Is The U.S. Really A Leader In Clean Energy?

Without exception, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) is all about Atomic Energy Defense (AED). Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), on the other hand, are far from mission critical. To the extent that the DoE’s 2016 budget request allocates 63% to AED activities and only 9% to EERE, energy efficiency and renewable energy programs seem to make good publicity and little else, Figure 1. The argument is not whether AED is more important than EERE; rather it is a question of the horsepower behind EERE and the Energy Department’s performance in ensuring America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through...