United States Department of Energy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet

United States Cabinet

The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...

-level department of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material. Its responsibilities include the nation's nuclear weapon

Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...

s program, nuclear reactor

Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...

production for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, energy conservation

Energy conservation

Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...

, energy-related research, radioactive waste

Radioactive waste

Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...

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

United States Department of Energy National Laboratories

The United States Department of Energy National Laboratories and Technology Centers are a system of facilities and laboratories overseen by the United States Department of Energy for the purpose of advancing science and helping promote the economic and defensive national interests of the United...

.

The agency is administered by the United States Secretary of Energy

United States Secretary of Energy

The United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the President's Cabinet, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was formed on October 1, 1977 with the creation of the Department of Energy when President Jimmy...

, and its headquarters are located in southwest

Washington, D.C. (southwest)

Southwest is the southwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of the National Mall and west of South Capitol Street. It is the smallest quadrant of the city. Southwest is small enough that it is frequently referred to as a neighborhood in and of...

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, on Independence Avenue in the Forrestal Building, named after James Forrestal

James Forrestal

James Vincent Forrestal was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense....

, as well as in Germantown, Maryland.

History

In 1942, during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the United States started the Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...

, a project to develop the atomic bomb, under the eye of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After the war, the Atomic Energy Commission

United States Atomic Energy Commission

The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

was created to control the future of the project.

The AEC was reinstated and gave way to Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...

, which was tasked with regulating the nuclear power industry, and the Energy Research and Development Administration

Energy Research and Development Administration

The United States Energy Research and Development Administration was a United States government organization formed from the split of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1975...

, which was tasked to manage the nuclear weapon, naval reactor, and energy development programs.

The 1973 oil crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

called attention to the need to consolidate energy policy. On August 4, 1977, President Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

signed into law The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-91, 91 Stat. 565), which created the Department of Energy. The new agency, which began operations on October 1, 1977, assumed the responsibilities of the Federal Energy Administration

Federal Energy Administration

The Federal Energy Administration was a United States government organization created in 1974 to address the 1970s energy crisis. It was merged in 1977 with the newly-created United States Department of Energy.-History:...

, the Energy Research and Development Administration

Energy Research and Development Administration

The United States Energy Research and Development Administration was a United States government organization formed from the split of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1975...

, the Federal Power Commission

Federal Power Commission

The Federal Power Commission was an independent commission of the United States government, originally organized on June 23, 1930, with five members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate...

, and programs of various other agencies.

Organization

The Department is under the control and supervision of a United States Secretary of Energy

United States Secretary of Energy

, a political appointee of the President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. The Energy Secretary is assisted in managing the Department by a United States Deputy Secretary of Energy, also appointed by the President, who assumes the duties of the Secretary in his absence. The Department also has three Under Secretaries of Energy, each appointed by the President, who oversee the major areas of the Department's work. To aid the Under Secretaries in the performance of their duties, the President also appoints eight Assistant Secretaries of Energy. The Energy Secretary assigns their functions and duties.

Secretary of Energy
- Deputy Secretary
  - Under Secretary of Energy for Energy and Environment
    Under Secretary of Energy for Energy and Environment
    The Under Secretary for Energy and Environment, also known as the Under Secretary of Energy, is a position within the United States Department of Energy...
    - Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
    - Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
      Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
      The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability is a program office within the United States Department of Energy. The mission of OE is "to lead national efforts to modernize the electric grid; enhance security and reliability of the energy infrastructure; and facilitate recovery from...
    - Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
      Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
      The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is an office within the United States Department of Energy that invests in high-risk, high-value research and development in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies...
    - Office of Environmental Management
    - Office of Fossil Energy
    - Office of Legacy Management
    - Office of Nuclear Energy, Science & Technology
  - Under Secretary of Energy for Science
    - Office of Science
      Office of Science
      The Office of Science is a component of the United States Department of Energy . The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences...
  - Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security
    Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security
    The Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, in the United States Department of Energy, is the Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration. The National Nuclear Security Administration's responsibilities include designing, producing, and maintaining safe, secure and reliable nuclear...
    - National Nuclear Security Administration
      National Nuclear Security Administration
      The United States National Nuclear Security Administration is part of the United States Department of Energy. It works to improve national security through the military application of nuclear energy...
      - Office of Secure Transportation
        Office of Secure Transportation
        The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Secure Transportation 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...
  - Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
    Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
    The Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence is an office of the United States Department of Energy that focuses on gathering intelligence for the department. It provides information to the Secretary of Energy and senior federal policy makers. As a member of the Intelligence Community, it...
  - Energy Information Administration
    Energy Information Administration
    The U.S. Energy Information Administration is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and...
  - Bonneville Power Administration
    Bonneville Power Administration
    The Bonneville Power Administration is an American federal agency based in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to construct facilities necessary to transmit that power...
  - Southeastern Power Administration
    Southeastern Power Administration
    The Southeastern Power Administration is a United States Power Marketing Administration with responsibility for marketing hydroelectric power from 23 water projects operated by the U.S...
  - Southwestern Power Administration
    Southwestern Power Administration
    The Southwestern Power Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy. Southwestern's mission was established by Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944. The agency is a power marketing administration responsible for marketing the hydroelectric power produced at 24 U.S. Army...
  - Western Area Power Administration
    Western Area Power Administration
    The Western Area Power Administration markets and delivers hydroelectric power and related services within a 15-state region of the central and western U.S. It is one of four power marketing administrations within the U.S...
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates...

