ENERGY STAR’s Next Chapter: Leadership, Clean Energy, and Powering America in the Age of AI
Updated: Oct 30
Why the EPA–DOE transition, New Jersey’s Power NJ Act, and responsible technology leadership matter to America’s energy future.
DEW Diligence, LLC | October 13, 2026 — DEW Diligence is not affiliated with EPA or DOE; this is independent commentary.
ENERGY STAR: Preserving a Mission While Advancing Leadership
America’s technological future will be determined by our ability to generate, deliver, conserve, and responsibly manage the energy that makes innovation possible. As AI advances from generative models to autonomous systems, energy is becoming a defining consideration in enterprise technology strategy, national competitiveness, and critical-infrastructure resilience.
Electricity is not just a utility operating expense. It is a strategic dependency. — David E. Williams, CISM, GSTRT, GSLC
The agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to transition federal leadership of the ENERGY STAR® program is an important opportunity. Their Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), effective March 3, 2026, and the 2026 ENERGY STAR Program Transition Plan, finalized on August 28, 2026, establish a framework for consolidating program leadership at DOE while preserving continuity through close cooperation with EPA. I support the direction and intent of this transition. Equally important, I believe its success should be measured by the transfer of responsibilities and the government’s ability to preserve public trust, protect program integrity, improve operational performance, and strengthen America’s long-term energy future.
ENERGY STAR has been a cornerstone of American energy-efficiency efforts since 1992. The voluntary program identifies energy-efficient products, homes, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities, helping consumers and businesses reduce energy use, manage costs, and limit pollution. Under the MOA, DOE becomes the lead federal agency for ENERGY STAR, with an orderly transition of responsibilities from EPA. The Transition Plan organizes implementation into three workstreams:
Knowledge transfer and programmatic leadership: Consolidating institutional knowledge, standard operating procedures, certification and verification responsibilities, and program leadership at DOE.
Legal and partnership continuity: Transferring the ENERGY STAR trademark, EPA-only partnership agreements, and ENERGY STAR arrangements with foreign governments while protecting the integrity of the brand.
IT systems and data migration: Moving the hosting of ENERGY STAR applications, databases, and associated services into a secure DOE computing environment.
The agencies have committed to completing the transition no more than twelve months after the plan’s finalization, with the IT hosting transfer targeted for completion before July 2027. What stands out to me is the plan’s recognition that institutional knowledge, technology, legal obligations, and operational continuity are inseparable. DOE brings substantial expertise in energy systems, research, innovation, and efficiency. EPA contributes more than three decades of experience administering ENERGY STAR, engaging stakeholders, maintaining certification processes, and advancing pollution-reduction objectives. The transition should preserve and transfer those capabilities while establishing clear accountability for future operations.
The CIO Perspective: This Is More Than an IT Migration
One of the most consequential sections of the Transition Plan concerns the transfer of ENERGY STAR’s information technology portfolio. The program operates a complex ecosystem that includes ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, ENERGY STAR Connect, Product Finder, partner and certification data, a business intelligence data warehouse, and interconnected applications, databases, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Migrating this environment from EPA to DOE involves more than moving servers, applications, or cloud workloads. It requires disciplined enterprise architecture, data governance, cybersecurity, privacy, identity and access management, application interoperability, records management, and business continuity planning. Importantly, the plan explicitly requires DOE to establish a secure computing environment that meets applicable NIST and DOE security and privacy standards and has an Authorization to Operate (ATO).
From a CIO perspective, I might:
Categorize and authorize: FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 for security categorization and minimum requirements, and the NIST Risk Management Framework (SP 800-37 Rev. 2) as the path to DOE’s Authorization to Operate.
Protect: Controls from NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, tailored from the SP 800-53B baselines; SP 800-63-4 for digital identity across Portfolio Manager and partner accounts; and SP 800-207 zero trust principles for the new DOE environment.
Sustain: SP 800-161 Rev. 1 for supply chain risk, SP 800-34 Rev. 1 for contingency planning, SP 800-137 for continuous monitoring, and SP 800-88 Rev. 2 for sanitizing legacy EPA systems and media once migration is verified.
