Strategic Theme 1

ENERGY sECURITY
Promoting America’s energy security through reliable, clean, and affordable energy

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

 U.S. D e p a r t m e n t o f E n e r g y S t r a t e g i c P l a n
Over the next six years, the Department will research stewardship. In the near-to-mid term, advances in
advanced technologies to achieve its energy strategic biofuels, fuel blends, plug-in hybrids, and more efficient
goals. vehicle technologies could increase the energy diversity
Energy Security Challenges and efficiency of America’s transportation sector. In
the long term, innovation in hydrogen production,
The United States is heavily dependent upon oil,
storage, and use may enable consumers to drive
especially in the transportation sector. Rapid increases
vehicles powered by hydrogen produced from multiple
in U.S. and world energy demand, combined with
domestically available energy sources and help pave
regional resource and production constraints, have led
the way for a full-scale hydrogen energy economy.
to large increases in oil and natural gas prices, changing
the industrial and commercial business environment. The Department is also pursuing energy diversity by
The Nation’s energy infrastructure is not keeping pace supporting the development of a suite of electricity
with the growth in energy demand, thereby endangering generation options that can promote reasonable and
the reliability of the energy system. Finally, there is a stable prices and a variety of efficiency technologies
need to reduce the environmental impacts associated that will improve energy productivity in all sectors
with energy use. The following strategic goals address of the American economy. Taken together, these
these energy security challenges. technologies diversify our energy portfolio and increase
our energy security (these advances are addressed in
Energy Security Strategic Goals Strategic Goals #1.2 and #1.4).

Goal 1.1 – Energy Diversity Strategies to reach this goal

Increase our energy options and reduce dependence
on oil, thereby reducing vulnerability to disruption and • Reduce dependence on energy imports, particularly
increasing the flexibility of the market to meet U.S. oil in the transportation sector, by developing and
needs. effectively deploying technologies to increase fuel
efficiency and enable the substitution of alternatives
Description: Energy diversity is essential for such as biofuels, electricity, and hydrogen.
America’s energy security and economic prosperity. • Collaborate globally with governments and scientists
In 2004, America imported 65 percent of the crude oil to expedite the development and deployment of
it used domestically. By 2030, the Energy Information unconventional energy resources, such as biofuels,
Administration forecasts that crude oil imports will rise that can substitute for oil and natural gas.
to 75 percent of our total crude oil supply and natural
gas imports will rise from 17 percent today to 21 percent • Collaborate globally with governments and scientists
of our total natural gas supply. America’s energy to expedite the development and deployment of nuclear
security and economic well-being are challenged when power which can substitute for natural gas.
the United States is dependent upon other countries • Ensure adequate crude and regional home heating oil
for the fuels that account for over 60 percent of the supplies during emergency shortages by maintaining
Nation’s current energy use. This is especially true the operational readiness of the Strategic Petroleum
in the case of the transportation sector, which is the Reserve and Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
least energy-diverse sector of the American economy
with petroleum accounting for more than 95 percent • Ensure an expanding supply of domestic energy for
of the fuel consumed. Taking steps to reduce the the American public by promoting the construction of an
transportation sector’s dependence on oil is a critical Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline and the environmentally
component of the Department’s strategic goals. responsible development of the Outer Continental
Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Department is investing in both alternative fuels
and energy efficiency technologies to reduce the
energy-intensity and increase the fuel-flexibility of
America’s economy while maintaining environmental