Facilities

As the lead energy research and development agency in the United States, the Department of Energy operates a number of science laboratories. They are as follows:

Albany Research Center
Albany Research Center
The Albany Research Center, now part of National Energy Technology Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory staffed by Federal employees located in Albany, Oregon...
Ames Laboratory
Ames Laboratory
Ames Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Ames, Iowa. The Laboratory conducts research into various areas of national concern, including the synthesis and study of new materials, energy resources, high-speed computer design, and environmental cleanup...
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is the first science and engineering research national laboratory in the United States, receiving this designation on July 1, 1946. It is the largest national laboratory by size and scope in the Midwest...
Bannister Federal Complex
Bannister Federal Complex
The Bannister Federal Complex is a United States Federal Government complex located at 1500 E. Bannister Road in Kansas City, Missouri. The complex consists of 10 buildings located at the corner of Troost Avenue and Bannister Road...
Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory
Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory
Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory is a U.S. Government-owned, contractor-operated research and development facility located in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. It solely focuses on the design and development of nuclear power for the U.S. Navy....

- focuses on the design and development of nuclear power for the U.S. Navy.
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Center for Functional Nanomaterials
-Overview :The Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory provides state-of-the-art capabilities for the fabrication and study of nanoscale materials, with an emphasis on atomic-level tailoring to achieve desired properties and functions...

(under design or construction)
Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies
Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies
The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies is one of five Nanoscale Science Research Centers the United States Department of Energy sponsors. The Center's "core facility" is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.- References :*...

(under design or construction)
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences was the first to open of the five Nanoscale Science Research Centers the United States Department of Energy sponsors. The Center's location is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee...
Center for Nanoscale Materials
Center for Nanoscale Materials
The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of five Nanoscale Science Research Centers the United States Department of Energy sponsors. The Center is at Argonne National Laboratory location in Argonne, Illinois....

(under design or construction)
Environmental Measurements Laboratory
Environmental Measurements Laboratory
The Environmental Measurements Laboratory is the former name of the current National Urban Security Technology Laboratory , a United States government-owned, government-operated laboratory. NUSTL is part of the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security...

(now affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security)
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory is an complex located in the high desert of eastern Idaho, between the town of Arco to the west and the cities of Idaho Falls and Blackfoot to the east. It lies within Butte, Bingham, Bonneville and Jefferson counties...
Kansas City Plant
Kansas City Plant
The Kansas City Plant is a National Nuclear Security Administration facility managed and operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies that produces 85 percent of the nonnuclear material used in the United States nuclear bomb arsenal...
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory is a research and development facility dedicated to the support of the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. KAPL is a government-owned, contractor operated laboratory run by Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation for the United States Department of Energy. KAPL is...

