Department of Energy Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary

Early Americans burn wood for heating and cooking, and operate watermills for mechanical energy.

Steam power transforms transportation, manufacturing, and trade by converting coal into mechanical power.

The first commercial oil well is drilled in Titusville, PA, launching the U.S. petroleum industry.

Thomas Edison opens Pearl Street Station in New York, NY, the country’s first central power plant to supply electricity to customers.

Abundant oil discoveries mark the beginning of the modern American oil economy, accelerating United States industrial growth.

The United Sates launches an unprecedented energy and science program during World War II.

Enrico Fermi's team achieves the world's first controlled nuclear chain reaction in a hidden lab beneath a Chicago football stadium.

The United States Atomic Energy Commission is established, shifting atomic energy to civilian leadership and laying the foundation for today's National Laboratory system.

At the Experimental Breeder Reactor-I reactor in Idaho, nuclear energy generates usable electricity for the first time.

The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Shippingport, PA, becomes the nation’s first commercial nuclear power plant, generating enough electricity to power roughly 70,000 homes.

Congress establishes the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — the world's largest emergency stockpile of crude oil.

The U.S. Department of Energy is created, uniting federal energy programs with scientific and security missions.

DOE invests in research that develops hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies, unlocking vast domestic oil and natural gas resources.

The National Nuclear Security Administration is established within DOE, uniting the nation's nuclear weapons security, nonproliferation, and naval reactor programs under a single, focused mission.

The U.S. becomes a net energy exporter.

At DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists achieve the world's first controlled fusion reaction to produce more energy than it took to start — a breakthrough that was a half-century in the making.

President Donald J. Trump signs an executive order unleashing DOE's National Labs and AI together — which will accelerate breakthroughs in energy dominance, scientific discovery, and national security.

America is securing critical minerals, modernizing the grid, powering AI, and unleashing next-generation nuclear and fusion — because economic strength, technological leadership, and national security all run on American energy.