What the Department of Energy Is: The Department of Energy (DOE) has been in existence for 25 years, and is primarily a national
security agency. It’s purpose is to ensure energy security and maintain the safety of the nuclear
weapons stockpile. It manages the clean-up of environmental damage left from 50 years of nuclear
defense activities that impacted two million acres in communities across the country.
DOE operates 24 preeminent research labs which employs 30,000 scientists and engineers,
including the Lawrence Livermore Lab, the Argonne National Lab and three accelerator labs. It has
four power marketing administrations market electricity, some of which are from hydro-electric dams
built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
What the Department of Energy Does: The Department of Energy creates the national energy policy. It helps to develop and execute the
President’s Management Agenda. It has eight program offices, which:
- Dispose of radioactive
waste,
- Clean up land, buildings and material contaminated by nuclear weapons research and
production facilities, and maintain the closed facilities
support safe use of nuclear energy,
- Monitor and ensure the reliability of the nation’s electric grid,
- Promote use of renewable energy
sources,
- Monitor the nation’s petroleum usage and supplies,
- Fund research in high-energy
physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences.
How the DOE Affects the US Economy: The DOE’s
Energy
Information Agency affects the economy directly by providing their estimates of the supply and
demand of oil. These weekly figures are used by
oil commodities
traders to base the prices of oil futures. The price of oil is a key determinant in inflation as felt by
the average consumer, and therefore in consumer confidence.
By providing funds for energy and science research, DOE helps increase U.S. competitiveness in
technology and innovation.
How the DOE Affects You: Since the DOE is primarily concerned with national energy security, it affects you by making sure
energy is providing cheaply and reliably. However, it may not be the most environmentally
responsible, and it may not be the best energy solution for your grand-children.
Here are two specific initiatives signed into law in 2006 that exemplify how the Department of
Energy affects you and your family.
Advance Energy Initiative - Includes $31 million in research funding for advanced battery
research, $148 million for solar research, $44 million for wind research. It also includes further energy
development of the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, the Outer Continental Shelf, and the Alaska Gas
Pipeline. (Source:
Advance Energy Initiative )
American Competitiveness Initiative - Continue the tax credits to private sector energy
research funding, which is expected to total $86.4 billion over the next 10 years.
Some of the results include research into bio-fuels, such as turning switch-grass into ethanol-based
gasoline. (Source: American Competitiveness
Initiative)
