United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy (USDOE) has a broad national mission that includes oversight of energy production and distribution. It also has a major role in the production of nuclear weapons, the safe storage of nuclear wastes, and the remediation of sites that have been contaminated as a result of the nation's atom bomb production program. DOE has a strong scientific component located in the DOE National Laboratories, which support research ranging from basic biologic processes to risk assessment.

While not a frontline public health agency, DOE engages in many activities that impact human health and the environment. These include its role in the national choice of energy sources, such as the different fossil fuels that emit varying levels of sulfur oxides, particulates, and nitrogen oxide air pollutants; nuclear energy with its attendant risks; and hydroelectric power sources, which also have ecological consequences. DOE is also heavily involved in research to develop more efficient and less-polluting automobiles. Within the DOE, the Division of Environmental Management and the Division of Environment, Health, and Safety have combined annual budgets of over $6 billion, which is used to clean up the legacy of atom bomb production and to protect worker and community health.

The secrecy surrounding the atom bomb program and a series of poor decisions on the part of DOE leadership have, at times, engendered distrust of the agency by local communities, scientific groups, and by Congress. This has led to many of its nuclear regulatory functions being placed under the independent control of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its worker surveillance programs largely placed under the direction of the Centers for Disease Control. It has also led to the funding of credible university-based organizations to work with the various stakeholders, such as the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation. Compounding the issue of distrust is the public perception of grave risks associated with nuclear materials and the millennia-long halflives of many radioactive compounds. A central issue for DOE is to find ways to safely and credibly provide stewardship of radioactive wastes for future generations.

(SEE ALSO: Automotive Emissions; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Nuclear Power; Nuclear Waste; Sulfur-Containing Air Pollutants [Particulates])

— BERNARD D. GOLDSTEIN

Though many of its security and intelligence functions have been passed to a subordinate office, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Department of Energy (DOE) is still the principal guarantor of energy security in the United States. It has the task of maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, cleaning up the environmental legacy of the Cold War arms race, and advancing science and technology in the service of national interests. In addition to DOE's overall concern for global nuclear security, the DOE Office of Security works to protect employees, DOE contractors, and entrusted assets. Office of Security programs include the Nonproliferation and National Security Institute (NNSI) and the Cyber-Forensic Laboratory. DOE also has an intelligence office that is a component of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Background

Most Americans tend to think of DOE in connection with civilian activities—for example, its effect on the price of gasoline at the pump—but in fact it is one of the federal government's most significant security assets. Its roots go back to the Manhattan Project, the successful effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Though most of the scientists in the Manhattan Project were civilian, the governing authority was military. Thus, in 1942, the first full year of U.S. participation in the war, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established the Manhattan Engineer District to oversee the project.

The war's end saw a heated battle in Congress over the issue of whether to place atomic power under civilian or military control. In 1946, the issue was settled with the passage of the Atomic Energy Act, which created the civilian-run Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). In the early Cold War years, AEC put its greatest emphasis on the production of nuclear weapons, and on the development of nuclear reactors to propel naval vessels. A second Atomic Energy Act, in 1954, opened the field of nuclear power to the private sector, and AEC served as the regulatory agency for the new industry.

As a result of U.S. vulnerabilities in the face of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, Congress in 1974 passed the Energy Reorganization Act, which abolished AEC and replaced it with two other agencies: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Energy Research and Development Administration. As the energy crisis of the 1970s wore on, however, it became more and more apparent that the government could most effectively deal with energy issues by unifying energy organization and planning. The result was the Department of Energy Organization Act, signed into law by President James E. Carter on October 1, 1977.

The new department replaced not only the Energy Research and Development Administration, but also the Federal Energy Administration, the Federal Power Commission, and programs or offices of other agencies. (NRC remained independent.) At the outset, DOE took the role of providing a framework for the development of a comprehensive national energy plan. It also undertook long-term, high-risk research and development in areas that included energy technology, energy conservation and regulation, federal marketing of power, energy data collection and analysis, and nuclear weapons.

