels and community solar farms through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar For All initiative.
State organizations estimated that up to 7,000 Indiana homes would have cut their electricity bills by 20% by adding solar energy.
But in August 2025, the EPA canceled Solar for All, repealing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that oversaw the program as well as two other clean energy investment funds. The cancellations were part of the Trump administration’s effort to pull back $20 billion in grants for clean energy and transportation projects.
Shannon Anderson, the advocacy director for Earth Charter Indiana, said the organization already had projects in the planning process when the grant was canceled and called the program’s end “a devastating blow.”
“Thousands of people desperately needed the Solar for All program to help lower their bills at a time when energy costs have just been escalating,” Anderson said. “I think that had this program been able to conclude…we would have seen such remarkable results.”
Kevin Cobb, renewable energy project director for Faith CDC, a nonprofit based in Gary, Indiana, that is devoted to social justice and environmental sustainability, said Solar For All’s five-year grant would have gone beyond solar panels, investing $5 million for workforce development and training.
Cobb said private funders have stepped forward to revive some lost solar projects, but money has been mostly scarce.
“Most of us have to go without right now or try to find funding in other sources,” he said. “But funding is really dry…especially for anything that’s environmental-related.”
In October 2025, several groups sued the EPA, arguing the Trump administration had illegally canceled Solar for All. They have asked a federal judge to restore the program, but the outcome is uncertain.