Department of Energy
DOE · FY2017–FY2026 budget trends
Oversees the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, funds energy research and national laboratories, manages nuclear waste cleanup, and administers energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Splits nearly equally between contracts ($48B) and grants ($29B).
💰 Taxpayer Accountability
Whether billions in clean energy grants are producing results or lining the pockets of politically connected firms is an open question. The Solyndra debacle may be old news, but the pattern of subsidizing favored industries with taxpayer dollars continues, and DOE's nuclear cleanup liabilities stretch into the hundreds of billions.
Budget Authority (FY2026)
$100.4B
Total Contracts
$48.5B
Total Grants
$28.9B
Budget Growth (FY17→25)
+154.4%
+$49.4B
Contracts vs Grants
Budget Trend
Year-over-Year Changes
| FY | Budget | YoY | Obligated | YoY | Outlays | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $49.4B | — | $41.6B | — | $39.0B | — |
| 2018 | $53.7B | +8.6% | $45.1B | +8.4% | $39.7B | +1.8% |
| 2019 | $56.6B | +5.4% | $47.5B | +5.2% | $42.7B | +7.6% |
| 2020 | $58.9B | +4.1% | $49.4B | +4.1% | $45.3B | +6.0% |
| 2021 | $61.2B | +3.8% | $53.2B | +7.7% | $48.0B | +5.9% |
| 2022 | $130.0B | +112.6% | $58.3B | +9.6% | $51.7B | +7.8% |
| 2023 | $148.7B | +14.4% | $71.6B | +22.9% | $59.6B | +15.3% |
| 2024 | $153.4B | +3.2% | $81.7B | +14.2% | $65.6B | +10.1% |
| 2025 | $143.4B | -6.5% | $98.5B | +20.6% | $68.7B | +4.7% |
| 2026 | $100.4B | -30.0% | $17.3B | -82.4% | $17.4B | -74.7% |
How This Agency's Growth Compares
Department of Energy grew +154.4% from FY2017 to FY2025 — #1 fastest growing of 18 major agencies.
| # | Agency | Growth % | Growth $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | → Department of Energy | +154.4% | +$49.4B |
| 2 | Department of Homeland Security | +153.1% | +$44.4B |
| 3 | General Services Administration | +107.7% | +$12.9B |
| 4 | Department of Transportation | +97.4% | +$66.5B |
| 5 | Department of the Interior | +90.5% | +$8.8B |
| 6 | Department of State | +84.0% | +$16.2B |
| 7 | Department of Health and Human Services | +66.7% | +$809.9B |
| 8 | Social Security Administration | +64.9% | +$643.6B |
| 9 | Department of Defense | +52.8% | +$173.1B |
| 10 | Department of Agriculture | +49.9% | +$61.7B |
| 11 | Department of Housing and Urban Development | +43.8% | +$23.7B |
| 12 | Department of Veterans Affairs | +41.7% | +$84.8B |
| 13 | Department of Education | +28.1% | +$21.1B |
| 14 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | +24.4% | +$4.5B |
| 15 | Railroad Retirement Board | +15.1% | +$1.9B |
| 16 | Department of Labor | +10.1% | +$1.1B |
| 17 | Department of Justice | -2.5% | -$292.0M |
| 18 | Agency for International Development | -26.6% | -$4.4B |
Top Contractors
| # | Contractor | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Technology & Engineering Solutions Of Sandia, LLC | $5.7B |
| 2 | Triad National Security, LLC | $5.2B |
| 3 | Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC | $3.6B |
| 4 | Ut-battelle LLC | $2.7B |
| 5 | Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC | $2.5B |
| 6 | Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC | $2.1B |
| 7 | Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC | $2.0B |
| 8 | Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC | $1.9B |
| 9 | Pantexas Deterrence, LLC | $1.9B |
| 10 | Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC | $1.7B |
| 11 | Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC | $1.7B |
| 12 | Battelle Memorial Institute | $1.6B |
| 13 | The Regents Of The University Of California | $1.3B |
| 14 | Uchicago Argonne, LLC | $1.3B |
| 15 | Savannah River Mission Completion, LLC | $1.1B |
| 16 | Bechtel National, Inc. | $1.1B |
| 17 | Mission Support & Test Services LLC | $994.6M |
| 18 | Alliance For Energy Innovation, LLC | $895.0M |
| 19 | Brookhaven Science Associates LLC | $833.7M |
| 20 | Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, LLC | $796.0M |
Related Pages
Budget Functions
How federal spending is categorized by purpose and function.
Read more →Top Contractors
Which companies receive the most federal contract dollars.
Read more →Spending Explosion
How federal spending has grown dramatically since 2017.
Read more →Sub-Agencies
Detailed spending by sub-agencies and bureaus.
Read more →Source: USASpending.gov · U.S. Department of the Treasury