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45-752: Despite termination of the ASRG flight development contract in 2013, NASA continues a small investment testing by private companies. Flight-ready Stirling-based units are not expected before 2028. Development was undertaken in 2000 under joint sponsorship by the United States Department of Energy (DoE), Lockheed Martin Space Systems , and the Stirling Research Laboratory at NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC) for potential future space missions . In 2012, NASA chose

90-486: A quarter of the plutonium an RTG or MMRTG needs. The two finished units had these expected specifications: ASRGs could be installed on a wide variety of vehicles, from orbiters, landers and rovers to balloons and planetary boats. A spacecraft proposed to use this generator was the TiME boat-lander mission to Titan , the largest moon of the planet Saturn , with a launch intended for January 2015, or 2023. In February 2009 it

135-562: A solar-powered mission ( InSight ) for the Discovery 12 interplanetary mission, negating the need for a radioisotope power system for the 2018 launch. The DOE cancelled the Lockheed contract in late 2013, after the cost had risen to over $ 260 million, $ 110 million more than originally expected. It was also decided to make use of remaining program hardware in constructing and testing a second engineering unit (for testing and research), which

180-514: Is focused on a particular energy challenge. Two of the eight hubs are included in the EERE budget and will focus on integrating smart materials, designs, and systems into buildings to better conserve energy and on designing and discovering new concepts and materials needed to convert solar energy into electricity. Another two hubs, included in the DOE Office of Science budget, were created to tackle

225-538: Is headed by a secretary whose title echoes the title of their respective department, with the exception of the Department of Justice , whose head is known as the attorney general . The heads of the executive departments are appointed by the president and take office after confirmation by the United States Senate , and serve at the pleasure of the president . The heads of departments are members of

270-584: The Cabinet of the United States , an executive organ that normally acts as an advisory body to the president. In the Opinion Clause (Article II, section 2, clause 1) of the U.S. Constitution , heads of executive departments are referred to as "principal Officer in each of the executive Departments". The heads of executive departments are included in the line of succession to the president, in

315-575: The Code of Federal Regulations , in Title 10: Energy : The official seal of the Department of Energy "includes a green shield bisected by a gold-colored lightning bolt, on which is emblazoned a gold-colored symbolic sun , atom , oil derrick , windmill , and dynamo . It is crested by the white head of an eagle , atop a white rope. Both appear on a blue field surrounded by concentric circles in which

360-646: The Department of Energy Organization Act , which established the Department of Energy. The new agency, which began operations on October 1, 1977, consolidated the Federal Energy Administration , the Energy Research and Development Administration , the Federal Power Commission , and programs of various other agencies. Former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger , who served under Presidents Nixon and Ford during

405-608: The New Frontiers program Mission 4. United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy ( DOE ) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production , the research and development of nuclear power , the military's nuclear weapons program , nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy , energy-related research, and energy conservation . The DOE

450-503: The Stirling cycle compared with that of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) used in previous missions ( Viking , Pioneer , Voyager , Galileo , Ulysses , Cassini , New Horizons , Mars Science Laboratory , and Mars 2020 ) would have offered an advantage of a fourfold reduction in PuO 2 fuel, at half the mass of an RTG. It would have produced 140 watts of electricity using

495-654: The Uranian system. Another Uranus probe concept using the ASRG was MUSE which has been evaluated as both an ESA L-Class mission and New Frontiers enhanced mission. The Jupiter Europa Orbiter mission proposed using four ASRG to power an orbiter in the Jovian system. Another possibility was the Mars Geyser Hopper . It was proposed in 2013 to fly three ASRG units on board the FIRE probe to study Jupiter's moon Io for

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540-483: The Vietnam War , was appointed as the first secretary. President Carter proposed the Department of Energy with the goal of promoting energy conservation and energy independence, and developing alternative sources of energy to reduce the use of fossil fuels . With international energy's future uncertain for America, Carter acted quickly to have the department come into action the first year of his presidency. This

585-666: The atomic bomb under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . After the war, in 1946, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was created to control the future of the project. The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 also created the framework for the first National Laboratories . Among other nuclear projects, the AEC produced fabricated uranium fuel cores at locations such as Fernald Feed Materials Production Center in Cincinnati, Ohio . The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 split

630-572: The earth itself, and gold represents the creation of energy in the release of natural forces. By invoking this symbolism , the color scheme represents the Nation's commitment to meet its energy needs in a manner consistent with the preservation of the natural environment ." The Department of Energy operates a system of national laboratories and technical facilities for research and development, as follows: Other major DOE facilities include: Airstrip: The DOE/ NNSA has federal responsibility for

