United States Department of Energy
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| United States Department of Energy |
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 Seal of the Department of Energy |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | August 4, 1977 |
| Preceding Agencies | Energy Research and Development Administration Federal Energy Administration |
| Employees | 16,100 federal 100,000 contract (2004) |
| Annual Budget | $23.4 billion (2006) |
| Agency Executives | Samuel W. Bodman, Secretary Clay Sell, Deputy Secretary |
| Website | |
| www.energy.gov | |
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. 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.
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[edit] Operating units
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.
The Office of Cyber Security maintains the Computer Incident Advisory Capability service (CIAC), which provides computer-security related bulletins going back to 1989. Also provides resources about protecting yourself from viruses, hoaxes and other malicious entities on the Internet.
National laboratories funded by the Department include:
- Albany Research Center
- Ames Laboratory
- Argonne National Laboratory
- Argonne National Laboratory (West) (now part of Idaho National Laboratory)
- Bannister Federal Complex
- Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory
- 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)
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
- Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
- Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory - operates for Naval Reactors Program Research under the DOE
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Molecular Foundry (under design or construction)
- National Energy Technology Laboratory
- National Petroleum Technology Office
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- New Brunswick Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
- Radiological & Environmental Sciences Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratories
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory on the Savannah River Site
- Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
- Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
- Yucca Mountain
There are four Power Marketing Administrations within the Department:
[edit] 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, which has federal responsibility for the design, testing and production of all nuclear weapons. DOE in turn uses contractors to carry out its responsibilities at the following 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
- Testing: Nevada Test Site
- Final weapon/warhead assembling/dismantling: Pantex
[edit] History
Many federal agencies have 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 was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Carter on August 4, 1977. The department began operations on October 1, 1977.
[edit] Related legislation
- 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
[edit] Staff
- Andy Karsner is the Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Energy
[edit] See also
- Advanced Energy Initiative
- North American Solar Challenge
- Energy Policy Act of 2005
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Twenty In Ten
[edit] External links
- United States Department of Energy Official Website. Retrieved on August 7, 2006.
- Energy Information Administration. Department of Energy. Retrieved on August 7, 2006.
- Office of Science. Department of Energy. Retrieved on August 7, 2006.
- Works by the United States Department of Energy at Project Gutenberg
- Advanced Energy Initiative
- Twenty In Ten.
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