Project 2025's Goals for the Department of Energy

What is Project 2025?

Project 2025 is a presidential transition project to set the country on a path that resists leftist values. The goal is to promote the nuclear family, all states' self-governance, improve our military, and protect our “God-given” constitutional rights. Section 3 is titled “The General Welfare” and starts off with the goal of managing our national debt. It immediately discusses medicare and medicaid reform, as the authors know it is a hot topic. The author, Daren Bakst, is a Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment at the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the implementation of conservative policy. They have funded this entire report.

The Project's Goals for the Department of Energy & Other Related Departments:

Bakst’s biggest want for this agency is to “stop the war on oil and gas.” He claims that our energy issues are caused by an overreliance on “green” policies, not a lack of resources. He wants us to repeal bills that support and give funding to renewable energy developers, and divert the focus away from climate change and renewable technologies. Efforts will be concentrated on energy and grid security, with the promise to invest and develop military technology to support it locally and abroad. The Department of Energy will also be renamed to the Department of Energy Security and Advanced Science. Many funding programs will be eliminated such as the DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Grid Deployment, and the DOE Loan Program. 

Daren Bakst also proposes ramping up our nuclear efforts. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to lower its requirements because “although it is not a DOE agency, its jurisdiction over nuclear reactor, fuel, safety, and trade issues often relates to or impinges on DOE’s jurisdiction (369)”, as well as finding a way to give disposal of nuclear waste to private companies. Our national labs should only be focused on “advanced science” (which is not defined), with the largest ones dedicated to researching national security issues. Several offices will be eliminated like the grid deployment office, Office of Clean Energy Demonstration, and the Loan Deployment office. The Advanced Research Projects agency will also be removed because “the agency is unnecessary, risks taxpayer dollars, and interferes with risk-benefit decisions that should be made by the private sector (385).” This section ends with the goal to expand oil and gas operations in Alaska, use the Yucca mountain for critical mineral disposal, and “provide the American people access to affordable and reliable natural gas (406)” through the development of oil pipelines.