The period since DOE's inception has seen a shift in focus in view of America's changing needs within the global landscape. Faced with the energy crisis of the late 1970s, DOE directed its efforts toward development and regulation of energy resources. The arms buildup that took place under the administration of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s saw DOE turn its attention to nuclear weapons research, development, and production. With the end of the Cold War, DOE entered a new phase, in which its emphasis was on nonproliferation, nuclear stewardship, retooling of nuclear weapons for peaceful uses, and environmental cleanup.

The Doe Today

Energy efficiency and conservation have remained focal points of DOE efforts, particularly in view of increasing tensions with and in the Middle East—where most of the world's oil is produced. In his 2003 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush, pledged $1.2 billion toward the development of hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Not only would the development of hydrogen power, long an area of research within DOE, free the United States from dependence on Middle Eastern oil, but it would greatly reduce the environmental impact of human activities, and provide an energy resource of almost limitless renewability.

Today, DOE accomplishes its mission along four principal program lines: national defense, energy, the environment, and science. DOE national defense programs, which DOE has continued to list as a top priority, have a fourfold purpose: to protect U.S. nuclear weapons, to promote nuclear safety internationally, to advance the cause of non-proliferation, and to continue providing safe and effective nuclear power for the operation of U.S. Navy vessels.

In the area of energy, DOE priorities include increasing domestic production, revolutionizing Americans' approach to conservation and efficiency, and promoting the development of renewable and alternative sources—including hydrogen. The environmental program overlaps somewhat with the national defense goal of cleanup of environmental and safety hazards left over from the Cold War. DOE is also committed to the safe and permanent disposal of radioactive waste. There is also overlap between the energy priority and a fourth program area, that of science, in which DOE's greatest interest is revolutionizing the search for, production, and delivery of energy.

Some aspects of DOE's responsibilities for national and global security are the work of NNSA, created by Congress in 1999 as a response to apparent security violations that occurred during the presidency of William J. Clinton. Though NNSA is an agency of DOE, its administrator, an undersecretary within the department, has direct responsibility over most of its functions.

Responsibilities of DOE and NNSA overlap in some areas. For example, both DOE and NNSA are concerned with nonproliferation programs involving Russian and other former Soviet republics. The purposes of these programs include the securing of nuclear weapons, elimination of excess materials, prevention of the outflow of nuclear expertise to other countries, and downsizing of the overall nuclear weapons complex in the former Soviet Union.

A particular area of emphasis in the DOE nonproliferation and verification program is the conversion of highly enriched uranium (HEU) to peacetime uses. In 1994, DOE agreed to purchase 500 metric tons of Russian HEU over the next 20 years, at a cost of $12 billion. The materials would then be converted to low enriched uranium and applied to commercial uses.

Emergency Operations

The Emergency Operations (EO) office of DOE is a joint mission of DOE and NNSA, created to administer and direct the emergency response capabilities of both. Focused on nuclear and radiological emergencies, EO is the principal DOE point of contact for emergency management activities.

EO develops policy for the emergency management of sites, facilities, and operations; manages the response to nuclear and radiological emergencies worldwide on behalf of the U.S. government; coordinates inter-and intradepartmental emergency management activities; evaluates and works to improve emergency response capabilities; and seeks to integrate programs, systems, assets, capabilities, training, and responses to improve emergency capabilities.

Offices of Emergency Management and Response. EO consists of two offices, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Office of Emergency Response (OER). OEM is charged with developing and implementing DOE's emergency management system for DOE and NNSA facilities, sites, and activities. It is responsible for operations and training, direction of emergency response exercises, development of emergency management policies, and support of DOE and NNSA site emergency planning and response.

OER supports both crisis response and emergency management through various departmental radiological emergency response assets or capabilities. It is responsible for the overall program management and organizational structure of EO in both emergency and non-emergency situations. OER also supports federal counterterrorism and consequence management efforts that have a nuclear or radiological dimension. In addition, EO as a whole represents DOE as needed in multiagency responses to nuclear or radiological threats affecting public safety and health.

Office of Security. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, numerous components of the federal security and intelligence apparatus came under scrutiny, and among these was the DOE Office of Security. In 2002, Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) released figures showing that the number of DOE security forces had dropped from 7,091 in 1992 to just 4,262 in 2001, a reduction of 40 percent. Political and intelligence analysts argued that these reductions were typical of the post-Cold War, Clinton-era reduction in security and intelligence resources, and after September 2001, DOE Office of Security director Joseph C. Mahaley worked to rebuild those resources.

