70
development of shale gas and tight oil that completely changed the energy economy
in the world 30 years later.
On August 4, 1977, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was created as a
cabinet-level entity of the U.S. government under President Jimmy Carter. James
R. Schlesinger was named the first Secretary of Energy. Along with inherited duties
like running the national labs and maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, a primary mission of the new DOE was to find technological solutions to
energy supply and use, and prevent the U.S. from falling into another energy crisis.
Astute readers may note that it took more than three years after the end of the
OPEC oil embargo to create DOE. This is not unusual for any kind of major government restructuring effort, especially one that involves the creation of a new, cabinetlevel agency. In the case of DOE, there were a number of pre-existing government
bureaus and agencies with mission statements that fit under the DOE umbrella.
Working out turf issues and budgets among these various entities, many of whom
had champions in Congress, was a major political challenge. Eventually, through
compromise and some old-fashioned horse trading, Congress was able to roll up a
slew of smaller agencies into the new Energy Department.
The U.S. Department of Energy took a two-pronged approach toward avoiding
another energy crisis: (1) improve energy efficiency so we consume less and (2)
increase the domestic energy supply so we have more. The first goal resulted in
things like the development of low-wattage LED lighting, improvements in home
insulation, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and Energy Star ratings on appliances to
encourage greater energy efficiency.
To achieve the second goal, the agency set out to identify and investigate almost
every new potential source of domestic energy under the sun, including the sun
itself. Over the past 40 years, DOE has funded research and engineering projects on
solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, onshore and offshore wind, high and moderate
temperature geothermal, fuels from biomass, ocean energy such as waves and tides,
oil shales, tar sands, new nuclear technologies, energy conversion technologies such
as coal gasification, coal-to-liquids, and gas-to-liquids, as well as developing new
sources of natural gas. The overall goal of DOE was to produce as much new, additional domestic energy as possible to offset oil imports. This so-called “all-of-theabove” energy strategy has been a U.S. government policy since the end of the
energy crisis. Reducing dependence on a single resource like oil helps to spread out
the risk of potential future supply disruptions.
A major objective of the DOE energy supply research was to develop new
sources of liquid fuels that could directly replace gasoline in motor vehicles and
thus reduce the need for imported oil. This became a chemical engineering project,
as researchers sought new ways to turn coal or natural gas into liquids. The primary
focus was coal, both because of its abundance in the United States, and the fact that
a chemical process already existed for turning it into liquid fuels.
During the latter stages of World War II, the German military was beset by fuel
shortages. This was due in part to a strategic bombing campaign by the Allies that
targeted oil refineries, transport trains, and fuel depots to deny petroleum supplies
to the German Wehrmacht and aviation fuel to the Luftwaffe (Caldwell and Muller
4 The Energy Crisis and Unconventional Resources
development of shale gas and tight oil that completely changed the energy economy
in the world 30 years later.
On August 4, 1977, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was created as a
cabinet-level entity of the U.S. government under President Jimmy Carter. James
R. Schlesinger was named the first Secretary of Energy. Along with inherited duties
like running the national labs and maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, a primary mission of the new DOE was to find technological solutions to
energy supply and use, and prevent the U.S. from falling into another energy crisis.
Astute readers may note that it took more than three years after the end of the
OPEC oil embargo to create DOE. This is not unusual for any kind of major government restructuring effort, especially one that involves the creation of a new, cabinetlevel agency. In the case of DOE, there were a number of pre-existing government
bureaus and agencies with mission statements that fit under the DOE umbrella.
Working out turf issues and budgets among these various entities, many of whom
had champions in Congress, was a major political challenge. Eventually, through
compromise and some old-fashioned horse trading, Congress was able to roll up a
slew of smaller agencies into the new Energy Department.
The U.S. Department of Energy took a two-pronged approach toward avoiding
another energy crisis: (1) improve energy efficiency so we consume less and (2)
increase the domestic energy supply so we have more. The first goal resulted in
things like the development of low-wattage LED lighting, improvements in home
insulation, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and Energy Star ratings on appliances to
encourage greater energy efficiency.
To achieve the second goal, the agency set out to identify and investigate almost
every new potential source of domestic energy under the sun, including the sun
itself. Over the past 40 years, DOE has funded research and engineering projects on
solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, onshore and offshore wind, high and moderate
temperature geothermal, fuels from biomass, ocean energy such as waves and tides,
oil shales, tar sands, new nuclear technologies, energy conversion technologies such
as coal gasification, coal-to-liquids, and gas-to-liquids, as well as developing new
sources of natural gas. The overall goal of DOE was to produce as much new, additional domestic energy as possible to offset oil imports. This so-called “all-of-theabove” energy strategy has been a U.S. government policy since the end of the
energy crisis. Reducing dependence on a single resource like oil helps to spread out
the risk of potential future supply disruptions.
A major objective of the DOE energy supply research was to develop new
sources of liquid fuels that could directly replace gasoline in motor vehicles and
thus reduce the need for imported oil. This became a chemical engineering project,
as researchers sought new ways to turn coal or natural gas into liquids. The primary
focus was coal, both because of its abundance in the United States, and the fact that
a chemical process already existed for turning it into liquid fuels.
During the latter stages of World War II, the German military was beset by fuel
shortages. This was due in part to a strategic bombing campaign by the Allies that
targeted oil refineries, transport trains, and fuel depots to deny petroleum supplies
to the German Wehrmacht and aviation fuel to the Luftwaffe (Caldwell and Muller
4 The Energy Crisis and Unconventional Resources