United States. Department of Energy

Source Citation

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. It also directs research in genomics; the Human Genome Project originated in a DOE initiative.[3] DOE sponsors more research in the physical sciences than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories.[4] 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 James V. Forrestal Building, named for James Forrestal, as well as in Germantown, Maryland.

Dan Brouillette is the Secretary of Energy as of December 11, 2019.[5]


Contents
1 History
1.1 Formation and consolidation
1.2 Weapon plans stolen
1.3 Loan guarantee program of 2005
1.4 Recent
2 Energy
2.1 Symbolism in the seal
2.2 Facilities
2.3 Nuclear weapons sites
3 Related legislation
4 Budget
5 Programs and contracts
5.1 Energy Savings Performance Contract
5.2 Energy Innovation Hubs
5.3 Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
5.4 Other
6 List of Secretaries of Energy
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links
History
Formation and consolidation
In 1942, during World War II, the United States started the Manhattan Project, a project to develop the atomic bomb, under the eye of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After the war in 1946, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was created to control the future of the project.[6][7] Among other nuclear projects, the AEC produced fabricated uranium fuel cores at locations such as Fernald Feed Materials Production Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.[8][9][10] In 1974, the AEC gave way to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which was tasked with regulating the nuclear power industry, and the Energy Research and Development Administration, which was tasked to manage the nuclear weapon, naval reactor, and energy development programs.[citation needed]

The 1973 oil crisis called attention to the need to consolidate energy policy.[11][12][13] On August 4, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed into law The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 (Pub.L. 95–91, 91 Stat. 565, enacted August 4, 1977), which created the Department of Energy.[14] The new agency, which began operations on October 1, 1977, consolidated the Federal Energy Administration, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Federal Power Commission, and programs of various other agencies. Former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, who served under Presidents Nixon and Ford during the Vietnam War, was appointed as the first secretary.

Weapon plans stolen
Main article: Wen Ho Lee
In December 1999, the FBI was investigating how China obtained plans for a specific nuclear device. Wen Ho Lee was accused of stealing nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory for the People's Republic of China. Federal officials, including then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, publicly named Lee as a suspect before he was charged with a crime. The U.S. Congress held hearings to investigate the Department of Energy's mishandling of his case. Republican senators thought that an independent agency should be in charge of nuclear weapons and security issues, not the Department of Energy.[15] All but one of the 59 charges against Lee were eventually dropped because the investigation finally proved that the plans the Chinese obtained could not have come from Lee. Lee filed suit and won a $1.6 million settlement against the federal government and news agencies.[16]

Loan guarantee program of 2005
Main article: Loan guarantee
In 2001, American Solar Challenge was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.[17] After the 2005 race, the U.S. Department of Energy discontinued its sponsorship.[18]

Title XVII of Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the DOE 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".[19] In loan guarantees, a conditional commitment requires to meet an equity commitment, as well as other conditions, before the loan guarantee is completed.[20]

The United States Department of Energy, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) partnered to develop and launch the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) in September 2008. WINS is an international non-governmental organization designed to provide a forum to share best practices in strengthening the security and safety of nuclear and radioactive materials and facilities.[21]

Recent
On March 28, 2017, a supervisor in the Office of International Climate and Clean Energy asked staff to avoid the phrases "climate change," "emissions reduction," or "Paris Agreement" in written memos, briefings or other written communication. A DOE spokesperson denied that phrases had been banned.[22][23]

In a May 2019 press release concerning natural gas exports from a Texas facility, the DOE used the term 'freedom gas' to refer to natural gas. The phrase originated from a speech made by Secretary Rick Perry in Brussels earlier that month. Washington Governor Jay Inslee decried the term "a joke".[24][25][26]

Energy
Program
Secretary of Energy Deputy Secretary of Energy
*Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy)
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability)
Assistant Secretary of Energy (International Affairs)
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs)
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response)[27]
Office of the General Counsel
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
Energy Information Administration
Bonneville Power Administration
Southeastern Power Administration
Southwestern Power Administration
Western Area Power Administration
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Enterprise Assessments
Energy Policy and System Analysis
Intelligence and Counterintelligence
Loan Programs Office
Public Affairs
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Under Secretary of Energy for Science Office of Science
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Fossil Energy)
Indian Energy Policy and Programs
Technology Transitions
Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security National Nuclear Security Administration
Under Secretary of Energy National Laboratory Operations Board
Associate Under Secretary of Energy (Environment, Health, Safety and Security)
Office of Management
Chief Human Capital Officer
Chief Information Officer
Economic Impact and Diversity
Hearings and Appeals
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Environmental Management)
*Legacy Management
The department is under the control and supervision of a United States Secretary of Energy, a political appointee of the President of the United States. 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, each appointed by the president, who oversee the major areas of the department's work. The president also appoints seven officials with the rank of Assistant Secretary of Energy who have line management responsibility for major organizational elements of the Department. The Energy Secretary assigns their functions and duties.

Symbolism in the seal
Excerpt from the Code of Federal Regulations, in Title 10: Energy:[28]

The official seal of the Department of energy "includes a green shield bisected by a gold-colored lightning bolt, on which is emblazoned a gold-colored symbolic sun, atom, oil derrick, windmill, and dynamo. It is crested by the white head of an eagle, atop a white rope. Both appear on a blue field surrounded by concentric circles in which the name of the agency, in gold, appears on a green background."

"The eagle represents the care in planning and the purposefulness of efforts required to respond to the Nation's increasing demands for energy. The sun, atom, oil derrick, windmill, and dynamo serve as representative technologies whose enhanced development can help meet these demands. The rope represents the cohesiveness in the development of the technologies and their link to our future capabilities. The lightning bolt represents the power of the natural forces from which energy is derived and the Nation's challenge in harnessing the forces."

"The color scheme is derived from nature, symbolizing both the source of energy and the support of man's existence. The blue field represents air and water, green represents mineral resources and the earth itself, and gold represents the creation of energy in the release of natural forces. By invoking this symbolism, the color scheme represents the Nation's commitment to meet its energy needs in a manner consistent with the preservation of the natural environment."

Citations

Source Citation

U.S. Department of Energy, executive division of the U.S. federal government responsible for administering national energy policy. Established in 1977, it promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. Its national security programs serve to develop and oversee nuclear-energy resources. Its Office of Environmental Management oversees waste management and cleanup activities at inactive facilities. The Fossil Energy Office develops policies and regulations concerning the use of natural gas, coal, and electric energy. Its regional power administrations transmit electric power produced at federal hydroelectric projects.

Citations

Source Citation

The Department of Energy (DOE) was is a Cabinet-level department of the United States Government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. Its purview included 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, many of which were funded through its system of national laboratories. Many Federal agencies had been established to handle various aspects of U.S. energy policy, 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, the Department of Energy Organization Act (91 Stat. 569) was signed into law by President Carter on August 4, 1977. The Department took over the functions formery vested in the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Federal Energy Administration, the Federal Power Commission, and others, and began operations on October 1, 1977.

Citations

BiogHist

Unknown Source

Citations

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