In his role as chief functionary responsible for the development of policy regarding the protection of national security assets under DOE control, Mahaley gave a statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget on December 5, 2001. In his statement, Mahaley explained that, in accordance with the DOE Security Condition (SECON) system, the office had declared a level 2 emergency (SECON 2) on the day of the terrorist attacks, but had since dropped to—and stayed at—SECON 3, the highest alert level that could be maintained indefinitely.

Missions and priorities. The highest DOE security priority, Mahaley explained, is the protection of special nuclear material, or SNM, including everything from raw nuclear materials to complete nuclear weapons. DOE's nuclear safeguards and security program are directed toward preparing for a worst-case scenario involving the theft of these materials.

In addition to its mission of protecting materials and technology—including non-nuclear assets of DOE—the Office of Security also participates in the Technical Support Working Group, an interagency counterterrorism team headed by the State Department. The Office of Security had, at the time of Mahaley's statement, 550 trained counterterrorism personnel in its special response teams at 11 locations, along with 3,500 other armed officers.

Programs. Office of Security programs include NNSI, a training provider not only for DOE, but for students from more than 100 government departments and agencies. Founded in 1984 and formerly known as the Central Training Academy, NNSI is located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Among its schools are the Professional Development Program, the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation and International Cooperation Academy, the Foreign Interaction Training Academy, the Emergency Operations Training Academy, the Safeguards and Security Central Training Academy, and the Counterintelligence Training Academy.

The last of these, known as CITA, was established in May 2000, and offers instruction to contractor employees as well as federal workers. In addition to full courses, it offers seminars on subjects such as "Counterintelligence for Managers," "Economic Espionage: Protecting Intellectual Property," and "The Technical Collection Threat to Travelers."

The other major Office of Security program is the Cyber-Forensic Laboratory. Cyber-forensics is the application of science and technology to the discovery, analysis, and reconstruction of data extracted from any element of computers, computer peripherals, or computer systems. The laboratory assists DOE with the collection and study of electronic data relating to DOE security, or that of other government agencies and departments.

Office of Intelligence. DOE's Office of Intelligence (IN) is a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), producing intelligence for use both within DOE, and across the IC as a whole. Within the IC, the Office of Intelligence is the leading technical intelligence resource in four areas: nuclear weapons and nonproliferation; nuclear energy, safety, and waste; science and technology; and energy security.

The mission of IN within the IC is three-fold: to provide DOE and other agencies and departments, particularly IC members, with timely, accurate, and effective analyses of foreign intelligence; to make DOE's expertise available to the intelligence, law enforcement, and special operations communities; and to provide timely, specialized technological applications and operational support to those communities.

Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 61, issued by President Clinton in February 1998, reorganized the intelligence structure at DOE. Counterintelligence and foreign intelligence functions were separated, and both offices were made directly answerable to the secretary of energy. The new counterintelligence director would be a senior Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executive, and would have direct access to the directors of Central Intelligence and the FBI as well as the secretary of energy. In conjunction with the Office of Security, the director would work to implement specific security measures designed to reduce the threat to classified and sensitive information at DOE.

DOE operates a number of national laboratories that bring together scientists from a variety of disciplines to work on military and non-military related projects. National laboratory scientists have developed a number of technologies related to national security interests.

Further Reading

Books

Closing the Circle on the Splitting of the Atom: The Environmental Legacy of Nuclear Weapons Production in the United States and What the Department of Energy Is Doing About It. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995.

Department of Energy Non-Proliferation Programs with Russia: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, First Session, March 28, 2001. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001.

Rudman, Warren B. Science at Its Best, Security at Its Worst: A Report on Security Problems at the U.S. Department of Energy. Washington, D.C.: President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, 1999.

Periodicals

Carr, Rebecca. "Security at Nuke Labs Lax—DOE 'Indifferent' Despite Sept. 11." Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (August 20, 2002): A11.

Electronic

Department of Energy. <http://www.energy.gov> (March 7, 2003).

