114 Federal Employees Fired from Renewable Energy Lab, More Planned
3 min read(The Gateway Pundit)
Trump’s Department of Energy has fired 114 federal employees at a Colorado ‘Green Energy’ Lab. They worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and laid off last week as a result of funding cuts under the Trump administration, which is moving to dismantle Biden-era energy subsidies to low-return fields such as solar and wind programs.
The cuts represent roughly 3% of the lab’s workforce, and the individuals were terminated with the lab citing federal budget constraints, new priorities from the Department of Energy, and specific stop-work orders.
On its website, however, it still listed 60 open and unfilled jobs.
Trump has been widely cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government since being sworn into office.
The layoffs come amid the Trump administration’s proposed FY2026 budget, which includes deep cuts to the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the office that oversees NREL. According to Reuters, the proposed budget would slash EERE taxpayer funding by roughly 80%, from over $4 billion to just under $800 million.
Located in Golden, Colorado, NREL is a government-funded research lab that focuses on developing renewable energy technologies, including wind, solar, hydrogen, energy storage, and electric vehicle infrastructure. It employs roughly 3,700 people and is managed for the Department of Energy by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, a partnership between Battelle and MRIGlobal.
The organization operated 696 in 2015, going through massive expansion in the past decade.
Major roadblocks exist to wide-scale adoption of these technologies. Wind energy is intermittent and transmission lines degrade much of its power generation. Solar is appropriate in the southwestern states, but due to the tilt of the planet and weather patterns, is not productive in most of the country. Electric vehicle infrastructure requires major upgrades to the nation’s energy transmission lines prior to widescale adoption.
The Department of Energy confirmed that stop-work orders had been issued across several clean energy programs, including those at NREL.
A spokesperson from the DOE told Reuters that the agency was undertaking a broad review of all energy-related spending and had directed reductions to align with its current policy priorities.
The administration’s new direction marks a sharp departure from the Biden administration’s approach, which directed hundreds of billions of dollars toward climate and green energy initiatives through legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump’s energy policy platform, by contrast, has emphasized domestic fossil fuel production, a rollback of net-zero emissions policies, and a stated intention to withdraw from international climate agreements.
Biden’s administration was also caught by Project Veritas trying to divert over $20 billion to friendly left-leaning ‘green’ energy non-profits in its last weeks. In a video release, an EPA official Brent Efron described the funds transfers as “throwing gold bars off the Titanic.” The new EPA Director Lee Zeldin has said that he identified, seized, and canceled the last minute Biden grant transfers and recovered the funding.
Federal judge Tanya Chutkan attempted to block the funds seizure and force Trump to fund these green energy efforts. She was reversed by the Appellate court.
‘Green’ funding has been a major source of funds for left-leaning organizations and provides staffing for a large number of activists.
The global renewable energy market is estimated to be $1.19 trillion in 2025. The global oil market, by contrast, is estimated to be $3.21 trillion.
Renewable energy sources accounted for approximately 21% of total U.S. electricity generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This includes energy from wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal projects.
Several left-wing run states, such as California and Michigan, have passed renewable energy mandates requiring the state’s total energy generation to come only from renewables by certain deadlines.
As of 2025, 28 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have enacted Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)—legally binding mandates requiring utilities to source a specified percentage of their electrici
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