FRC – Department of Energy


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – NEW

“The Obama Comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:
• Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
• Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
• Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
• Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
• Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.”
– BarackObama.com

“At a time when Americans are worried about filling the gas tank to get to the next job interview, “New Energy” is not the priority. Federal government has no role in energy. Energy is a commodity purchased by American’s – the same as food. Any investment by the federal government only increases the cost to Americans. By using our tax dollars in an attempt to subsidize the development of alternative energy resources, the American taxpayers are unjustly paying for dreams and visions not reality.
The Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Defense all provide over lapping services. The blueprint for a successful federal government does not require a separate Department of Energy which is demonstrated by the limited success of their programs.”
— Bryant Delaney, DOI2.com

This is a summary (yes a long page summary) of the thousands of pages the Department of Commerce provides to the public as a review and report card of their performance. The details can be found in a soon to be published book – “FAKE THE NATION” – The Peoples Last Stand.

The federal government reports 80% of federal program are performing when the data represents only 7% of the programs have reported current data and 60% of all programs haven’t reported any results in at least 3 years.

Every agency creates their own programs and provides an annual report of the results of each program. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) sets the parameters for these reports and claims 80% of all government programs are on target. If a private business only reported 7% accurate data, their leaders would be in jail. What about the leaders of the biggest business in America? Shouldn’t they be held accountable to the same rules and principles as private business?

“Fake the Nation” developed out of the frustration of seeing taxes increase year after year with no end in sight. The turning point for writing this book was when the federal government started running private businesses.

For the past 200 years, government has passed more and more rules on business creating a monster with 3 heads that affects every American. First, compliance with the rules and regulations is a cost that businesses pass on to the purchasers of their products. Second, the balance of international trade has regulated many businesses out of business. Third, the laws of Government have created a false sense of security creating the mentality that the Government is watching for bad business practices protecting American’s from corrupt business executives.

We define these basic principles in detail. But unlike most essays on the failure of government, Fake the Nation goes the extra mile to demonstrate proven business practices that will make the government operate efficiently.

To support American we do not need bigger government. We need leadership. It’s been said that “experience equals knowledge, the application of knowledge equals wisdom”. It is impossible to attain wisdom in a vacuum. If our leaders to not have the breadth and depth of experience they cannot apply their experiences to become wise.

The two party political system perpetuates the waste of American tax payer dollars. Fake the Nation tracks of $111 TRILLION of waste created because the federal government leadership doesn’t understand business – yet they now run the financial and automotive industries in America.

Fake the Nation provides proof of the problems and solutions to control the expenses of the federal government through 3 simple principles:

  1. The federal government has no obligation to provide any service that can be provided by private business and/or state and local government. The federal government’s responsibility is only applied where the services would be duplicated by the majority of the states or where the services are for the protection on one state from the actions of another state.
  2. State responsibilities only apply when the services offered by the State benefit all local level governments. State governments will not regulate any aspect of private business except to protect the rights of all citizens within the state.
  3. Local governments shall have the responsibility to set the rules and laws for the citizens of their community. No state or federal law, rule or regulation shall dictate to the local governments except where the rules, laws or regulations adversely affect the lives of citizens within other local governments. This is not to be extended to include civil rights, only criminal activities

This can only be accomplished when the American people stop adopting the platforms of political parties and mandate politicians adopt the Peoples Platform.

We the People decide the agenda politicians enact the vision of the American people.
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – CURRENT
Mission

Discovering the solutions to power and secure America’s future
Operating Principles

  • Ensure safe, secure, and environmentally responsible operations
  • Act with a sense of urgency
  • Work together
  • Treat people with dignity and respect
  • Make the tough choices
  • Keep our commitments
  • Embrace innovation
  • Always tell the truth
  • Do the right thing

Before
• 107,067 Employees -13,973 federal employees and 93,094 contactors
• $25.4B Budget
Score
• 9%
Score Summary

Details in PDF

Score Detail

Details in PDF

Personnel
The workforce is comprised of 13,973 on-board federal employees and 93,094 estimated contractor employees. DOE is responsible for all national laboratories; the large number of contract employees is attributable to the highly specialized scientific and technical skill mixes required to manage and operate these facilities. (http://humancapital.doe.gov/HCM/DOEStrategicHumanCapitalPlan551.pdf)
Budgetary Resources

