Trump removes ‘renewable’ from title of U.S. energy lab

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By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) – The Trump administration has renamed one of the country’s energy laboratories to remove the word ‘renewable’ in the latest effort to downplay electricity sources such as solar and wind power in favor of fossil fuels. 

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, based in Golden, Colorado, will now be known as the National Laboratory of the Rockies, the lab said on its website late on Monday. 

One of 17 Energy Department labs, it also pursues research in energy efficiency. It was set up by U.S. leaders including two of President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans. 

Former President Gerald Ford launched the Solar Energy Research Institute in the 1970s after the Arab oil embargo damaged the U.S. economy. Former President George H. W. Bush, a former Texas oilman, renamed the facility NREL, in 1991.  

The U.S. Energy Department said the name change reflects the administration’s broader vision for the lab’s applied energy research.

The move aligns with other Trump actions on wind and solar power such as issuing stop-work orders on offshore wind farms and adding regulatory hurdles for wind and solar.   

In July, the administration said that decisions related to solar and wind energy projects on federal lands will be reviewed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s office to end what it called preferential treatment for renewable energy sources.

Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat of Colorado, said despite the name change the lab should continue its work on energy innovation to lead the global energy transition.

“President Trump’s ‘Drill Baby Drill’ slogan will never solve our nation’s most complex energy challenges,” Bennet said. 

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Alistair Bell)