Govern: The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 to frame outcomes for executive oversight, with FedRAMP authorization for any commercial cloud services.
Many ENERGY STAR partners are utilities subject to CIP, and many share building energy data through Portfolio Manager web services. A well-designed migration should ensure that:
No partner integration requires a utility to extend connectivity from systems inside an Electronic Security Perimeter (CIP-005) or to reclassify assets under CIP-002.
The program never requests, receives, or stores Bulk Electric System (BES) Cyber System Information protected under CIP-011; only the business data the program needs is exchanged.
Changes to endpoints, APIs, certificates, and credentials are announced well in advance, so utilities can complete their own change-management and CIP-013 supply chain reviews.
Threat intelligence and incident coordination run through DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and the NERC-operated Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC).
My recommended implementation priorities include establishing authoritative system and data inventories, mapping every application, API, and partner interconnection under documented interconnection agreements, enforcing phishing-resistant multifactor authentication and least-privilege access, encrypting data in transit and at rest with FIPS 140-validated cryptography, preserving federal records under National Archives (NARA) schedules, testing recovery before each cutover, and continuously monitoring security and operational performance.
A successful migration must protect more than systems. It must protect the reliability of certification records, the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information, the availability and accessibility of public-facing tools, and the confidence of manufacturers, utilities, businesses, and consumers.
AI, Automation, and the Next Generation of Energy Intelligence
The ENERGY STAR transition also presents a broader opportunity to evaluate how modern data architecture, analytics, automation, and responsibly governed AI could improve program operations over time. Machine learning could strengthen energy-use forecasting and anomaly detection. Automation could reduce administrative friction in reporting and partner services. AI-assisted analytics could help identify performance trends, support research, and improve access to technical information. Any such implementation would require reliable data, documented business value, human oversight, and appropriate security and privacy protections. The NIST AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF) provides a useful voluntary foundation for governing, mapping, measuring, and managing AI risks, and NIST has announced that a revised version is in progress.
AI should augment qualified professionals and evidence-based processes, not substitute for independent certification, technical verification, or accountable decision-making. From a CIO or Chief AI Officer (CAIO) perspective, I might also examine an important question: Can technology help us save more energy than it takes to operate that technology? AI investments should be evaluated against measurable operational outcomes, including energy efficiency, service quality, financial cost, resilience, and environmental impact. Technology modernization and environmental responsibility are not competing objectives, and if designed strategically, they can actually reinforce each other.
New Jersey’s Power NJ Act: Advancing Reliable, Clean Energy
The federal ENERGY STAR transition addresses a critical part of America’s energy equation which is using electricity more efficiently, but efficiency alone cannot meet every dimension of future demand. America must also strengthen generation capacity, transmission infrastructure, reliability, and affordable access to electricity. New Jersey offers a timely example.
On July 13, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the Power NJ Act (A4881/S4296), which passed both houses of the Legislature unanimously. The law establishes a competitive process, administered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), to procure at least 1,100 megawatts of new nuclear generation. The legislation includes meaningful consumer safeguards. Ratepayers bear no costs until a project is built and supplying energy and are not responsible for construction cost overruns; projects must secure federal financing; the public must have opportunities to comment, including hearings in host municipalities; and any approved project must deliver a net benefit to ratepayers. The law does not mean that 1,100 MW of new generation has been built or approved. It creates a framework for evaluating and procuring future capacity, with key procurement milestones scheduled from 2027 into 2028.
I support this approach because reliable, carbon-free nuclear generation can complement solar power, battery storage, demand-side efficiency, and grid modernization. The Power NJ Act builds on earlier action. On April 8, 2026, Governor Sherrill signed legislation lifting the state’s decades-long de facto moratorium on new nuclear construction and established a Nuclear Task Force by executive order. On October 1, the Task Force held its first meeting, and the state launched the Nuclear NJ website to support public understanding and transparency. The federal policy environment is relevant here as Executive Order 14302 (May 23, 2025) addresses reinvigorating America’s nuclear industrial base, while Executive Order 14318 (July 23, 2025) addresses accelerating federal permitting for the data center and energy infrastructure needed to support growing AI computing demand. Taken together, the federal and New Jersey initiatives underscore a strategic reality that future economic growth will require coordinated investment in generation, efficiency, technology, and infrastructure.
