The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an office within the United States Department of Energy that invests in high-risk, high-value research and development in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The Office of EERE is led by the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who manages several internal EERE offices and ten programs that support research, development, and outreach efforts.
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The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's mission, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Web site, is to strengthen America's energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality in public-private partnerships that enhance energy efficiency and productivity; bring clean, reliable and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace; and make a difference in the everyday lives of Americans by enhancing their energy choices and their quality of life.[1]
The Office of EERE is led by the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The Office manages ten major programs, each of which is responsible for research, development, and outreach in a particular field of renewable energy or energy efficiency.
The Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is Dr. Henry Kelly.[2]
EERE is divided internally into several different offices that are responsible for different aspects of its operations.[3]
The Office of EERE's annual budget is determined by annual congressional appropriations. The Office of EERE received $1,457,241,000 in fiscal year 2007, $1,722,407,000 in fiscal year 2008, and requested $1,255,393,000 for fiscal year 2009.[4] These funds are divided among the ten EERE programs and internal costs such as program direction, program support, and facilities and infrastructure.
These values are taken from the EERE 2007 budget documents.
| (values in thousands) | Appropriation | Request | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | FY07 to FY08 | |||||
| Energy Supply and Conservation | ||||||||
| Biomass and Biorefinery Systems R&D | 89,776 | 149,687 | 179,263 | +29,576 | ||||
| Building Technologies | 68,190 | 77,329 | 86,456 | +9,127 | ||||
| Federal Energy Management Program | 18,974 | 16,906 | 16,791 | -115 | ||||
| Geothermal Technology | 22,762 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Hydrogen Technology | 153,451 | 195,801 | 213,000 | +17,199 | ||||
| Hydropower | 495 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Industrial Technologies | 55,856 | 45,563 | 45,998 | +435 | ||||
| Solar Energy | 81,791 | 148,372 | 148,304 | -68 | ||||
| Vehicle Technologies | 178,351 | 166,024 | 176,138 | +10,114 | ||||
| Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities | 316,866 | 225,031 | 204,904 | -20,127 | ||||
| Wind Energy | 38,333 | 43,819 | 40,069 | -3,750 | ||||
| Facilities and Infrastructure | 26,052 | 5,935 | 6,982 | +1,047 | ||||
| Program Direction | 101,868 | 91,024 | 105,013 | +13,989 | ||||
| Program Support | 13,321 | 10,930 | 13,281 | +2,351 | ||||
| Adjustments | -3,339 | |||||||
| Total, Energy Supply and Conservation | 1,162,747 | 1,176,421 | 1,236,199 | +59,778 | ||||
The Biomass Program works with industry, academia, and national laboratory partners on research in biomass feedstocks and conversion technologies. Key goals of the Program include focusing research and development efforts to ensure that cellulosic ethanol is cost competitive by 2012, and further developing infrastructure and opportunities for market penetration of bio-based fuels and products.[5]
The Building Technologies Program works to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings through industry partnerships, research, and tool development.[6] The program’s strategic goal is to create technologies and design approaches that lead to marketable net zero energy homes by 2020 and net zero energy commercial buildings by 2025.[7]
The Building Technologies Program oversees the U.S. Department of Energy's work with Energy Star, which is managed through partnership with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[8]
The Federal Energy Management Program facilitates the federal government's implementation of cost-effective energy management and investment practices. This is delivered through project transaction services, applied technology services, and decision support services.[9]
The Geothermal Technologies Program supports research and development for geothermal energy technologies, and supports finding, accessing, and using geothermal resources in the United States.[10] One of their primary goals is to develop a 5 megawatt proof-of-principle demonstration of enhanced geothermal systems technology by 2015, and to validate the sustainability of this project by 2020.[11]
The Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Technologies Program works with academia, industry, the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratories, and EERE's Vehicle Technologies Program to research and develop hydrogen production, delivery, and storage technologies; to develop hydrogen safety codes and standards; to validate and demonstrate hydrogen technologies in real-world situations; and to educate stakeholders about these technologies.[12]
The Industrial Technologies Program works with U.S. industries to reduce their energy intensity and carbon emissions, and supports the development of advanced industrial technologies and energy management best practices.[13] Through the Save Energy Now initiative, this program is leading a drive to reduce industrial energy intensity 25% by 2017, a national goal outlined in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The Solar Energy Technologies Program focuses on accelerating the advancement of solar energy technologies. Its four subprograms are photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, market transformation, and systems integration.[14]
The Vehicle Technologies Program works with industry to develop technologies that could increase vehicle energy efficiency and to research, develop, demonstrate, test, validate, commercialize, and educate about alternative fuel vehicles.[15]
The Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program provides grants to state governments, Indian tribes, municipal utilities, and low-income families[16] through four separate programs that utilize all of EERE’s energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies:
The Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program conducts research in wind and water energy technologies. Wind energy R&D includes utility-scale technologies for both land-based and offshore applications and small distributed wind energy systems for home, farm, and business applications.[17] One example of a project sponsored by the Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program is the Wind ENergy Data & Information (WENDI) Gateway, established by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in March 2010. An additional program within this section is the Wind Powering America Initiative. Water energy research includes traditional hydropower technologies as well as wave energy, ocean current, tidal current, and river current technologies.[18]
The Office of EERE sponsors, in whole or in part, activities aimed at public outreach and engagement in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Prominent national events include:
The Solar Decathlon is a competition held in Washington, D.C. every other year. Students from 20 universities and colleges across the United States and the world construct homes that are powered exclusively by solar energy. These homes are displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and judged in ten contests.[19][20]
The next Solar Decathlon will be held in 2009, on October 9-13 and 15-18.
EcoCAR is a college-level competition during which college-level students at 17 North American universities are given three years to produce a zero emissions vehicle. The students produce a variety of alternative vehicles, including full-function electric, range-extended electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. The event culminates in a week-long competition.[21]
The event is run by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors.
Solar America Cities is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy, 25 cities across the United States, and municipal, county, and state agencies, universities, solar companies, utilities, developers, and non-profit organizations.[22] The 25 selected cities each received $5 million, as well as technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy, to:
The Office of EERE provides funding to 12 of the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratories[24] for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Energy.