U.S. Department of Energy Strategic Plan 

Goal 1.2 – Environmental Impacts of Energy • Advance clean coal technology through public-private
Improve the quality of the environment by reducing partnerships for continued electricity generation from the
greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts country’s extensive coal resources, ultimately resulting
to land, water, and air from energy production and in near-zero atmospheric emissions power plants.
use.
• Support research and development efforts to reduce
Description: The consumption of fossil fuels for the costs of renewable energy technologies and
electricity generation and transportation accounts for accelerate the large-scale use of carbon-free electricity
three-fourths of the carbon dioxide emissions in the sources.
United States and is a major contributor of air, water,
• Develop technologies to reduce vehicle emissions
and land pollution. The Department is funding research
by improving efficiency and greatly expanding the
in a robust portfolio of technology options that will help
use of clean fuels, while maintaining vehicle safety,
reduce the environmental footprint resulting from the
performance, and cost characteristics.
supply, distribution, and use of energy.
• Work collaboratively with other Federal agencies,
In electricity generation, the Department is partnering
private industry, and other countries to accelerate
with industry, academia, State, and local governments,
the adoption of technologies capable of substantially
and other countries in advancing a variety of carbon-
reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases and
free electricity options. These partnerships range from
other emissions.
wind farms and solar power systems to central station
near-zero atmospheric emissions fossil fuel power Goal 1.3 – Energy Infrastructure
plants that capture and store carbon. Also included in Create a more flexible, more reliable, and higher
the partnerships are nuclear facilities that rely upon capacity U.S. energy infrastructure.
advanced fuel cycle technologies that will help to Description: One of the greatest energy challenges
address nuclear waste disposal issues. The Department facing America is the need to use 21st Century
is also helping to mitigate the environmental impacts technology to improve our aging energy infrastructure.
of electricity generation by reducing the need for new This infrastructure is comprised of many components,
power plants through advances in energy efficiency including the physical network of pipes for oil and
technologies and peak load reduction technologies and natural gas, electricity transmission lines, and other
strategies (these advances are addressed in Strategic means for transporting energy to consumers; facilities
Goals #1.3 and #1.4). that turn raw natural resources into useful energy
In transportation, the Department is investing in options products; and rail networks, truck lines, and marine
that are less carbon intensive than petroleum, such as transportation.
biofuels, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen-powered fuel The energy industry has undergone major changes in
cells. Another option is advancing technologies that the last two decades and more are expected. These
enable vehicles to travel further on a gallon of fuel, changes affect how our energy infrastructure operates.
thereby simultaneously reducing petroleum use and For example, while the electricity industry was once
carbon emissions. vertically integrated, it is increasingly separated into
three isolated segments: generation, transmission,
Strategies to reach this goal and distribution. Electricity providers have built more
• Support the creation of new nuclear generation power plants; however, without a comparable increase
capacity to produce carbon-free electricity in the in transmission and distribution facilities, it is not
near term (2015); complete a permanent repository possible to handle the increased output.
for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain by 2017; and Over the next six years, the Department’s energy
develop next-generation advanced reactor and fuel infrastructure activities will be primarily focused on
cycle technologies for deployment in the long term modernizing the electricity grid. The Department
(2025) for both electricity and hydrogen production. will accomplish this objective by working with other