675-609: The president of the United States and is a member of the Cabinet . The current secretary of energy is Jennifer Granholm , who has served in the position since February 2021. The department's headquarters are in southwestern Washington, D.C. , in the James V. Forrestal Building , with additional offices in Germantown, Maryland . In 1942, during World War II , the United States started the Manhattan Project to develop

720-409: The ASRG flight development contract, NASA continues a small investment testing Stirling converter technologies developed by Sunpower Inc. and Infinia Corporation, in addition to the unit supplied by Lockheed and a variable-conductance heat pipe supplied by Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. Flight-ready units based on Stirling technology are not expected until 2028. The higher conversion efficiency of

765-475: The DOE to issue loan guarantees to eligible projects that "avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases " and "employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued". In loan guarantees, a conditional commitment requires to meet an equity commitment, as well as other conditions, before

810-459: The Department of Energy's handling of his case. Republican senators thought that an independent agency should be in charge of nuclear weapons and security issues, rather than the DOE. All but one of the 59 charges against Lee were eventually dropped because the investigation proved the plans the Chinese obtained could not have come from Lee. Lee filed suit and won a $ 1.6 million settlement against

855-462: The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would be lowered to $ 696 million under the plan, down from $ 1.3 billion in fiscal year 2017. Overall, the department's energy and related programs would be cut by $ 1.9 billion. Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) are contracts under which a contractor designs, constructs, and obtains the necessary financing for an energy savings project, and

900-567: The challenges of devising advanced methods of energy storage and creating fuels directly from sunlight without the use of plants or microbes. Yet another hub was made to develop "smart" materials to allow the electrical grid to adapt and respond to changing conditions. In 2012, the DOE awarded $ 120 million to the Ames Laboratory to start a new EIH, the Critical Materials Institute, which will focus on improving

945-533: The department. In December 1999, the FBI was investigating how China obtained plans for a specific nuclear device. Wen Ho Lee was accused of stealing nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory for the People's Republic of China . Federal officials, including then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson , publicly named Lee as a suspect before he was charged with a crime. The U.S. Congress held hearings to investigate

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990-476: The design, testing and production of all nuclear weapons. NNSA in turn uses contractors to carry out its responsibilities at the following government owned sites: On May 7, 2009 President Barack Obama unveiled a $ 26.4 billion budget request for DOE for fiscal year (FY) 2010, including $ 2.3 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). That budget aimed to substantially expand

1035-429: The development of the technologies and their link to our future capabilities. The lightning bolt represents the power of the natural forces from which energy is derived and the Nation's challenge in harnessing the forces." "The color scheme is derived from nature, symbolizing both the source of energy and the support of man's existence. The blue field represents air and water , green represents mineral resources and

1080-493: The domain of state governments (i.e., education , health and welfare services , housing , and transportation ), Congress frequently authorized only funding for grants which were voluntary, in the sense that state or local government agencies could choose to apply for such grants (and accept conditions attached by Congress) or they could decline to apply. In the case of HHS's Medicare program, Congress chose to contract with private health insurers because they "already possessed

1125-563: The event of a vacancy in the presidency, after the vice president , the speaker of the House , and the president pro tempore of the Senate . They are included in order of their respective department's formation, with the exception of the Secretary of Defense, whose position in the line of succession is based on when the Department of War was formed. To enforce a strong separation of powers ,

1170-472: The federal Constitution's Ineligibility Clause expressly prohibits executive branch employees (including heads of executive departments) from simultaneously serving in Congress , and vice versa. Accordingly, in sharp contrast to virtually all other Western democracies (parliamentary systems) where ministers are selected to form a government from members of parliament , U.S. legislators who are appointed by

1215-433: The federal agency makes payments over time to the contractor from the savings in the agency's utility bills. The contractor guarantees the energy improvements will generate savings, and after the contract ends, all continuing cost savings accrue to the federal agency. Energy Innovation Hubs are multi-disciplinary , meant to advance highly promising areas of energy science and technology from their early stages of research to

1260-602: The federal government and news agencies. The episode eventually led to the creation of the National Nuclear Security Administration , a semi-autonomous agency within the department. In 2001, American Solar Challenge was sponsored by the DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory . After the 2005 race, the DOE discontinued its sponsorship. Title XVII of Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes

1305-699: The loan guarantee is completed. In September 2008, the DOE, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) partnered to develop and launch the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), an international non-governmental organization designed to provide a forum to share best practices in strengthening

1350-406: The name of the agency, in gold, appears on a green background." "The eagle represents the care in planning and the purposefulness of efforts required to respond to the Nation's increasing demands for energy . The sun , atom , oil derrick , windmill , and dynamo serve as representative technologies whose enhanced development can help meet these demands. The rope represents the cohesiveness in

