If U.S. and world economic conditions continue to improve, oil prices are expected to escalate to $81 per barrel by December 2010, according to the DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). The rising oil prices are already driving up the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today joined industry representatives and managers from DOE’s National Laboratories to celebrate the latest tool to advance the Department’s wind energy research: a state-of-the-art wind turbine installed at DOE’s National Wind Technology Center (NWTC), at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, near Boulder. The turbine, which is the first large-scale wind turbine fully owned by DOE, will serve as a platform for research projects aimed at improving the performance of wind technology and lowering the costs of wind energy. Previously, only smaller wind turbines were installed at the NWTC.

Washington D.C. - Underscoring his commitment to strengthen and streamline the Department of Energy's operations, Secretary Steven Chu today named Jonathan Silver Executive Director of the Department's loan program office.

Washington, DC - The Department of Energy announced today that Energy Secretary Steven Chu will travel to India and China from Thursday, November 12 to Wednesday, November 18 as part of the Department's efforts to advance opportunities for international clean energy cooperation.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu highlighted DOE's continued commitment to partnering with Native Americans to support the development of clean energy projects on tribal lands.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 22nd Clean Energy Industry Growth Forum this week attracted nearly 600 investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and policymakers to Denver.

On Tuesday, November, 10th, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program, DOE’s national laboratories, and industry partners including GE and RES Americas will gather to celebrate the completed installation and commissioning of the first utility-scale wind turbine to be owned by DOE. This 1.5 megawatt wind turbine will be fully instrumented to serve as a testbed for future research and development projects to lower the cost of wind energy.

The First Lady's remarks at the U.S. Department of Energy.

WASHINGTON, DC - Today at the White House Tribal Nations Conference, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu highlighted the Department of Energy's continued commitment to partnering with Native Americans to support the development of clean energy projects on tribal lands that will help reduce energy use, limit carbon pollution, and create new jobs for tribal communities across the country.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced up to $30.6 million in Recovery Act funding for the selection of seven hydropower projects that modernize hydropower infrastructure by increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impacts at existing facilities.

DOE has awarded $338 million for 123 geothermal projects in 39 states. The funds will support innovative exploration and drilling, creation of a national resource database, deployment of ground source heat pumps, and the development of new geothermal resources.

DOE is awarding $155 million in Recovery Act funds to support 41 industrial energy efficiency projects across the United States. The nine largest will leverage an additional $634 million in private support for significant efficiency upgrades at industrial facilities.

DOE is providing as much as $5.5 million in Recovery Act funds for the X Prize Foundation's competition to design commercially-viable vehicles that can achieve an equivalent of 100 miles per gallon of gas. DOE will provide technical assistance while supporting outreach and education efforts.

DOE has granted more than $38 million in Recovery Act funds to Alaska, Kansas, Utah, and West Virginia to support each state's energy efficiency priorities. The awards are part of DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.

DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is getting a modest budget boost of 3% in the fiscal year 2010 appropriations approved by President Obama. The annual appropriations process is separate from the one-time injection of funds provided by the Recovery Act.

A new allocation of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds will provide low-interest financing for government agencies, public power providers, and cooperative electric companies across the United States, with the leaders in each category located in California, Washington, and Alaska, respectively.

DOE and eight other federal departments and agencies have signed an agreement to speed the approval of new transmission lines located on federal lands. The agreement is aimed at cutting the approval time to gain new permits, while maintaining existing environmental reviews and safeguards.

A project to capture and store the carbon emissions from a coal plant in West Virginia was recently commissioned, although it will only capture a small percentage of the emissions from the plant. DOE is supporting similar demonstrations for a wide range of facilities.

At a community breakfast in Aiken, South Carolina, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman discussed how funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is accelerating environmental cleanup work at the Savannah River Site and creating or saving thousands of jobs in the area. Additionally, he discussed how the Recovery Act is putting Americans to work helping weatherize homes and improve energy efficiency in communities throughout Georgia and South Carolina.

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced up to $30.6 million in Recovery Act funding for the selection of seven hydropower projects that modernize hydropower infrastructure by increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impacts at existing facilities.