Details in PDF

Strategic Themes
• Strategic Theme 1 – Energy Security
• Strategic Theme 2 – Nuclear Security
• Strategic Theme 3 – Scientific Discovery and Innovation
• Strategic Theme 4 – Environmental Responsibility

Energy Security

  • In 2008, the Department provided $213 million in funding that significantly increased focus on• plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, motors, and lithium-ion batteries as well s vehicle demonstration activities. These efforts reduced the cost of a 25-kilowatt lithium-ion battery from $700 per battery in 2007 to $621 in 2008, and will enable commercial production of hybrid electric vehicles. For more information on vehicle technology,
  • The Department has reduced the modeled ethanol production cost to $2.43 per gallon, from about $6.00 per gallon in 2001, based on bench scale data projected to commercial scale.
  • In 2008, the Department maintained four government-owned oil storage facilities with a combined storage capacity of 727 million barrels of crude oil, with 702 million barrels currently in reserve.
  • The Department has established 25 Solar America Cities and seven Solar America Showcases that work with the Department to educate and promote the adoption of solar power.
  • A total of 3,376 distributed wind turbines were deployed across the United States in FY 2008, exceeding the target of 500 new units.
  • DOE demonstrated Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology at pilot scale that would achieve a thermal efficiency of 43% at a capital cost of $1,629 per kilowatt, compared to the baseline target of 43% efficiency at a capital cost of $1,840 per kilowatt, according to systems analysis projections of full scale IGCC systems.
  • Nuclear energy is an important source of energy in the United States, supplying approximately 20% of the nation’s electricity and over 70% of our clean, non-carbon electricity.
  • In FY 2008, the Department and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission delivered to Congress the Next Generation Nuclear Plant Licensing Strategy Report which outlines the licensing approach, the analytical tools, and the research and development activities required to license an advanced reactor design by 2017 and begin operation by 2021.
  • Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development: The Department’s development of hydrogen fuel cells reduced the cost of fuel cells to $73 per kilowatt, from $94 per kilowatt in 2007, narrowly missing its goal of $70 per kilowatt for 2008. The Hydrogen program plans to ramp up its funding for fuel cell component research to meet its 2010 goal of $45 per kilowatt.
  • Clean Coal Demonstrations: A few decision milestones for clean coal technology demonstrations were missed by 7 months, because planned funding for a 2008 award was used to cover cost escalation at previously awarded projects. However, DOE expects to meet future deadlines and milestones. The new FutureGen plan will encompass multiple demonstrations and lead to the sequestration of twice the carbon compared to the old FutureGen plan.

Nuclear Security

  • In FY 2008, 100% of the nuclear weapons stockpile was safe, secure, reliable, and available for deployment and all radioactive material shipments were completed safely and securely.
  • In FY 2008, 292,000 gross square feet of excess facilities space was funded for elimination resulting in the Department exceeding its cumulative long-term goal of eliminating 3 million gross square feet 1 year earlier than scheduled.
  • The Department monitored the elimination of a cumulative 345 metric tons of Russian weapons-usable highly enriched uranium from the Russian stockpile, supporting its goal of eliminating 500 metric tons by 2013.
  • The Department installed radiation detection equipment at 7 major ports and 63 border crossings in Russia and 6 other countries. In addition, the Department increased the security of radiological materials at 11 facilities in China prior to the Olympic Games in Beijing.
  • In FY 2008, 100% of the U.S. Navy fleet operations were safe and reliable.
  • Weapons Stockpile: The target reduction in the cost of one of the Department’s W76 warhead was missed due to a number of technical and management issues. Although this target was missed, the majority of the cost increases will be offset by efficiencies elsewhere in the program. Secondly, the 6 W88 pits were manufactured and certified as opposed to a target of 10. The reduction was due to the FY 2008 Continuing Resolution, a reduction to the final appropriation, and a facility stand-down for criticality reviews.
  • Weapons Complex: The Department set out to have 85% of its major construction projects (greater than $20 million in estimated costs) meet schedule and cost performance indices of 0.9-1.1, indicating improved efficiency. Only 6 of 9 (67%) construction projects earned value data fall within the specified band. The annual target was missed due to late receipt of final FY 2008 funding, resulting in cost increases, a delay in the site-wide EIS, and other factors.
  • Cyber Security: The Department had planned to have all NNSA sites undergo a Cyber Security Site Assessment Visit. Only 85% of the sites were assessed in FY 2008, due to major changes in the assessment process that occurred during the year.
  • Threat of Proliferation: The Department is overseeing the construction of a fossil fuel plant in Russia to replace energy production from the existing plutonium production reactor. The targeted completion for FY 2008 was 62.6%. However, only 46% of the plant was completed because of delays in design, procurement, and construction.

