FY2026 Energy Bill Zeroes Out Clean Energy Demonstrations Office
March 10, 2026 · 2 min read
Claire Cummings
The Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations — created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to shepherd breakthrough energy technologies from lab to market — received exactly zero dollars in the FY2026 appropriations bill signed into law in January.
Congress didn't just cut the office's budget. It dissolved OCED entirely during DOE's November 2025 reorganization, then redirected $5.164 billion in unobligated Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds away from clean energy priorities.
Where the Money Went Instead
The redirected funds landed primarily in two places: $3.1 billion to the Office of Nuclear Energy for the Advanced Reactor Deployment Program and Gen3+ Small Modular Reactors, and $375 million to the Grid Deployment Office for domestic manufacturing of power transformers and grid components.
Programs that lost funding include the Civil Nuclear Credit Program ($1.281 billion cut), the Regional Direct Air Capture Hub Program ($1.04 billion cut), carbon dioxide transportation infrastructure ($1.5 billion cut), and carbon capture programs ($950 million cut).
What Survived the Cuts
The broader DOE appropriation totals just over $49 billion. The Office of Science received $8.4 billion, EERE — now part of the renamed Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation — got $3.1 billion, and ARPA-E retained $350 million. The Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program also survived despite the administration's request to rescind it.
The Grant-Seeker's Takeaway
Organizations that had been targeting OCED demonstration grants need to pivot. Nuclear energy, grid modernization, and critical minerals are where the money is flowing. Clean energy researchers should look at ARPA-E's $350 million budget, EERE competitive solicitations, and the growing number of state-level clean energy programs filling the federal gap.
The energy funding landscape has fundamentally shifted — Granted helps clean energy innovators find the opportunities that remain open.