Department of Energy Office of Security. <http://www.so.doe.gov> (March 7, 2003).

The Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive agency of the federal government. Its many duties include the administration of federal energy policies and functions, research and development of energy technology, marketing of federally produced power, promotion of energy conservation, oversight of the nuclear weapons program, regulation of energy production and consumption, and collection and analysis of energy-related data.

The DOE was created in 1977 under the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C.A. § 7131). The act brought together all major federal energy responsibilities into one cabinet-level department. The DOE divides itself into three major programs, or divisions: energy programs, weapons/waste clean-up programs, and science and technology programs. It also oversees five power administrations and includes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Many of the department's research, development, testing, and production activities are performed by contractors who operate government-owned facilities.

Office of the Secretary

The secretary of the DOE provides overall leadership for the department, decides major energy policy, advises the president on energy issues, and acts as the principal spokesperson for the department. The deputy secretary oversees the department's energy programs, and the under secretary has responsibility for the weapons/waste clean up programs and science and technology programs.

Energy Programs

The DOE energy programs consist of five offices: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy, Nuclear Energy, the Energy Information Administration, and Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy directs efforts to increase the production and utilization of renewable power sources such as solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, and alcohol fuels. It also works to improve the energy efficiency of transportation, buildings, and industrial systems. The office supports research and development related to these areas. In addition, it provides financial assistance for state energy planning, weatherizes housing for poor and disadvantaged people, and implements energy conservation measures by government and public institutions.

The Office of Fossil Energy supports research and development programs related to the fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and gas. It conducts and funds long-term, high-risk research to help the private sector commercialize advanced concepts in fossil fuel energy. The assistant secretary for fossil energy also manages the Clean Coal Technology Program, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves, and Liquefied Gaseous Fuels Spill Test Facility.

The Office of Nuclear Energy oversees the department's research and development in nuclear fission technology, including nuclear reactor development. This office manages the Remedial Action Program, which performs decontamination work at DOE surplus sites. The office also coordinates efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear technology and evaluates new and potential advances in nuclear technology.

The Energy Information Administration collects, processes, and publishes data related to energy production, demand, consumption, distribution, technology, and resource reserves. In addition, the administration helps government and nongovernment users understand energy trends.

The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management manages the Nuclear Waste Fund and other federal programs related to the storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

Weapons/Waste Clean Up Programs

The weapons/waste clean up programs include the Offices of Defense Programs, Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, and Intelligence and National Security.

The Office of Defense Programs directs U.S. nuclear weapons research, development, testing, production, and surveillance; manages defense nuclear waste and by-products; and coordinates research in inertial confinement nuclear fusion.

The Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management assesses and cleans up the waste sites of inactive nuclear weapons and of other weapons and related matériel.

The Office of Intelligence and National Security meets the intelligence information requirements of the DOE and makes departmental expertise and information available to the intelligence community. The office secures classified information and manages the department's policies relating to arms control, nuclear nonproliferation, and export controls.

Science and Technology Programs

The science and technology programs include the Offices of Energy Research, Science Education and Technical Information, and Laboratory Management.

The Office of Energy Research advises the secretary on DOE energy research and development programs. It manages the basic energy sciences, high-energy physics, and fusion energy research programs. It also administers grants to university and industry researchers.

The Office of Science Education and Technical Information develops and implements DOE policy for science education programs at secondary and postsecondary schools; manages the collection and dissemination of department research and development activities; and represents the United States in international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency.

The Office of Laboratory Management administers DOE laboratories and formulates laboratory research programs and policies.

Power Administrations

The DOE oversees five power administrations that market and transmit electric power produced at federal hydroelectric projects: the Bonneville Power Administration, in the Pacific Northwest; the Alaska Power Administration; the Southeastern Power Administration, serving West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky; the Southwestern Power Administration, in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas; and the Western Area Power Administration, serving fifteen midwestern and western states.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The DOE also includes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an independent commission made up of five members. The commission took over many of the functions of the former Federal Power Commission, including the setting of rates and charges for the sale of natural gas and electricity. The commission also establishes rates for the transportation of oil by pipeline.