Scientific Discover & Innovation

  • In FY 2008, the Department stood up three new DOE Bioenergy Research Centers where top scientists can discover breakthroughs in clean renewable fuels.
  • In FY 2008, the Department launched the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA, to observe and understand high-energy particles in space and search for the potential components of dark matter.
  • In FY 2008, the Department moved closer to completion of the Linac Coherent Light Source, the world’s first x-ray free electron laser, which will enable scientists for the first time to observe chemical reactions and biological processes at the molecular level in real time.
  • In FY 2008, the Department upgraded the Jaguar supercomputer (Oak Ridge, Cray XT4) to be the fastest in the world for open science and will be used to simulate complex physical, biological, and socioeconomic systems with greater realism and predictive power.
  • Genomics Facility Temporary Shutdown: The Joint Genome Institute’s Production Genomics Facility was shut down in December 2007 and January 2008 due to an ergonomic safety issue, which caused the facility to miss its operational availability performance goal. The safety issue has since been corrected.
  • Program Management Understaffing: Many Federal Advisory Committee Act-chartered Committees of Visitors have identified understaffing of the various Office of Science program management staff as a serious issue with respect to the Science program being able to carry out its functions. In response, the Department completed an assessment of all its staffing levels in early 2008. Based on this assessment, the Department has requested funds for 21 additional personnel to address the concerns.
  • Burgeoning Global Energy Crisis and Intensifying Global Economic Competition: The search for fundamental breakthroughs in science and technology is more urgent than ever. Overcoming our energy and environmental challenges and keeping America competitive will require more than incremental improvements in current technologies; it will require the transformational breakthroughs that only fundamental research in basic science can provide.
  • Basic Research Programs: Pressure to support more obvious mission-relevant “use-inspired” research has the potential to erode funding for longer term, grand challenge and discovery research that may have much broader impacts on technology solutions of the future.

Environmental Responsibility

  • This mission includes the cleanup of 107 contaminated sites. Taken together, these sites encompass an area of 2 million acres – equal to the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. As of the end of FY 2008, the Department completed cleanup of 86 sites although it had planned to have completed 89 sites. The estimated life-cycle cost for cleaning up all 107 sites currently listed in the Environmental Management (EM) mission scope is projected to be over $260 billion with a completion date estimated to be more than 40 years in the future. As part of these cleanup activities, the Department had several notable accomplishments across a variety of sites across the complex.
  • By the end of FY 2008, seven large (300,000 gallon) radioactive liquid waste tanks at INL were emptied, cleaned, and filled with grout. The tank vaults, transfer lines, cooling coils, and valve boxes were also filled with grout; with the completion of this activity 7 of the 11 radioactive liquid waste tanks at the INL have been safely closed.
  • The Hanford site in southeastern Washington State had been producing plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons since the Second World War; these activities have contaminated the soil and groundwater, resulting in placement of the 1,533 square kilometer (586 square mile) site on the National Priorities (Superfund) List. The environmental restoration of Hanford (managed by the Richland Operations Office) is addressed in a 1989 consent agreement between the DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Washington State Department of Ecology, known as the Tri-Party Agreement. At the end of FY 2008, the Department retrieved 9,700 cubic meters of radioactive, solid waste, meeting an important FY 2008 milestone in the Tri-Party agreement, more than 3 months ahead of schedule and below budgeted cost.
  • Delays in beginning acceptance of spent nuclear fuel at the Yucca Mountain repository have already resulted in litigation and judgments for breach of contract and damages against DOE. Based on the earliest projected repository opening date of 2020, taxpayer liabilities are currently estimated to be up to $12.3 billion. This taxpayer liability is estimated to increase by an average of up to $500 million annually for every year the opening of the Yucca Mountain repository is delayed beyond 2020.
  • Over the last 3 years, DOE has experienced significant cost growth for those environmental management construction projects with a total project cost of over $100 million.
  • Release Site Completions: A release site is a portion of contaminated land which the Department has agreed to clean up to state and federal regulatory requirements. A release site is considered complete after regulatory approval for the remediation work is obtained and no additional EM resources are required (except for long-term stewardship). The Department completed cumulative total of 6,687 release sites at the end of FY 2008; 85 release sites below the original FY 2008 target. The missed target was due in large part to delays at Hanford (Richland), Sandia National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • TRU Waste Disposition: TRU waste is mixed or low-level radioactive waste that is contaminated with isotopes of plutonium, and other nuclides with atomic numbers greater than 92 (uranium). TRU waste is also categorized as contact handled (CH) or remote-handled (RH) (RH-TRU waste should not be handled directly by workers and requires heavy container shielding and/or remote-handling equipment). The Department operates the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the only authorized disposal site for TRU defense waste. The Department targeted disposition of 53,608 cubic meters of TRU) in FY2008. This included 53,425 cubic meters of CH-TRU, and 183 cubic meters of RH-TRU. The Department disposed of only 53,048 cubic meters of TRU, 560 cubic meters below the target (112 cubic meters RH-TRU; 448 cubic meters CH-TRU).