The AI Era Is an Energy Era
In my earlier article, Powering America in the Age of AI: Environmental Sustainability, I examined how AI is changing the relationship between technology infrastructure and natural resources. Research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reinforces the urgency. Its United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update, published in June 2026, estimates that data centers could account for 9.5% to 15.3% of U.S. electricity consumption by 2030, with a reference estimate of 11.8%.
These figures are scenarios rather than certainties, and they cover data centers broadly, not AI workloads exclusively. Even so, AI infrastructure is a major driver of projected growth. AI training, inference, high-density computing, cooling systems, power distribution, and supporting networks translate digital innovation into substantial physical resource requirements. New Jersey has recognized this relationship as well, enacting legislation in 2026 that addresses data centers’ impact on electricity costs and requires data center operators to report their energy and water use to state regulators.
For executive leaders, the implication is energy strategy must become part of technology strategy. That means evaluating compute efficiency, energy procurement, operational resilience, water requirements, environmental exposure, and infrastructure costs alongside cybersecurity, availability, and business performance. Government and industry should pursue the same fundamental objective, and expand technological capability while avoiding unnecessary energy consumption and protecting the interests of households, businesses, and communities. The goal is to produce and use energy more intelligently.
A Leadership Standard Built on Accountability
I believe the EPA–DOE transition deserves support because its stated objectives recognize the importance of continuity, collaboration, transparent oversight, and sustained public service. Leaders should be able to demonstrate whether migration milestones are met, critical applications remain available, data integrity is preserved, security authorizations are obtained, partners remain supported, and program operations continue effectively. Over time, those measures should also connect to the ENERGY STAR mission itself. Meaning credible certification, energy savings, consumer confidence, and environmental benefit.
This view is consistent with DEW Diligence’s Environmental Sustainability Commitment, which emphasizes digital-first waste prevention, responsible technology lifecycle management, low-impact operations, energy and transportation transition, and environmental stewardship with measurable, continuous improvement. Our position rests on a simple principle that environmental commitments should be supported by operational decisions and credible evidence. That principle applies equally to public-sector technology modernization and to America’s broader energy transition.
Powering America’s Next Chapter
The next chapter of ENERGY STAR arrives at a consequential time. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the digital economy. Advanced nuclear energy is receiving renewed attention. Renewable energy, energy storage, and grid modernization remain essential components of a diversified energy system. And federal agencies face growing expectations to modernize technology while protecting public resources.
I support EPA and DOE in their shared effort to transition ENERGY STAR responsibly, and I support New Jersey’s initiatives to pursue reliable, affordable, clean energy with appropriate public safeguards. These efforts are complementary. DOE can strengthen ENERGY STAR’s future administration; EPA’s institutional knowledge and environmental expertise can support continuity; states can expand clean-energy options; and CIOs and CAIOs can help translate emerging technology into secure, measurable operational improvements. America’s energy future will depend on our ability to bring energy, technology, environmental stewardship, economic discipline, and public accountability together. In the age of AI, energy efficiency is a strategic capability and an essential part of America’s technological future.