 U.S. D e p a r t m e n t o f E n e r g y S t r a t e g i c P l a n
government agencies and industry to reduce the Strategies to reach this goal
frequency of blackouts, reduce energy losses, and • Support enhancements to existing energy markets that
improve asset and energy resource utilization. The will help stimulate private investment in more efficient
results will provide consumers with competitive costs and economically productive end-use technologies.
for electricity and a more secure infrastructure.
• Develop integrated building technologies and
Strategies to reach this goal formulate appliance standards to significantly increase
the energy efficiency of residential and commercial
• Develop advanced wires and coils to increase the buildings.
capacity, efficiency, and reliability of the electricity
system. • Partner with energy-intensive industries to develop
technologies that enable more efficient use of energy
• Advance real-time visualization and control tools to in their industrial processes.
improve the reliability and efficiency of the Nation’s
electricity delivery system by increasing the utilization • Develop technologies that enable cars and trucks to
of transmission and distribution assets. be fuel efficient, while remaining cost and performance
competitive.
• Integrate advanced technologies, including distributed
generation, storage, and load management on • Promote increased energy efficiency and sustainable
distribution utility feeders to improve the efficiency and practices in Federal facilities.
reliability of constrained sections of the electricity grid. Crosscutting Science Integration
• Provide technical assistance to State and regional Through recent deliberate and highly disciplined
officials on policies and emergency response options. assessments, several critical areas of technology
barriers have been identified, that if overcome through
Goal 1.4 – Energy Productivity basic research, could create paradigm-shifting
Cost-effectively improve the energy efficiency of the developments for the U.S. energy sector. They are,
U.S. economy. in a sense, a select set of grand challenges for the
Description: Energy efficiency is the ability to produce science and technology communities. Specifically,
more energy services (e.g., lighting, heating, and breakthroughs are required in electric energy storage,
transportation) from a fixed amount of energy. Energy superconductivity, biofuels (including cellulosic
productivity is the ability to create more economic value ethanol), hydrogen storage and fuel cells, solar
(gross domestic product, worker productivity, and air photovoltaic technology, advanced nuclear materials,
quality) from a fixed amount of energy. Many energy and capture of CO2 from existing fossil-fueled plants.
efficiency technologies exist today that produce more Additionally, there are significant opportunities for
lighting, heating, or transportation services, but the crosscutting science “push,” that is to say, areas where
higher capital costs associated with these technologies fields of science hold seemingly broad potential to
often outweigh the lower energy costs over the life of the accelerate innovation in many areas of energy supply
technology. As a result, energy efficient technologies and demand. Significant science opportunities include
do not always increase energy productivity. The major the design and synthesis of materials exploiting
objective of the Department’s energy efficiency RD&D nanoscale understanding; advanced computation
is to lower the cost and promote deployment of energy and predictive modeling of complex materials,
efficient technologies in all sectors of the economy technologies, and systems; catalysis and control of
(building, industrial, and transportation), thereby chemical transformations; and systems and synthetic
enabling these technologies to increase the Nation’s biology for energy applications. While these are not
energy productivity. exhaustive lists, they represent an initial and ambitious
set that offer high potential payoff, thus motivating the
science and technology communities to work together
in the years ahead.

U.S. Department of Energy Strategic Plan 

 External Factors Other Federal and State Policies
Air pollution control policies enacted in the United
The following external factors could affect the
States since the 1970s have affected the adoption
Department’s ability to achieve the Energy Security
rate of energy technologies by internalizing the cost
theme:
of regulated pollutants. As a result, technologies that
Federal Government/Consumer Roles utilize cleaner fuels, such as natural gas, have had
Most energy intensive products (e.g., power plants, significant market penetration in many parts of the
automobiles, etc.) have high capital costs and low energy economy. These regulations and other Federal
turnover rates. Power plants can cost billions of dollars and State policies such as energy tax incentives
to build and generally operate for 30-40 years. The (e.g., hybrid vehicles) and targeted rebate programs
electricity grid infrastructure has required billions for energy efficient products could also affect market
of dollars and a century to develop and will require penetration of select technologies and accelerate
decades to transform. The lifetime of the average progress toward the Energy Security goal.
automobile is 10-20 years, so a conventional automobile
Energy Disruptions
sold today will still be consuming petroleum in 2020
Natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes, floods,
at about 25 miles per gallon. The energy economy,
droughts, heat waves, etc.) and other catastrophic
therefore, changes slowly and new technologies
events could have a major impact on the Nation’s
receive a cautious reception from consumers because
energy security and supply.
they represent large financial investments that must
operate effectively over decades. For electricity, State
regulators, who have jurisdiction on retail electric rates
for consumers, as well as siting and construction of
new electric infrastructure, can be cautious with new
technologies as they seek to ensure adequate supply at
a reasonable cost. The Federal government works with
industry partners, State and local governments, and
non-governmental stakeholders to advance programs
that encourage consumers to purchase products that
contain new energy technologies.
Fuel Prices
Fuel prices will affect the rate at which many new
energy-related technologies penetrate target markets.
When fuel prices are high, typically large-scale market
penetration occurs sooner than when fuel prices are
low. One factor that most of the energy technologies
being researched by the Department have in common
is that they are more costly than conventional
technologies in today’s marketplace. The Department
is therefore working to reduce the costs of these
technologies through the application of new scientific
and engineering discoveries. However, fuel prices
may affect the rate of transfer from the laboratory
to the marketplace independent of the scientific and
technological merit of the advances made by the
Department.

 U.S. D e p a r t m e n t o f E n e r g y S t r a t e g i c P l a n