The U.S. Department of Energy has highlighted a series of actions and policy shifts over the past year under President Trump and Secretary Wright, claiming significant progress in energy production, price reductions, and supply chain security.
According to the Department, gas prices have reached a five-year low at about $2.80 per gallon, with estimated consumer savings exceeding $500 million during the recent holiday season. The United States is now producing more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined—24.2 million barrels per day—and as much natural gas as Russia, Iran, and China together at 108 billion cubic feet per day.
“Thanks to President Trump’s policies, America leads the world in oil and natural gas production, producing at all-time records,” the statement said.
On his first day in office this term, President Trump instructed the Energy Department to end a previous liquefied natural gas (LNG) export ban. Since then, approvals for LNG export capacity have exceeded current exports by the world’s second-largest exporter.
The Department reported declines in prices for propane, kerosene, firewood, and fuel oil since President Trump took office. The agency also announced efforts to refill and repair the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after what it called “reckless” use by the previous administration.
Regulatory changes were also emphasized. In May 2025, DOE proposed eliminating 47 regulations that it says would save Americans $11 billion in costs. Four conservation standards were withdrawn in March 2025 covering electric motors, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and external power supplies. In total since January 2025, DOE reports completing 27 deregulatory actions related to appliance and equipment standards with an estimated annual cost avoidance of $254 million for consumers and businesses.
Citing grid reliability concerns from previous plans to close coal-, natural gas-, and hydro-powered plants under former policies, DOE stated that emergency orders have been issued to keep such facilities online during periods of high demand or extreme weather events.
“The Energy Department has issued 19 emergency orders to maximize grid reliability,” according to the statement.
DOE halted prior anti-hydroelectricity measures affecting Columbia River Basin dams—a move it claims preserved over 3 gigawatts of hydroelectric power generation—and redirected $365 million toward repairs on Puerto Rico’s electricity grid following widespread outages.
In September 2025, more than $13 billion in unobligated funds previously set aside for climate-related initiatives was cancelled by DOE and returned to the Treasury.
Coal industry support has also increased: “Thanks to President Trump, wages for coal workers are up and coal plants across the country are reversing plans to shut down.” At least five coal plant closures have been prevented by department action; more than 17 gigawatts of coal-powered generation will remain online through these interventions. The National Coal Council was reinstated as an advisory body; Jim Grech of Peabody Energy Corp was named Committee Chair while Jimmy Brock of Core Natural Resources became Vice Chair at its inaugural meeting on January 15th.
Nuclear energy expansion remains a key focus area: DOE aims to quadruple American nuclear capacity from roughly 100 GW today up to 400 GW by mid-century. Recent awards include $800 million for small modular reactor deployment projects led by TVA and Holtec; a $2.7 billion investment was announced in January 2026 targeting domestic enrichment capacity—including both low-enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). Other milestones include closing a $1 billion loan supporting Pennsylvania nuclear plant operations; pilot programs for advanced nuclear fuels; commitments for HALEU provision; new site selections for AI data center infrastructure development; as well as initiatives aimed at accelerating advanced reactor technology commercialization.
DOE says it is investing heavily in domestic critical mineral supply chains—in November alone announcing $355 million available for facilities producing minerals from industrial waste streams alongside new “Mine of the Future” test grounds. December saw another round ($134 million) targeting rare earth element recovery projects from unconventional sources. The department also restructured a federal loan with Lithium Americas granting government equity warrants tied to future lithium carbonate production—the only such domestic source currently identified—and is partnering with private industry on technology development via national laboratories.
National security modernization efforts were cited as benefiting from legislative action this year providing over $3 billion toward upgrades at DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Key achievements include manufacturing completion ahead-of-schedule on new B61-13 gravity bombs—a modification program begun less than two years ago—and finalizing W88 warhead modernization work supporting submarine-based deterrents. Two supercomputers were commissioned at Los Alamos National Laboratory enhancing research capabilities across defense applications including artificial intelligence.
President Trump signed Executive Order 14363 establishing DOE leadership over “the Genesis Mission,” described as a flagship initiative uniting public-sector science assets with private-sector AI development resources nationwide—aimed at technological innovation within U.S.-based scientific infrastructure.
In October last year DOE released its Fusion Science & Technology Roadmap outlining strategy steps toward rapid commercialization of nuclear fusion energy domestically.