- operates for Naval Reactors Program Research under the DOE - DOE facility, not a National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
National Energy Technology Laboratory
National Energy Technology Laboratory
The National Energy Technology Laboratory is a science, technology, and energy laboratory owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy . As part of DOE's national laboratory system, NETL supports DOE's mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States...
National Petroleum Technology Office
National Petroleum Technology Office
The National Petroleum Technology Office was an agency of the United States Department of Energy. It is now known as the Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil.-External links:*...
Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
New Brunswick Laboratory
New Brunswick Laboratory
The New Brunswick Laboratory , is a Government-owned, Government-operated, center of excellence in the measurement science of nuclear materials. NBL is the U.S. Government's Nuclear Materials Measurements and Reference Materials Laboratory and the National Certifying Authority for nuclear reference...
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
Office of Fossil Energyhttp://fossil.energy.gov/
Office of River Protectionhttp://www.hanford.gov/orp/ (Hanford Site)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington....
Pantex
Pantex
The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility and is charged with maintaining the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located on a 16,000 acre site 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County,...
Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory
Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory
The Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory is a federally-owned and operated laboratory by the United States Department of Energy located in the Central Facilities Area of the Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls, Idaho...
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
Savannah River National Laboratory
Savannah River National Laboratory
The Savannah River National Laboratory is the applied research and development laboratory at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. SRNL was founded in 1951 as the Savannah River Laboratory. It was certified as a national laboratory on May 7, 2004...
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S...
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility , commonly called Jefferson Lab or JLab, is a U.S. national laboratory located in Newport News, Virginia. Since June 1, 2006, it has been operated by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a joint venture between Southeastern Universities Research...
Y-12 National Security Complex
Y-12 National Security Complex
The Y-12 National Security Complex is a United States Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory...
Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository

Responsibility for nuclear weapons

In the United States, all nuclear weapons deployed by the United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

(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
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
Engineering of the weapon systems: Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
Manufacturing of key components: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

, the Kansas City Plant
Kansas City Plant
The Kansas City Plant is a National Nuclear Security Administration facility managed and operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies that produces 85 percent of the nonnuclear material used in the United States nuclear bomb arsenal...

, and Y-12 National Security Complex
Y-12 National Security Complex
The Y-12 National Security Complex is a United States Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory...
Testing: Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
Final weapon/warhead assembling/dismantling: Pantex
Pantex
The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility and is charged with maintaining the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located on a 16,000 acre site 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County,...

Controversy

During the Wen Ho Lee

Wen Ho Lee

Dr. Wen Ho Lee is a Taiwan-born Taiwanese American scientist who worked for the University of California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He created simulations of nuclear explosions for the purposes of scientific inquiry, as well as for improving the safety and reliability of the US nuclear...

scandal, involving stolen nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

, 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. 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.

Related legislation

1920 - Federal Power Act
Federal Power Act
The Federal Power Act is a law appearing in Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the United States Code, entitled "Federal Regulation and Development of Power". Enacted as the Federal Water Power Act on June 10, 1920, and amended many times since, its original purpose was to more effectively coordinate the...
1946 - Atomic Energy Act PL 79-585 (created the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

)
1954 - Atomic Energy Act Amendments PL 83-703
1956 - Colorado River Storage Project
Colorado River Storage Project
The Colorado River Storage Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation project designed to oversee the development of the upper Colorado River basin...

PL 84-485
1957 - Atomic Energy Commission Acquisition of Property PL 85-162
1957 - Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act
Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act
The Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act is a United States federal law, first passed in 1957 and since renewed several times, which governs liability-related issues for all non-military nuclear facilities constructed in the United States before 2026...

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
Energy Research and Development Administration
The United States Energy Research and Development Administration was a United States government organization formed from the split of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1975...

and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...

)
1975 - Energy Policy and Conservation Act
Energy Policy and Conservation Act
The Energy Policy and Conservation Act declared it to be U.S. policy to establish a reserve of up to 1 billion barrels of petroleum. President Gerald Ford signed the legislation on December 22, 1975, setting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve into motion.The need for a national oil storage reserve...

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
National Energy Act
The National Energy Act of 1978 was a legislative response by the U.S. Congress to the 1973 energy crisis. It includes the following statutes:* Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act * Energy Tax Act * National Energy Conservation Policy Act...

PL 95-617, 618, 619, 620, 621
1980 - Energy Security Act
Energy Security Act
The Energy Security Act was signed into law by U.S. President Jimmy Carter on June 30, 1980.It consisted of six major acts:* U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act* Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act* Renewable Energy Resources Act...

