To spur new innovative, fuel-efficient vehicle technologies, DOE has loaned $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company to revamp its factories in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. DOE also offered Fisker Automotive a loan to spark the development of its plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is revving up transit agencies with Recovery Act grants to buy hybrid electric buses, install renewable energy systems, and upgrade the energy efficiency of their facilities. And some agencies are exploring more advanced energy technologies.

The smart grid will get a jolt with $100 million in Recovery Act funding for training the electric industry workforce, as well as $44 million to help state utility commissions deal with the challenges of the new energy economy.

As autumn brings colder weather to the Northern Hemisphere, it's time to practice cost-effective energy saving. DOE's new campaign and Web site will help you do so.

Only about 10,000 facilities throughout the United States will need to report their greenhouse gas emissions under a new system established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but those facilities will account for about 85% of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Monday, October 26, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science will host a Symposium on Accelerators for America's Future in Washington, DC.

Secretaries Geithner and Chu announced $550 million in new awards through the Recovery Act's 1603 program, bringing the total to more than $1 billion awarded to date to companies committed to investing in domestic renewable energy production.

Washington, DC - Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a $528.7 million conditional loan for Fisker Automotive for the development of two lines of plug-in hybrids that will save hundreds of millions gallons of gasoline and offset millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.

WASHINGTON - This morning, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu hosted a group of clean energy developers and manufacturers at the White House to discuss how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) is creating jobs and helping expand the development of clean, renewable domestic energy.

Washington, DC - In his keynote speech to the GridWeek 2009 Conference this morning, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu detailed his vision for implementing the smart grid and modernizing America's electrical system: a stronger, smarter, more efficient electricity infrastructure that will encourage growth in renewable energy sources, empower consumers to reduce their energy use, and lay the foundation for sustained, long-term economic expansion.

Arun Majumdar nominated to become the first director of the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $40 million in funding will be available from the Department of Energy to support design and planning work for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). Next Generation Nuclear Plants will use new, high temperature, gas-cooled reactor technologies to integrate multiple industrial applications in one plant or facility, such as generating electricity while refining petroleum.

Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy has closed on its loan offer of $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company to transform factories across IL, KY, MI, MO, and OH to produce more fuel efficient models. The loan is part of the Department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which supports the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies to create thousands of clean energy jobs while helping reduce the nation's dangerous dependence on foreign oil.

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has named Dr. John Bannister Goodenough and Dr. Siegfried S. Hecker as the winners of the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the most prestigious science and technology awards awarded by the U.S. Government. The Presidential award carries an honorarium of $375,000, which will be shared equally, and a gold medal. The award is administered on behalf of the White House by the U.S. Department of Energy.

At a Clean Energy Economy Forum with Governor Rendell in Bensalem today, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that DOE is awarding more than $36 million in funding from the Recovery Act to support energy efficiency and conservation projects in communities across Pennsylvania. These funds are being awarded to Pennsylvania's State Energy Office and local cities and counties to help lower energy use, reduce carbon pollution, and create green jobs across the Keystone State.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer’s (FLC) Mid-Continent Region recently recognized the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its partners with two awards for excellence in technology transfer.

To overcome a critical barrier to the success of hydrogen-fueled vehicles, DOE has launched the $1 million H-Prize competition. The winner will create the most advanced materials for hydrogen storage in vehicles.

DOE unveiled the "Retrofit Ramp-Up" program on September 14. Using $454 million in Recovery Act funds under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, the goal is to roll out energy efficiency to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in a variety of U.S. communities.

Green power supporters were in the spotlight on September 14 for advancing the voluntary purchase of electricity from renewable resources as DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) honored leaders from across the country.

The global cost of adapting to unchecked climate change could exceed $200 billion per year, according to one report, while another warns of hundreds of billions of dollars in damages to the United States. On top of that, the nation could be dragged into new wars as security threats increase.