United States Department of Energy

For the education department, see United States Department of Education.

United States Department of Energy
Seal of the Department of Energy
James Forrestal headquarters complex in Washington, D.C.
Department overview
Formed	August 4, 1977
Preceding agencies	Federal Energy Administration (FEA) Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA)
Headquarters	1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington D.C 38°53′13.17″N 77°1′33.69″E{{#coordinates:38|53|13.17|N|77|1|33.69|E|type:landmark	primary	name= }}
Employees	16,000 federal (2009) 93,094 contract (2008)
Annual budget	$24.1 billion (2009) |- ! Department executives | [[Dr. Steven Chu]], [[United States Secretary of Energy|Secretary]] [[Daniel Poneman]], Deputy Secretary. |- ! colspan=2 style="background-color: #efefef; text-align: center" | Website |- | colspan=2 style="text-align: center" | [http://www.energy.gov energy.gov] |- |} The '''United States Department of Energy''' ('''DOE''') is a [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]]-level department of the United States [[government 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 weapon]]s 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 research in the physical sciences than any other US federal agency; the majority of this research is conducted 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 [[Washington, D.C. (southwest)|southwest]] Washington, D.C., on [[Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)|Independence Avenue]] in the [[James V. Forrestal Building]], named for [[James Forrestal]], as well as in [[Germantown, Maryland]]. ==History== 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, the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] was created to control the future of the project. The AEC was reinstated and gave way to [[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. The [[1973 oil crisis]] called attention to the need to consolidate energy policy. On August 4, 1977, [[Jimmy Carter|President Jimmy Carter]] signed into law The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 ([[Public law (United States)|Pub.L.]] 95-91, 91 [[United States Statutes at Large|Stat.]] 565, enacted August 4, 1977), which created the Department of Energy. The new agency, which began operations on October 1, 1977, assumed the responsibilities of the [[Federal Energy Administration]], the [[Energy Research and Development Administration]], the [[Federal Power Commission]], and programs of various other agencies. ==Organization== [[File:Department of Energy Sign.jpg|thumb|Sign in front of the United States Department of Energy Forrestal Building on [[Independence Avenue]] in Washington D.C.]]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 eight 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. *Secretary of Energy **Deputy Secretary ***[[Under Secretary of Energy]] ****[[Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management]] (closed October 1, 2010) ****[[Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability]] ****[[Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy]] ****[[Office of Fossil Energy]] ****[[Office of Legacy Management]] ****[[Office of Nuclear Energy]] ***[[Under Secretary for Science]] ****[[Office of Science]] ***[[Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security]] ****[[Office of Environmental Management]] ****[[National Nuclear Security Administration]] *****[[Office of Secure Transportation]] ***[[Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence]] ***[[Energy Information Administration]] ***[[Bonneville Power Administration]] ***[[Southeastern Power Administration]] ***[[Southwestern Power Administration]] ***[[Western Area Power Administration]] **[[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]] ==Facilities== As a leading federal research and development agency in the United States, the Department of Energy operates a system of national laboratories and technical facilities. The DOE National Laboratories are as follows: *[[Ames Laboratory]] *[[Argonne National Laboratory]] *[[Brookhaven National Laboratory]] *[[Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory]] *[[Idaho National Laboratory]] *[[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]] *[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] *[[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] *[[National Energy Technology Laboratory]] *[[National Renewable Energy Laboratory]] *[[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] *[[Pacific Northwest National Laboratory]] *[[Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory]] *[[Sandia National Laboratories]] *[[Savannah River National Laboratory]] *[[SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory]] *[[Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility]] Other major DOE facilities include: *[[Albany Research Center]] *[[Bannister Federal Complex]] *[[Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory]] – focuses on the design and development of nuclear power for the U.S. Navy. *[[Kansas City Plant]] *[[Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory]] – operates for Naval Reactors Program Research under the DOE – DOE facility, not a National Laboratory *[[National Petroleum Technology Office]] *[[Nevada Test Site]] *[[New Brunswick Laboratory]] *[[Office of Fossil Energy]][http://fossil.energy.gov/] *[[Office of River Protection]][http://www.hanford.gov/orp/] (Hanford Site) *[[Pantex]] *[[Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory]] *[[Y-12 National Security Complex]] *[[Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository]] ==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 Laboratories]] *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. 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== [[Image:DOE Org Chart July.jpg|thumb|300px|Hierarchy of the U.S. Department of Energy]] *1920 – [[Federal Power Act]] *1946 – [[United States Atomic Energy Act of 1946|Atomic Energy Act]] PL 79-585 (created the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|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]] ([[Alaska pipeline|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 [[hybrid electric vehicle|hybrid]]s and [[plug-in hybrid]]s, 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]] in the 1950s. The big difference now – half of that money is spent dealing with the Cold War's environmental legacy. "[[Category:All articles with minor POV problems]][[Category:Articles with minor POV problems from February 2012]][[Category:Articles with invalid date parameter in template]][[Category:All articles lacking reliable references]][[Category:Articles lacking reliable references from February 2012]][[Category:Articles with invalid date parameter in template]] For fiscal year 2011, each of the operating units of the Department of Energy operate with the following budgets: {| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable" !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== Main article: [[Energy Savings Performance Contract|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 == Main article: [[Loan guarantee|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 gas]]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 Hub]]s 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 served August 6, 1977 – August 23, 1979 James R. Schlesinger Jimmy Carter August 24, 1979 – January 20, 1981 Charles W. Duncan, Jr. Jimmy Carter January 23, 1981 – November 5, 1982 James B. Edwards Ronald Reagan November 5, 1982 – February 7, 1985 Donald Paul Hodel Ronald Reagan February 7, 1985 – January 20, 1989 John S. Herrington Ronald Reagan March 1, 1989 – January 20, 1993 James D. Watkins George H.W. Bush January 22, 1993 – January 20, 1997 Hazel R. O'Leary Bill Clinton March 12, 1997 – June 30, 1998 Federico F. Peña Bill Clinton August 18, 1998 – January 20, 2001 Bill Richardson Bill Clinton January 20, 2001 – January 31, 2005 Spencer Abraham George W. Bush February 1, 2005 – January 20, 2009 – Samuel W. Bodman George W. Bush January 21, 2009 – Current Steven Chu Barack Obama 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 Fernald Feed Materials Production Center Funding Opportunity Announcement GovEnergy Green job Human experimentation in the United States Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Loan guarantee National Council on Electricity Policy North American Solar Challenge Nuclear Regulatory Commission Protective Action Guide for Nuclear Incidents Radioactive waste Recovery Act Smart grid Solar Decathlon State Energy Program Twenty In Ten The World Institute for Nuclear Security Weatherization Assistance Program References External links "United States Department of Energy Official Website". http://www.energy.gov/. Retrieved August 7, 2006. "Energy Information Administration". Department of Energy. http://www.eia.doe.gov/. Retrieved August 7, 2006. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ten-Year Plans for the Office of Science National Laboratories Proposed and final federal regulations from the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program "Office of Science". Department of Energy. http://www.energy.gov/about/index.htm. Retrieved 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 Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the United States Department of Energy GovEnergy United States Department of Energy at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post