Department Of Energy

Methane leakage runs up a $50 billion bill 6
Posted 2 weeks, 2 days ago Methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, so when it's leaking by the ton, it's a $50 billion problem.
U.S. headed for massive decline in carbon emissions 4
Posted 3 weeks, 3 days ago For years now, many members of Congress have insisted that cutting carbon emissions was difficult, if not impossible. It is not. During the two years since 2007, carbon emissions have dropped 9 percent. While part of this drop is from the recession, part of it is also from efficiency gains and from replacing coal with natural gas, wind, solar, and geothermal energy.
New air conditioning and furnace standards mean big savings 0
Posted 3 weeks, 3 days ago The National Resources Defense Council and other efficiency groups released a negotiated agreement with manufacturers of residential air conditioners and furnaces.
Nobelist Chu agrees, warning we otherwise face catastrophe, with St. Louis above 90°F for 1/3 the year

Browner says bill without carbon cap would be a “big mistake” 0
Posted 1 month ago
Department Of Energy eviscerates right-wing Spanish ‘green jobs’ study 0
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
A Spanish paper that claimed support for green jobs "may destroy two jobs for every one created" has been debunked by an official publication of the U.S. Department of Energy.
On the faux mathematics of large decisions

Could we replace the nation’s pavement with solar panels? 30
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
A while back I mentioned Solar Roadways, a clean energy idea that appears kind of kooky, at least on the surface. (See what I did there?) The notion is to replace paved surfaces with rugged, specially built solar panels.

The Solar Road Panels would contain not just solar panels but LED lighting (to enable real-time communication with drivers), heating units (to prevent icing), high-voltage power transmission lines, and even electric vehicle recharging stations. It's transportation, power, and grid infrastructure in the same place.
New energy at DOE

Autos, smart grid and clean tech: DOE turns on the money 2
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
Last week the Department of Energy released part of the $25 billion in loans provided for through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, included in Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The delay in releasing these funds had been one of the longest running scandals in clean tech policy. Upon taking office, the Obama Administration vowed to expedite their release and Secretary Steven Chu had made finalizing rules needed to administer the program a key priority. In the first installment of the loans, Tesla, the VC-backed California maker of an all-electric sports car, founded by Ebay veterans, will receive $465 million to make its compact, all-electric Model S sedan. Ford will receive $5.9 billion to retool 11 factories across five states to improve the overall fuel efficiency of its fleet. Finally, Nissan will receive $1.6 billion to retool a factory in Smyrna, Tennessee, to make an electric vehicle that is being developed and initially manufactured in Japan. The remainder of the money will be released next year.
Cathy Zoi confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 0
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
Cathy Zoi, CEO of Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) under Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Energy Department changes tune on peak oil

It’s official—the era of cheap oil is over 44
Posted 4 months, 4 weeks ago
Every summer, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy issues its International Energy Outlook (IEO) -- a jam-packed compendium of data and analysis on the evolving world energy equation.
Don't hate, innovate

Boost innovation investments to make Waxman-Markey bill a game-changer 0
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
What does the Waxman-Markey bill do to promote clean energy innovation and game-changing technology breakthroughs? Not nearly enough.
Pearlstein Harbor

Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein gets climate bill wrong 2
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
In a laudable attempt to draw more elite media attention to the Waxman-Markey bill -- which, like all things "environmental," has not exactly been a preoccupation of the political cable/blog/op-ed axis -- Steven Pearlstein makes a hash of a few important facts.
Notable quotable

Energy politics shouldn’t depend on whether you’re Republican or Democrat, says Chu 4
Posted 7 months ago
"We have a problem and we've got to get it solved. The politics of energy are such that it actually shouldn't be a political question. Let's get to a different point in the discussion about what American needs, and what this country really needs is something where it doesn't really matter whether you're a Republican or a Democrat. ... California went through that transition in the 1970s. That's why their per capita energy use has remained flat over the years, because both parties became convinced that this was something that was very important. I think a similar feeling has to emerge in the general population of the United States, that this is a problem. Our national security, our economic prosperity, our climate issues are really not ultimately political questions."
Job offer

Obama gives best clean energy and global warming solutions job to Cathy Zoi 0
Posted 7 months, 1 week ago
Cathy Zoi, CEO of Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) under Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
A Sandalow victory

Obama picks climate, oil expert David Sandalow to oversee U.S. energy policy 0
Posted 7 months, 2 weeks ago
President Obama has picked David Sandalow to be assistant secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the Energy Department. He also plans to nominate BP chief scientist Steven Koonin to be undersecretary for Science.
Hold your loan

First DOE loan guarantee goes to ... a solar manufacturer 0
Posted 7 months, 2 weeks ago

The Department of Energy announced on Friday that the first energy loan guarantee authorized by the 2005 (!) Energy Policy Act went to a plant that manufactures solar panels:
Steven Chu chats with Charlie Rose 0
Posted 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Sun rises

First DOE loan guarantee goes to solar 0
Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago
Today the Department of Energy announced its first energy loan guarantee. It's going to ... Solyndra, a manufacturer of solar panels.
The Department of Nukes

DOE has nuclear energy in its bloodstream 0
Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago
FutureGen was ‘nothing more than a public relations ploy,’ House study finds 0
Posted 8 months ago
Wind turbines at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base—thanks to the DOE office I once ran 0
Posted 8 months ago