The United States Department of Energy (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, many of which are funded through its system of national laboratories.

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 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.

Operating units

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.

National laboratories administered by the Department include:

• Albany Research Center
• Ames Laboratory
• Argonne National Laboratory
• Argonne National Laboratory (West) (now part of Idaho National Laboratory)
• Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Center for Functional Nanomaterials (under design or construction)
• Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (under design or construction)
• Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (under design or construction)
• Center for Nanoscale Materials (under design or construction)
• Environmental Measurements Laboratory (now affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security)
• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Molecular Foundry (under design or construction)
• National Energy Technology Laboratory
• National Petroleum Technology Office
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• New Brunswick Laboratory
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
• Radiological & Environmental Sciences Laboratory
• Sandia National Laboratories
• Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
• Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
• Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
• Yucca Mountain

Power marketing organizations controlled by the Department include:

• Bonneville Power Administration
• Southeastern Power Administration
• Southwestern Power Administration
• Western Area Power Administration

Related legislation

• 1946 - Atomic Energy Act PL 79-585
• 1954 - Atomic Energy Act Amendments PL 83-703
• 1956 - Colorado River Storage Project PL 84-485
• 1957 - Atomic Energy Commission Acquisition of Property PL 85-162
• 1957 - Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act PL 85-256
• 1968 - Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act PL 90-481
• 1973 - Mineral Leasing Act Amendments (Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline Authorization ) PL 93-153
• 1974 - Energy Reorganization Act PL 93-438
• 1975 - Energy Policy and Conservation Act PL 94-163
• 1977 - Department of Energy Organization Act PL 95-91
• 1978 - National Energy Act PL 95-617, 618, 619, 620, 621
• 1980 - Energy Security Act PL 96-294
• 1989 - Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act PL 101-60
• 1992 - Energy Policy Act PL 102-486

External links

• United States Department of Energy Official Website
  • Energy Information Administration