PL 96-294
1989 - Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act PL 101-60
1992 - Energy Policy Act of 1992
Energy Policy Act of 1992
The Energy Policy Act is a United States government act.It was passed by Congress and addressed energy efficiency, energy conservation and energy management , natural gas imports and exports , alternative fuels and requiring certain fleets to acquire alternative fuel vehicles, which are capable of...

PL 102-486
2005 - Energy Policy Act of 2005
Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...

PL 109-58
2007 - Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States...

PL 110-140
2008 - Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18, 2008. The bill was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. It continues the United States' long history of agricultural subsidy as...

PL 110-234

Budget

President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

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

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is an office within the United States Department of Energy that invests in high-risk, high-value research and development in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies...

(EERE). The budget aims to substantially expand the use of renewable energy

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

sources while improving energy transmission infrastructure. It also makes significant investments in hybrid

Hybrid electric vehicle

A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...

s and plug-in hybrids, in smart grid technologies, and in scientific research and innovation.

As part of the $789 billion economic stimulus package in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress provided Energy with an additional $38.3 billion for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, adding about 75 percent to Energy's annual budgets. Most of the stimulus spending was 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

Nuclear arms race

The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War...

in the 1950s. The big difference now — half of that money is spent dealing with the Cold War's environmental legacy. "

For fiscal year 2011, each of the operating units of the Department of Energy operate with the following budgets:

Division	Funding (in billions)
Management	$0.4
Energy and Environment	$10.6
Science	$4.9
Nuclear Security	$10.5
Other	$0.6
Total	$27

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.

Loan Guarantee Program

Title XVII of Energy Policy Act of 2005

Energy Policy Act of 2005

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...

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 gas

Greenhouse gas

A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...

es" and "employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued".

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

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.

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.

Past Secretaries of Energy

Term	Name	President President of the United States The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... served
August 6, 1977 - August 23, 1979	James R. Schlesinger James R. Schlesinger Dr. James Rodney Schlesinger is an American politician. He is best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...	Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
August 24, 1979 - January 20, 1981	Charles W. Duncan, Jr.	Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
January 23, 1981 - November 5, 1982	James B. Edwards James B. Edwards James Burrows Edwards is a politician and administrator from South Carolina. He was the first Republican to be elected the Governor of South Carolina since Reconstruction.-Early life and career:...	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
November 5, 1982 - February 7, 1985	Donald Paul Hodel	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
February 7, 1985 - January 20, 1989	John S. Herrington John S. Herrington John Stewart Herrington is an American Republican politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Energy under Ronald Reagan during his second term....	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
March 1, 1989 - January 20, 1993	James D. Watkins James D. Watkins Admiral James David Watkins is a retired United States Navy officer and former Chief of Naval Operations who also served as U.S. Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush Administration and chaired U.S. government commissions on HIV/AIDS and ocean policy. Watkins has also served on the...	George H.W. Bush
January 22, 1993 - January 20, 1997	Hazel R. O'Leary	Bill Clinton Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
March 12, 1997 - June 30, 1998	Federico F. Peña	Bill Clinton Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
August 18, 1998 - January 20, 2001	Bill Richardson	Bill Clinton Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
January 20, 2001 - January 31, 2005	Spencer Abraham Spencer Abraham Edmund Spencer Abraham is a former United States Senator from Michigan. He served as the tenth United States Secretary of Energy, serving under President George W. Bush. Abraham is one of the founders of the Federalist Society....	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
February 1, 2005 - January 20, 2009 -	Samuel W. Bodman Samuel W. Bodman Samuel Wright Bodman III was a United States Secretary of Energy and was previously Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department.-Early life, career, and family:...	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
January 21, 2009 - Current	Steven Chu Steven Chu Steven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and...	Barack Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

External links

Proposed and final federal regulations from the Department of Energy
Loan Guarantee Program
Advanced Energy Initiative
Twenty In Ten.
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the United States Department of Energy
GovEnergy
GovEnergy
The GovEnergy Workshop and Trade Show, commonly known as GovEnergy, is an annual training event for federal facility energy professionals. The event is also attended by private industry professionals who help to monitor and control energy use in federal facilities.GovEnergy is sponsored by seven...

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