It takes a lot of manpower to build a nation's economic and
energy security. That's why there's the US Department of Energy.
The DOE was established in 1977 by former president Jimmy Carter at
a time when the US was facing a severe winter and fuel
shortages that caused factory and school closings and
threatened residential cutoffs. The DOE promotes a diverse
supply of environmentally safe energy, supporting scientific
and technological energy research. It protects the environment from
the legacy of nuclear weapons production, and it maintains the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), an emergency fuel storage of oil
that has an inventory of about 695 million barrels of oil.
Operations
The cabinet-level agency is a combination of 10
separate program offices. It partners with other companies and
organizations to focus on the four major energy categories of coal,
solar, smart grid, and battery technologies.
Strategy
The DOE's goals involve leading the nation's energy conservation
efforts by deploying new technologies and conducting further
research in clean technologies. It will also enhance nuclear
security through defense, nonproliferation, and environmental
efforts.