Primary sources
U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Memorandum of Agreement Between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regarding the ENERGY STAR Program. Effective March 3, 2026. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2026-03/exec-2026-001205-moa-between-doe-and-epa-as-of-march-3-2026-doe.pdf
U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026 ENERGY STAR Program Transition Plan. Finalized August 28, 2026. https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/2026-08/ENERGY%20STAR%20Transition%20Plan%20Final%2008.28.2026_508.pdf
Office of the Governor of New Jersey. Governor Sherrill Signs Power NJ Act (A4881/S4296). July 13, 2026. https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/2026/approved/20260713a.shtml
Office of the Governor of New Jersey. Governor Sherrill Signs Legislation Lifting Nuclear Moratorium (S3870/A4528) and Launches Nuclear Task Force. April 8, 2026. https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/2026/approved/20260408a.shtml
State of New Jersey. Nuclear NJ. Launched October 1, 2026. https://www.nj.gov/nuclear/
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update. June 2026. https://bies.lbl.gov/publications/united-states-data-center-energy-2025
Federal policy and grid reliability
The White House. Executive Order 14302, Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base. May 23, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/reinvigorating-the-nuclear-industrial-base/
The White House. Executive Order 14318, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure. July 23, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/accelerating-federal-permitting-of-data-center-infrastructure/
POWER Magazine. FERC Orders Mandatory NERC Reliability Standards for Data Center and Other Computational Loads. Reporting on FERC Docket No. RD26-7-000 (July 16, 2026) and NERC's Level 3 Essential Actions Alert on computational loads (May 4, 2026). https://www.powermag.com/ferc-orders-mandatory-nerc-reliability-standards-for-data-center-and-other-computational-loads/
Independent frameworks and guidance
National Institute of Standards and Technology. FIPS 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems. February 2004. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/fips/199/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. FIPS 200, Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems. March 2006. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/fips/200/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations (SP 800-37 Rev. 2). December 2018. https://www.nist.gov/publications/risk-management-framework-information-systems-and-organizations-system-life-cycle
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations (SP 800-53 Rev. 5). September 2020, with Release 5.2.0 issued August 27, 2025. https://www.nist.gov/publications/security-and-privacy-controls-information-systems-and-organizations-0
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Control Baselines for Information Systems and Organizations (SP 800-53B). September 2020, updated December 10, 2020. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/53/b/upd1/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Digital Identity Guidelines (SP 800-63-4). July 31, 2025. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/63/4/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Zero Trust Architecture (SP 800-207). August 2020. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/207/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Systems and Organizations (SP 800-161 Rev. 1). May 2022, updated November 1, 2024. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/161/r1/upd1/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems (SP 800-34 Rev. 1). May 2010, updated November 11, 2010. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/34/r1/upd1/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Information Security Continuous Monitoring for Federal Information Systems and Organizations (SP 800-137). September 2011. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/137/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Guidelines for Media Sanitization (SP 800-88 Rev. 2). September 2025. https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/88/r2/final
National Institute of Standards and Technology. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0. February 26, 2024. https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0). January 26, 2023. (NIST has announced that a revised version is in progress.) https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework
North American Electric Reliability Corporation. Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards. https://www.nerc.com/standards
Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC), operated by NERC. https://www.eisac.com/
DEW Diligence perspectives
DEW Diligence, LLC. Powering America in the Age of AI: Environmental Sustainability. October 2026. https://www.dew-diligence.com/post/powering-america-in-the-age-of-ai-environmental-sustainability
DEW Diligence, LLC. Environmental Sustainability Commitment. https://www.dew-diligence.com/sustainability
DEW Diligence, LLC. Blog. https://www.dew-diligence.com/blog
Editorial disclosure: This article presents independent executive commentary informed by official publications from EPA, DOE, the State of New Jersey, NIST, NERC, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. DEW Diligence has no affiliation or commercial relationship with these organizations and does not claim sponsorship, partnership, or endorsement by any of them. Implementation priorities, AI applications, and NERC-related design considerations are the author's own recommendations; they are not commitments in the MOA or the Transition Plan. NERC CIP Reliability Standards apply to registered owners and operators of the bulk power system and are cited for partner-interface context only, not as legal requirements for ENERGY STAR systems. ENERGY STAR® is a registered trademark, referenced for identification and commentary only.
Want more on this topic? Review our services for executive consulting and contact us for a consultation.
David E. Williams, CISM, GSTRT, GSLC
Founding Principal, DEW Diligence, LLC
© 2026 DEW Diligence, LLC.
Comments