United States Department of Energy
Seal of the Department of Energy
Agency overview
Formed	August 4, 1977
Preceding agencies	Energy Research and Development Administration   Federal Energy Administration
Employees	16,000 federal (2009)[1] 93,094 contract (2008)
Annual budget	$24.1 billion (2009)
Agency executives	Steven Chu, Secretary   Vacant, Deputy Secretary.
Website
www.energy.gov

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material. Its responsibilities include the nation's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production. DOE also sponsors more basic and applied scientific research than any other US federal agency; most of this is funded through its system of United States Department of Energy National Laboratories.

The agency is administered by the United States Secretary of Energy, and its headquarters are located in southwest Washington, D.C., on Independence Avenue in the Forrestal Building, named for James Forrestal, as well as in Germantown, Maryland.

Contents 1 History 2 Operating units 2.1 Office of Science 2.2 Facilities 3 Responsibility for nuclear weapons 4 Controversy 5 Related legislation 6 Budget 7 Energy Savings Performance Contract 8 Loan Guarantee Program 9 Energy Innovation Hubs 10 Failing its own energy audit 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

History

Many federal agencies have been established to manage various government sectors, dating back to the creation of the Manhattan Project and the subsequent Atomic Energy Commission. The impetus for putting them all under the auspices of a single department was the 1973 energy crisis, in response to which President Jimmy Carter proposed creation of the department. The enabling legislation was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Carter on August 4, 1977. The department began operations on October 1, 1977.

Operating units

DOE headquarters

United States Department of Energy seal as seen at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is an independent agency in the United States Department of Energy. It is the source for official energy statistics from the U.S. Government. EIA collects, analyzes, and publishes data as directed by law to ensure efficient markets, inform policy-making, and support public understanding of energy.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is part of the United States Department of Energy. It works to improve national security through the military application of nuclear energy. The NNSA also maintains and improves the safety, reliability, and performance of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile, including the ability to design, produce, and test, in order to meet national security requirements.

The Department's Office of Secure Transportation (OST) provides safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons and components and special nuclear materials, and conducts other missions supporting the national security of the United States of America. Since 1974, OST has been assigned responsibility to develop, operate, and manage a system for the safe and secure transportation of all government-owned, DOE or NNSA controlled special nuclear materials in "strategic" or "significant" quantities. Shipments are transported in specially designed equipment and are escorted by armed Federal Agents (Nuclear Material Couriers).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is an independent regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. The Department also manages the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Office of Science

The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, providing more than 40 percent of total funding for this vital area of national importance.^[2].

The Office of Science will invest $777 million over the next five years (from 2009) in 46 new Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs). The EFRCs will be established at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms across the nation, drawing in part on funds provided by the Recovery Act, while also depending on future Congressional appropriations. Twenty EFRCs will focus on renewable energy.^[3]

Facilities

• Albany Research Center
• Argonne National Lab
• Bannister Federal Complex
• Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory - focuses on the design and development of nuclear power for the U.S. Navy.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Center for Functional Nanomaterials (under design or construction)
• Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (under design or construction)
• Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
• Center for Nanoscale Materials (under design or construction)
• Environmental Measurements Laboratory (now affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security)
• Idaho National Laboratory
• Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory - operates for Naval Reactors Program Research under the DOE - DOE facility, not a National Laboratory
• Molecular Foundry - part of LBL
• National Petroleum Technology Office
• New Brunswick Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Radiological & Environmental Sciences Laboratory
• Yucca Mountain

Responsibility for nuclear weapons

In the United States, all nuclear weapons deployed by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) are actually on loan to DoD from the DOE/NNSA, which has federal responsibility for the design, testing and production of all nuclear weapons. NNSA in turn uses contractors to carry out its responsibilities at the following government owned sites:

• Design of the nuclear components of the weapon: Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Engineering of the weapon systems: Sandia National Laboratory
• Manufacturing of key components: Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Kansas City Plant, and Y-12 National Security Complex
• Testing: Nevada Test Site
• Final weapon/warhead assembling/dismantling: Pantex