Management Excellence

  • The Department is the largest civilian contracting agency in the federal government and spends 90% of its annual budget on contractors to operate scientific laboratories, engineering, and production facilities and environmental restoration sites.
  • Improving Business Processes: The Department linked human capital management efforts and policies to the missions, strategies, and goals of the Department while providing for continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness. • Advancing Technology: The Department strengthened information technology management through consistent execution of robust information technology Capital Planning and Investment Control oversight and reporting processes designed to ensure successful investment performance. The Department updated its accounting processes to track the age of uncosted balances, which will help the Department evaluate whether funds are being used effectively.
  • Improving Asset Accountability: Improved financial performance in project management by enhanced use of Earned Value Management (EVM) techniques that objectively track work progress and provide early warning of performance problems; currently, the Department is using certified EVM systems to manage 70% of the Department’s capital asset projects.
    • Strengthening Human Capital: The Department implemented workforce planning techniques throughout the agency and continued to work with Departmental business elements to pilot new planning and simulation tools that will further assist in the development of consistent workforce plans throughout the Department.
  • Enhancing Certification Efforts Aimed at Improving Programmatic Management: The Department requires that Project Directors go through Project Management Certification. DOE has both a mandatory certification program and a requirement for certification through four levels. A total of 60 Federal Project Directors were certified in FY 2008.
  • Continuing Employee Development Initiatives: The Department enhanced outreach and recruitment strategies and implements a comprehensive talent management system – Leadership and Management Plan to Succeed – designed to ensure that the Department has a continuous supply of internal and external candidates for leadership positions.
  • Improving Procurement: The Department deployed a complex-wide corporate Strategic Integrated Procurement Enterprise System that will replace and consolidate as many as 30 procurement related systems across the Department. The Department issued revised contracting authority that raised the delegation levels to $50 million for major DOE contracting offices. The Department also instituted a corporate Acquisition Career Management Training program to ensure that DOE’s acquisition workforce receives timely and focused contract training. Furthermore, the Department completed a comprehensive Root Cause Analysis of contract and project management deficiencies in April 2008 and approved a corrective Action Plan in July 2008.
  • Contractor Administration: The Department must continue making improvements in the management and oversight of contractors managing and operating the Department’s facilities. These efforts are crucial to resolving historic project and contract management weaknesses that have impeded the Department’s ability to complete projects on cost and schedule. Initiatives like the Department’s Corrective Action Plan will help ensure that the contractor operations are effective and efficient and that Department managers, and the contractors whom they manage, have the appropriate skill mix to accomplish all Departmental missions.
  • Human Capital Management: An increased attrition rate due to retirements and competition with the private sector and a lack of adequate project and contract management skills has led the Department to adopt strategic workforce planning techniques, place increased emphasis on performance and accountability, and identify critical hiring needs. The Department is enhancing project and contract management training and certification, adopting recruitment and retention strategies to fill or avoid critical vacancies, avoid hiring delays and attract top recruits. DOE will need to hire approximately 5,000 new employees in the next 4 years just to maintain current workforce levels.
  • Cyber Security: The task of protecting DOE’s computer networks from cyber attacks have increased in complexity, frequency, and aggression. DOE is attacked over 10 million times each day in a wide variety of ways. Although DOE has a cyber security defense based on industry and government best practices, cyber attacks continue to evolve to avoid detection by these defenses.
  • Project Management Order Implementation: The Department continues to face obstacles in ensuring that the various Departmental entities, federal and contractor, consistently implement the various Departmental project management practices and policies. For more information on the Department’s project management guidance.

