DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy FY2023 Appropriations

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is responsible for enabling renewable energy and end-use energy efficiency technology development and implementation. Other activities include issuing grants for home energy efficiency and state planning, establishing minimum energy conservation standards for appliances and equipment, and providing technical support.

EERE collaborates with industry, academia, national laboratories, and others to conduct and support research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities. EERE also manages programs that support state and local governments, tribes, and schools. Further, EERE oversees and supports the research and infrastructure of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)—the only U.S. national laboratory solely dedicated to researching and developing renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

EERE Appropriations

EERE receives funding through the annual Energy and Water Development (E&W) appropriations bill. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L. 117-328, EERE received $3.46 billion for FY2023, approximately $260 million more than the enacted FY2022 level of $3.20 billion (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022; P.L. 117-103).

In addition, EERE received funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58). IIJA provided a total of $16.26 billion in additional emergency appropriations for EERE, of which $8.21 billion was directed to FY2022 and $2.22 billion to FY2023 (see Table 1). EERE also received $17.96 billion in additional funding through P.L. 117-169 (often referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA), enacted on August 16, 2022. The IRA funding is available from FY2022 to remain available through FY2026, FY2027, FY2029, or FY2031 depending on the provision.

Executive Branch Actions

For FY2023, the Biden Administration requested $4.02 billion for EERE—roughly a 26% increase from the FY2022 enacted level of $3.20 billion. Of the FY2023 request for EERE, 5.6% was to be reserved for program direction. Including current EERE programs that the request proposed to be funded through new, separate offices (see below), a total of $4.94 billion was requested for all EERE programs, a 54% increase from the FY2022 enacted amount.

Proposed funding increases were aimed at decarbonization activities in the electricity sector, transportation, energy-intensive industries, and agriculture sector. Other priorities included energy justice efforts under Justice40, an initiative of the Biden Administration in accordance with Executive Order 14008 to prioritize 40% of funding of certain federal investments for disadvantaged communities.

The request also proposed realigning funding to reflect new offices, functionally transferring some programs from within EERE to the new Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains; Office of Federal Energy Management Programs; and Office of State and Community Energy Programs. As a result, the EERE request did not include funding for certain programs such as Weatherization, which was included in the $727 million request for the new Office of State and Community Energy Programs. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L. 117-328, the proposed offices were separated from Energy Efficiency, but not from EERE.

Legislative Actions

Congressional interest in EERE funding included the level of appropriations and which activities should receive support. The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2023 Energy and Water Development funding bill on June 28, 2022 (H.R. 8255, H.Rept. 117-394). The bill was combined in a "minibus" with six other appropriations bills (H.R. 8294), which passed the House on July 20, 2022.

The chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development introduced an FY2023 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill July 28, 2022 (S. 4660), and posted a draft explanatory statement on the Appropriations Committee website. The Appropriations Committee's vice chairman criticized S. 4660 and other FY2023 appropriations bills introduced by some Appropriations Committee leaders.

The Senate-introduced bill and the House-passed bill would have provided overall funding increases for EERE above the FY2022 enacted level but below the Administration's FY2023 request.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328, Division D) was signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022. EERE received $3.46 billion for FY2023, which was below the funding levels in the original House-passed bill and Senate-introduced bill. Under EERE, the enacted bill provides funding for crosscutting initiatives and for programs in sustainable transportation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, manufacturing and energy supply chains, federal energy management, and state and community energy programs.