Controversy

During the Wen Ho Lee scandal, involving stolen nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory, hearings were called in Congress regarding the Department of Energy's handling of the matter. Republican senators thought that an independent agency should be in charge of nuclear weapons and security issues, not the Department of Energy.^[4] Federal officials, including then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, had publicly named Lee as a suspect in the theft of classified nuclear documents before he was charged with a crime; he was later cleared of the spying charges and won a settlement with the federal government.^[5]

Related legislation

Hierarchy of the U.S. Department of Energy

• 1920 - Federal Power Act
• 1946 - Atomic Energy Act PL 79-585 (created the Atomic Energy Commission)
• 1954 - Atomic Energy Act Amendments PL 83-703
• 1956 - Colorado River Storage Project PL 84-485
• 1957 - Atomic Energy Commission Acquisition of Property PL 85-162
• 1957 - Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act PL 85-256
• 1968 - Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act PL 90-481
• 1973 - Mineral Leasing Act Amendments (Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline Authorization) PL 93-153
• 1974 - Energy Reorganization Act PL 93-438 (Split the AEC into the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
• 1975 - Energy Policy and Conservation Act PL 94-163
• 1977 - Department of Energy Organization Act PL 95-91 (Dismantled ERDA and replaced it with the Department of Energy)
• 1978 - National Energy Act PL 95-617, 618, 619, 620, 621
• 1980 - Energy Security Act PL 96-294
• 1989 - Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act PL 101-60
• 1992 - Energy Policy Act of 1992 PL 102-486
• 2005 - Energy Policy Act of 2005 PL 109-58
• 2007 - Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 PL 110-140
• 2008 - Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 PL 110-234

Budget

President Barack Obama unveiled on May 7 a $26.4 billion budget request for DOE for fiscal year (FY) 2010, including $2.3 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The budget aims to substantially expand the use of renewable energy sources while improving energy transmission infrastructure. It also makes significant investments in hybrids and plug-in hybrids, in smart grid technologies, and in scientific research and innovation. ^[6]

As part of the recent $789 billion economic stimulus package, Congress has provided Energy with $38.3 billion for the next two years, adding about 75 percent to Energy's annual budgets. Most of the stimulus spending will be in the form of grants and contracts. Yet, according to Robert Alvarez, "Even with additional stimulus money, spending for bombs and cleanup will still exceed those for actual energy-related functions. Spending for the weapons complex is currently comparable to that during the height of the nuclear arms race in the 1950s. The big difference now — half of that money is spent dealing with the Cold War's environmental legacy^[7]."

Energy Savings Performance Contract

Main article: Energy Savings Performance Contract

Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) are contracts under which a contractor designs, constructs, and obtains the necessary financing for an energy savings project, and the federal agency makes payments over time to the contractor from the savings in the agency's utility bills. The contractor guarantees the energy improvements will generate savings, and after the contract ends, all continuing cost savings accrue to the federal agency ^[8].

Loan Guarantee Program

Main article: Loan guarantee

Title XVII of Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy to issue loan guarantees to eligible projects that "avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases" and "employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued". ^[9]

In loan guarantees, a conditional commitment requires to meet an equity commitment, as well as other conditions, before the loan guarantee is closed. ^[10]

Energy Innovation Hubs

Energy Innovation Hubs are multi-disciplinary meant to advance highly promising areas of energy science and technology from their early stages of research to the point that the risk level will be low enough for industry to commercialize the technologies. ^[11]

The DOE budget includes $280 million to fund eight Energy Innovation Hubs, each of which is focused on a particular energy challenge. Two of the eight hubs are included in the EERE budget and will focus on integrating smart materials, designs, and systems into buildings to better conserve energy and on designing and discovering new concepts and materials needed to convert solar energy into electricity. Another two hubs, included in the DOE Office of Science budget, will tackle the challenges of devising advanced methods of energy storage and creating fuels directly from sunlight without the use of plants or microbes. Yet another hub will develop "smart" materials that will allow the electrical grid to adapt and respond to changing conditions. ^[12]

Failing its own energy audit

In 2009, the Wall St. Journal reported that the Department of Energy had failed its own energy audit. The journal quoted the audit as saying, "While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted that shutting down a computer monitor when not in use is one of the easiest things a user can do to save energy, we found that … each of the 20 computers reviewed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) were set to never turn off the monitor after a period of non-use. At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), 8 of 18 computers were set to turn the monitor off after 48 hours, 144 times the recommended standard."^[13] The results of the audit can be read here.

