United States Department of Energy

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United States
Department of Energy
Seal of the Department of Energy
Department overview
FormedAugust 4, 1977
Preceding agencies
Employees16,100 federal
100,000 contract (2004)
Annual budget$23.4 billion (2006)
Department executives
Websitewww.energy.gov

The United States Department of Energy (DOE or DoE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. Its purview includes 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.

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; 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; and final weapon/warhead assembling/dismantling - Pantex.

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. The agency is administered by the United States Secretary of Energy, and its headquarters are located in Germantown, Maryland as well as southwest Washington, D.C., on Independence Avenue in the Forrestal Building, named for James Forrestal.

Operating units

DoE headquarters
United States Department of Energy logo as seen at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

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:

There are four Power Marketing Administrations within the Department:

Related legislation

Hierarchy of the U.S. Department of Energy

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Department of Energy.
  • "United States Department of Energy Official Website". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Energy Information Administration". Department of Energy. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Office of Science". Department of Energy. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • Works by the United States Department of Energy at Project Gutenberg

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