Joint Initiatives
Energy works in concert with partners on all levels of government and in the private sector to advance its core mission: ensuring a reliable, affordable, and clean energy supply, safeguarding our nation’s security, and providing cutting-edge leadership in science & technology. These are some of the joint initiatives we’re currently working on:
Biomass Research & Development Initiative
The Biomass Initiative is a joint initiative of the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture to coordinate and accelerate all Federal biobased products and bioenergy research and development.
• Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum
The Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum is an international climate change initiative that is focused on development of improved cost-effective technologies for the separation and capture of carbon dioxide for its transport and long-term safe storage. The CSLF includes 21 member nations, with the Department as the lead U.S. representative.
• Clean Coal Power Initiative
The Clean Coal Power Initiative provides government co-financing for new coal technologies that can help utility companies meet President Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative to cut sulfur, nitrogen and mercury pollutants from power plants by nearly 70 percent by the year 2018.
• Clean Energy Initiative
The Clean Energy Initiative seeks to provide millions of people in the developing world with access to affordable, reliable, clean, healthy, and efficient energy services.
• Climate VISION
Climate VISION—Voluntary Innovative Sector Initiatives: Opportunities Now—is a Presidential public-private partnership initiative launched by the Department of Energy on February 12, 2003, to contribute to the President’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas intensity. Other agencies participating in Climate VISION include the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, and Department of the Interior.
• EnergySavers.gov – Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency
Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to improve energy efficiency in American homes, by building awareness, delivering savings to those in low income and subsidized housing, and investing in innovative research in building science technologies, practices, and policies.
• ENERGY STAR®
The ENERGY STAR® label is the government’s seal of energy efficiency, and can be found on everything from home appliances, to electronics, to windows. Consumers have purchased more than 1.5 billion products with the ENERGY STAR® label. ENERGY STAR® is a joint initiative of the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
• FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership – Vehicle Technologies Program
The FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership is an industry-government research initiative focused on developing emissions- and petroleum-free cars and light trucks.
• Fueleconomy.gov