1395-497: The point that the risk level will be low enough for industry to commercialize the technologies. The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) was the first DOE Energy Innovation Hub established in July 2010, for the purpose of providing advanced modeling and simulation (M&S) solutions for commercial nuclear reactors. The 2009 DOE budget includes $ 280 million to fund eight Energy Innovation Hubs, each of which

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1440-646: The president and confirmed by the Senate to serve as heads of executive departments must resign from Congress before assuming their new positions. If the emoluments for a new appointee's executive branch position were increased while the appointee was previously serving in Congress (e.g., cost of living adjustments), the president must implement a Saxbe fix . As is evident from the chart below, several executive departments (Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation) have disproportionately small employee headcounts in contrast to

1485-474: The president, who assumes the duties of the secretary in the secretary's absence. The department also has three under secretaries, each appointed by the president, who oversee the major areas of the department's work. The president also appoints seven officials with the rank of Assistant Secretary of Energy who have line management responsibility for major organizational elements of the department. The Energy Secretary assigns their functions and duties. Excerpt from

1530-472: The principal units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States . They are analogous to ministries common in parliamentary or semi-presidential systems but (the United States being a presidential system ) they are led by a head of government who is also the head of state . The executive departments are the administrative arms of the president of the United States . There are currently 15 executive departments. Each department

1575-431: The responsibilities of the AEC into the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission , which was charged with regulating the nuclear power industry, and the Energy Research and Development Administration , which was assigned to manage the nuclear weapon, naval reactor, and energy development programs. The 1973 oil crisis called attention to the need to consolidate energy policy. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed into law

1620-513: The security and safety of nuclear and radioactive materials and facilities. The department announced a reorganization with new names of under secretaries in 2022. The department is under the control and supervision of a United States Secretary of Energy , a political appointee of the President of the United States . The Energy Secretary is assisted in managing the department by a United States Deputy Secretary of Energy , also appointed by

1665-439: The size of their budgets. This is because many of their employees merely supervise contracts with private independent contractors or grants (especially categorical grants ) to state or local government agencies who are primarily responsible for providing services directly to the general public. In the 20th century, when the federal government began to provide funding and supervision for matters which were historically seen as

1710-517: The stimulus spending was in the form of grants and contracts. For fiscal year 2013, each of the operating units of the Department of Energy operated with the following budgets: In March 2018, Energy Secretary Rick Perry testified to a Senate panel about the Trump administration's DOE budget request for fiscal year 2019. The budget request prioritized nuclear security while making large cuts to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. The proposal

1755-623: The supply of rare earth elements . ARPA-E was officially created by the America COMPETES Act , authored by Congressman Bart Gordon , within the United States Department of Energy (DOE) in 2007, though without a budget. The initial budget of about $ 400 million was a part of the economic stimulus bill of February 2009. United States federal executive departments [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The United States federal executive departments are

1800-565: The use of renewable energy sources while improving energy transmission infrastructure. It also proposed significant investments in hybrids and plug-in hybrids , smart grid technologies, and scientific research and innovation. As part of the $ 789 billion economic stimulus package in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress provided Energy with an additional $ 38.3 billion for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, adding about 75 percent to Energy's annual budgets. Most of

1845-510: Was a $ 500 million increase in funds over fiscal year 2017. It "promotes innovations like a new Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and gains for the Office of Fossil Energy. Investments would be made to strengthen the National Nuclear Security Administration and modernize the nuclear force, as well as in weapons activities and advanced computing." However, the budget for

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1890-550: Was an extremely important issue of the time as the oil crisis was causing shortages and inflation . With the Three Mile Island accident , Carter was able to intervene with the help of the department. Through the DOE, Carter was able to make changes within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission , including improving management and procedures, since nuclear energy and weapons are responsibilities of

1935-619: Was announced that NASA/ESA had given Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM/Laplace) mission priority ahead of the Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM), which could have included TiME. In August 2012, TiME also lost the 2016 Discovery class competition to the InSight Mars lander. The Herschel Orbital Reconnaissance of the Uranian System (HORUS) mission was proposing to use three ASRGs to power an orbiter for

1980-540: Was completed in August 2014 in a close-out phase and shipped to GRC. Testing done in 2015 showed power fluctuations after just 175 hr of operation, becoming more frequent and larger in magnitude. NASA also needed more funding for continued plutonium-238 production (which will be used in existing MMRTGs for long-range probes in the meantime) and decided to use the savings from the ASRG cancellation to do so rather than take funding from science missions. Despite termination of

2025-490: Was created in 1977 in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis . It sponsors more physical science research than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories . The DOE also directs research in genomics , with the Human Genome Project originating from a DOE initiative. The department is headed by the secretary of energy , who reports directly to

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