See also

• 2010 United States federal budget
• Advanced Energy Initiative
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• Appropriation (law)
• ARPA-E
• Energy Policy Act of 2005
• Federal Energy Management Program
• Funding Opportunity Announcement
• Green job
• Institute of Nuclear Materials Management
• Loan guarantee
• North American Solar Challenge
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Radioactive waste
• Recovery Act
• Smart grid
• State Energy Program
• Twenty In Ten
• Weatherization Assistance Program

References

1. ^ http://www.cfo.doe.gov/CF1-2/2008CR.pdf
2. ^ http://www.er.doe.gov/about/index.htm
3. ^ http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/EFRC.html
4. ^ Plotz, David (June 23, 2000). "Energy Secretary Bill Richardson". Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/84864/. Retrieved on 2008-11-07. 
5. ^ Mears, Bill (May 22, 2006). "Deal in Wen Ho Lee case may be imminent". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/22/scotus.wenholee/. Retrieved on 2008-11-07. 
6. ^ http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=12509
7. ^ Is the Energy Department Ready to Reboot the Country?, Institute for Policy Studies, March 27, 2009
8. ^ http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=12163
9. ^ http://www.lgprogram.energy.gov/features.html
10. ^ http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=12360
11. ^ http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=12509
12. ^ http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=12509
13. ^ Energy Department Fails its Own Energy Audit, Wall St. Journal, June 8, 2009

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: United States Department of Energy

• "United States Department of Energy Official Website". http://www.energy.gov/. Retrieved on August 7 2006. 
• "Energy Information Administration". Department of Energy. http://www.eia.doe.gov/. Retrieved on August 7 2006. 
• Loan Guarantee Program
• "Office of Science". Department of Energy. http://www.energy.gov/about/index.htm. Retrieved on August 7 2006. 
• Works by the United States Department of Energy at Project Gutenberg
• Advanced Energy Initiative
• Twenty In Ten.
• Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability

v • d • e Energy in the United States Core topics Energy use Politics Energy Lobby  · Energy policy · Energy Policy Act (1992 · 2005) · Offshore drilling debate · Oil politics · RPS · Secretary of Energy · New Energy For America Sources Biofuel · Coal · Geothermal · Hydroelectric · Nuclear · Renewable · Solar (Arizona · California · Nevada · New Jersey · New Mexico) Wind (California · Iowa · Maine · Minnesota · New Hampshire · New York · Ohio · Oregon · Texas · Washington · Wyoming) Environmental issues Greenhouse gas emissions · Emission standards · CAFE standards Organizations ACORE · AA · API · ASES · AWEA · BTEC · DOE (EIA · EERE · NREL · OE) · EBI · EESI · EPRI · PIA · RMI · TVA · USGS Energy portal · Sustainable development portal

v • d • e Agencies under the United States Department of Energy Secretary of Energy Deputy Secretary of Energy Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence · Energy Information Administration · Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Under Secretary of Energy for Energy and Environment Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management · Office of Electricity Deliverability & Energy Reliability · Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy · Office of Environmental Management · Office of Fossil Energy · Office of Legacy Management · Office of Nuclear Energy, Science & Technology Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security National Nuclear Security Administration Under Secretary of Energy for Science Office of Science Power Marketing Administration Bonneville Power Administration · Southeastern Power Administration · Southwestern Power Administration · Western Area Power Administration National Laboratory System Albany · Ames · Argonne · Berkeley · Brookhaven · EMSL · Fermilab · Idaho · Livermore · Los Alamos · NBL · NETL · NREL · Nevada Test Site · Oak Ridge · Pacific Northwest · PPPL · RESL · Sandia · SLAC · SNS · TJNAF

v • d • e United States federal executive departments Agriculture • Commerce • Defense • Education • Energy • Health and Human Services • Homeland Security • Housing and Urban Development • Interior • Justice • Labor • State • Transportation • Treasury • Veterans Affairs Past departments:  Commerce and Labor • Health, Education, and Welfare • Navy • Post Office • War

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)