1: Energy Security
Promoting America’s energy security through reliable, clean, and affordable energy Other Information:
Keeping America economically strong requires reliable, clean, and affordable energy, and the best way to achieve this is through
competitive energy markets, science-driven technology, and supportive government policies. Technological advances enable Americans
to use new energy sources that did not exist 50, 100, or even 200 years ago. Well-functioning energy markets, supplemented
by effective government collaboration, incentives, and regulation, stimulate the private investment and competition necessary
to spur the adoption of new technologies. New technological advances in energy supply, distribution, and utilization will
help ensure we meet the energy challenges of the 21st Century. The Department’s principal tool for advancing technology is
investing in high-risk, high-payoff energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) that the private sector would not
or could not develop alone in our market-based economy. Since 2001, the Department has invested nearly $10 billion developing
and promoting the use of cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable alternative energy sources and DOE is on the threshold
of incredible scientific and technological advances that will change how we power our homes, businesses, and automobiles.
In January 2006, the President announced the Advanced Energy Initiative to dramatically accelerate research on domestically
available fuels that will diversify the Nation’s use of energy sources and help reduce America’s dependence on foreign resources.
To address domestic energy security, DOE is focused on stimulating private investment in energy supply and advanced technologies
through diversifying energy markets, reducing emissions, and increasing reliability and productivity. The Department will
work with other Federal agencies to develop a more comprehensive government-wide approach to solving America’s energy needs.
The Department will work with other Federal agencies to develop metrics that reflect common approaches to solving America’s
energy needs. For example, DOE is working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to accelerate deployment of energy
efficiency and alternative energy technologies by coordinating activities that enhance progress toward each agency’s respective
goals. Strengthening the systems that transmit and distribute electricity and fuels to consumers is imperative for the economic
prosperity of Americans and their quality of life. Facilitating the process to modernize the electric grid, enhancing the
security and reliability of the energy infrastructure, and facilitating recovery from disruptions in energy supplies are critical
DOE activities. In the transmission and distribution (T&D) of electricity, the Department is partnering with industry to undertake
research in developing cost-effective solutions in the areas of advanced sensors and high temperature superconductors that
will reduce line losses and have the capability to carry more electric current than conventional T&D lines. The Department
is also working with other Federal agencies and State and local governments to develop a resilient grid, identify and mitigate
congestion, and protect critical services. With regard to fuels, the Department is working with industry and government agencies
to address research and infrastructure issues related to the "fuels of tomorrow," such as biofuels and hydrogen, as well as
the fuels that are the current lifeline of America’s economy—petroleum, natural gas, coal, and nuclear. The Department also
supports research in developing energy efficiency technologies and practices that will enable Americans to use energy more
productively. By reducing the energy intensity of America’s economy, energy efficiency advances provide one of the best means
for reducing the Nation’s dependence on foreign fuel supplies and improving the quality of the environment, both in the near
and long term. The Department supports innovative RD&D that will increase the energy productivity of all sectors of the economy—buildings,
transportation, industry, and electric power.The Department’s programs extend beyond the research, development, and deployment
of energy technologies. The Department operates: (1) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which provides emergency oil supplies
in the event of a serious supply disruption; (2) the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, which helps ensure adequate heating
oil supplies in the event of severe energy disruptions; and (3) four Federal Power Marketing Administrations, which sell electricity
from Federal hydropower dams. Over the next six years, the Department will research advanced technologies to achieve its energy
strategic goals. Energy Security Challenges -- The United States is heavily dependent upon oil, especially in the transportation
sector. Rapid increases in U.S. and world energy demand, combined with regional resource and production constraints, have
led to large increases in oil and natural gas prices, changing the industrial and commercial business environment. The Nation’s
energy infrastructure is not keeping pace with the growth in energy demand, thereby endangering the reliability of the energy
system. Finally, there is a need to reduce the environmental impacts associated with energy use. The following strategic goals
address these energy security challenges.
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