Fueleconomy.gov provides consumers with practical information to achieve the best fuel economy possible in their own vehicles and save money at the pump. It also contains information on some of the most fuel efficient alternative vehicles currently on the market. The Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are the joint sponsors of this initiative.
• Generation IV
Generation IV is an international effort to develop next-generation nuclear energy technologies that reduce capital cost, enhance nuclear safety, minimize the generation of nuclear waste, and further reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation.
• Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative
Working together with the Department of Energy, the State of Hawaii is aiming to have 70% of its energy needs supplied by renewable resources by the year 2030—reducing their overall consumption of crude oil by up to 72%.
• National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency
The National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency recommends investment by utility companies in cost-effective, energy efficient technologies while meeting consumer demands for clean energy. It is facilitated by DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Nuclear Power 2010
This initiative is cost-shared by government agencies and industries to identify sites for new nuclear power plants, develop and bring to market advanced nuclear plant technologies, evaluate the business case for building new nuclear power plants, and demonstrate untested regulatory processes.
• Science.gov
Science.gov is a gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. Government agencies, including research and development results.
• Solar America Cities
The Department of Energy is working with several cities across the country to accelerate the adoption of solar energy technologies into their local community infrastructures, as part of President Bush’s Solar America Initiative which aims to diversify our nation’s energy resources by developing and deploying clean solar energy technologies.
National Laboratories and Technology Centers
DOE’s laboratories and technology centers house world-class facilities where more than 30,000 scientists and engineers perform cutting-edge research.
• Ames Laboratory: The Ames Laboratory is a national center for the synthesis, analysis, and engineering of rare-earth metals and their compounds. Ames conducts fundamental research in the physical, chemical, and mathematical sciences associated with energy generation and storage.
• Argonne National Laboratory: The Argonne National Laboratory is one of the Department of Energy’s largest multidisciplinary research centers. Argonne research falls into five broad categories: basic research, scientific facilities, energy resources programs, environmental management and National security.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory: Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security and builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers.
• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory: The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory advances the understanding of the fundamental nature of matter and energy by providing leadership and resources for qualified researchers to conduct basic research at the frontiers of high energy physics and related disciplines.
• Idaho National Laboratory: The Idaho National Laboratory is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s missions in environment, energy, science and national defense.
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducts unclassified research across a wide range of scientific disciplines with key efforts in fundamental studies of the universe; quantitative biology; nanoscience; new energy systems and environmental solutions; and the use of integrated computing as a tool for discovery.
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory founded in September 1952 as a second nuclear weapons design laboratory to promote innovation in the design of our nation’s nuclear stockpile through creative science and engineering.
• Los Alamos National Laboratory: The Los Alamos National Laboratory, as part of the National Nuclear Security Administration, contributes to meeting the nation’s nuclear deterrence capability and other security needs.
• National Energy Technology Laboratory: The National Energy Technology Laboratory assures that U.S. fossil energy resources can meet increasing demand for affordable energy without compromising the quality of life for future generations of Americans.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory develops renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices, advances related science and engineering, and transfers knowledge and innovations to address the nation’s energy and environmental goals.
• New Brunswick Laboratory: The New Brunswick Laboratory is the Federal government’s Nuclear Materials Measurements and Reference Materials Laboratory and the National Certifying Authority for nuclear reference materials and measurement calibration standards.
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education: The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education is a U.S. Department of Energy facility focusing on scientific initiatives to research health risks from occupational hazards, assess environmental cleanup, respond to radiation medical emergencies, support national security and emergency preparedness, and educate the next generation of scientists.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory: The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multi-program science and technology laboratory conducting basic and applied research and development to create scientific knowledge and technological solutions that strengthen the nation’s leadership in key areas of science; increase the availability of clean, abundant energy; restore and protect the environment; and contribute to national security.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory delivers science-based solutions to the Department of Energy’s major challenges of expanding energy, ensuring national security, and advancing mission-driven science through outstanding staff and R&D capabilities, excellent operations, and high-value partnerships.
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory: The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a national center dedicated to plasma and fusion science with a leading international role in developing the theoretical, experimental, and technology innovations needed to make fusion practical and affordable.
• Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory: The Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory provides the Department of Energy a reference laboratory to conduct key measurement quality assurance programs and provides technical support and quality assurance metrology that is directly traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
• Sandia National Laboratories: The Sandia National Laboratories develop science-based technologies that support national security through science and technology, people, infrastructure, and partnerships.
• Savannah River Ecology Laboratory: The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory provides an independent evaluation of the ecological effects of DOE’s Savannah River Site operations through a program of ecological research, education, and outreach.
• Savannah River National Laboratory: The Savannah River National Laboratory is recognized as a world-class center of excellence for the development and application of unique and innovative science and technology solutions.
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory: The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is a laboratory dedicated to the design, construction and operation of state-of-the-art electron accelerators and related experimental facilities for use in high-energy physics and synchrotron radiation research.
• Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility: The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is a national user facility for nuclear science using continuous beams of high-energy electrons to discover the underlying quark and gluon structure of nucleons and nuclei.
History
The Department has one of the richest and most diverse histories in the Federal Government, with its lineage tracing back to the Manhattan Project and the race to develop the atomic bomb during World War II. Following that war, Congress created the Atomic Energy Commission in 1946 to oversee the sprawling nuclear scientific and industrial complex supporting the Manhattan Project and to maintain civilian government control over atomic research and development. During the early Cold War years, the Commission focused on designing and producing nuclear weapons and developing nuclear reactors for naval propulsion. The creation of the Atomic Energy Commission ended the exclusive government use of the atom and began the growth of the commercial nuclear power industry, with the Commission having authority to regulate the new industry.
In response to changing needs and an extended energy crisis, the Congress passed the Department of Energy Organization Act in 1977, creating the Department of Energy. That legislation brought together for the first time, not only most of the government’s energy programs, but also science and technology programs and defense responsibilities that included the design, construction and testing of nuclear weapons. The Department provided the framework for a comprehensive and balanced national energy plan by coordinating and administering the energy functions of the Federal Government. The Department undertook responsibility for long-term, high-risk research and development of energy technology, Federal power marketing, some energy conservation activities, the nuclear weapons programs, some energy regulatory programs and a central energy data collection and analysis program.
Over its history, the Department has shifted its emphasis and focus as the energy and security needs of the Nation have changed. Today, the Department contributes to the future of the Nation by promoting our energy security, maintaining the safety and reliability of our nuclear stockpile, cleaning up the environment from the legacy of the Cold War and developing innovation in science and technology.

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