The department was established as the department of Nuclear Engineering in 1982. It was the only academic department in the country which educates, trains, and qualifies scientists and engineers in the field of Nuclear Engineering. In response to the rapid development and innovation taking place in the energy field worldwide, the department was changed to the department of Energy Engineering by a decision from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2008, which makes the department more concentrated on the new and renewable energies (Bio-fuels, nuclear, solar, hydropower, Wind, biomass, etc.). The department accepted the first intake of Bachelor of Energy Engineering Students in October 2008.  The master’s degree in the Energy Engineering science was launched in September 2014 and since then, it has continued to be offered.

The department aims to qualify professional engineers specialized in the field of new and renewable energies in addition to the nuclear energy. The specialization in energy engineering is considered one of the important specializations that are in great demand locally, regionally and internationally. The scientific research field of the department mainly focuses on the problems of lack of energy sources and their methods of solving to provide clean as well as sustainable energy that does not have a harmful impact on the surrounding environment. The department also strives to educate and train engineering staff with high efficiency in the design, implementation, operation and maintenance of solar energy installations, hydropower, wind energy, and geothermal energy in addition to traditional energy resources. That is, energy from fossil fuels.