Secretary Chu Launches First-Ever “Apps for Energy” Challenge

Secretary Chu Launches First-Ever “Apps for Energy” Challenge | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersOperations OfficesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Secretary Chu Launches First-Ever “Apps for Energy” Challenge March 23, 2012 - 9:49am Addthis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to help consumers save money by saving energy, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu launched yesterday the Department’s first-ever “Apps for Energy” competition.  “Apps for Energy” will challenge innovative software developers to build new apps – for mobile phones, computers, tablets, software programs and more – that utilize data from major utility companies to help consumers and businesses use less energy and save money. The competition will begin April 5, offering $100,000 in cash prizes sponsored by the Energy Department and interested companies. This new initiative is part of the Administration's broader efforts to make government more open and to engage the American people in new ways.  “Apps for Energy” will work closely with the Energy Department’s recently revamped website www.Energy.gov that offers new tools and resources to help consumers connect with the Department on an interactive, dynamic information platform.

“Our top priority is to help consumers save money on their energy bills by providing them with easy access to data on how they use energy in their homes,” said Secretary Chu. “Apps for Energy will challenge our nation’s talented software developers to create apps that provide energy usage data in the most comprehensive and accessible formats.”

Developers competing in “Apps for Energy” will create apps that are designed to make the best use of the data provided through the President’s Green Button initiative, which today announced that nine major utilities and electricity suppliers are committing to providing more than 15 million households access to data about their own energy use. Learn more about the announcement HERE.

Specifically, as part of "Apps for Energy:"

Starting today, members of the public are invited to submit their ideas for apps to apps@hq.doe.gov. The best app ideas will be featured on Energy.gov and used to inspire developers who are participating in the competition. Learn more HERE.On April 5, the Department will release the official rules and begin accepting submissions. Submissions can be any kind of software application, including apps for the web, personal computers, mobile devices, or any software broadly available to the public.May 15 is the last day to submit an app design. Following the close of submissions, an internal review and public vote will take place.Winners will be announced in late May and will receive cash prizes that in total equate to $100,000 and are sponsored by the Energy Department, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Itron Inc., and Gridwise Alliance.

Learn more detail about the “Apps for Energy” challenge HERE.

The President’s Green Button initiative, is an Administration-led effort with utility companies based on a simple, common-sense goal: provide electricity customers with easy access to their energy usage data in a consumer-friendly and computer-friendly format via a “Green Button” on electric utilities’ website. Learn more about the initiative HERE.

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Major Cold War Cleanup Milestone Reached at the Savannah River Site

Major Cold War Cleanup Milestone Reached at the Savannah River Site | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersOperations OfficesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Major Cold War Cleanup Milestone Reached at the Savannah River Site March 29, 2012 - 10:37am Addthis

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Energy Department announced it has reached a major milestone in the Department’s efforts to clean up the Cold War legacy at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, laying the groundwork for closing two underground storage tanks that previously held radioactive liquid waste from nuclear weapons production at SRS.  The determination signed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu paves the way for SRS to begin closing the massive tanks that make up the F Tank Farm.  The site will start this year by closing two tanks that pose the greatest risk to the environment - Tanks 18 and 19.  These tank closures will be the first DOE tanks closed nationwide since 2007, the first closed at SRS in 15 years, and some of the largest underground storage tanks closed by the Department to date.

Under Secretary for Nuclear Security at the Department of Energy Thomas D’Agostino made the announcement on a press conference call today with Karen Patterson, Chair of the South Carolina Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council.

“Today, we are able to announce a major milestone as we continue to clean up the legacy of the Cold War at the Savannah River Site and work to meet our responsibility to the citizens of South Carolina,” said Secretary Chu. “The Department of Energy, federal and state regulators, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the local community all played a key role in arriving at this important decision. As a result of these efforts and significant collaboration over many years, we are now able to move forward to safely, effectively and efficiently clean up and close these massive tanks.”

“South Carolina has looked forward to this day for a long time. We appreciate the dedication of everyone involved with the project, and the positive working relationships among all the entities – without genuine dedication and a positive approach, success would have been much more difficult. We also greatly appreciate that South Carolina and local stakeholders were included in all aspects of the process. The result is a good decision that we hope means many more successful tank closures in the near future,” said Chairwoman Patterson.

About 70 SRS, contractor, and construction employees are working on the final closing of Tanks 18 and 19, which is expected to take about five months. The work will include up to six cement trucks an hour, working eight hours a day, five days a week, pouring more than 3 million gallons of grout to fill the waste tanks.  Each tank originally held about 1.3 million gallons of radioactive hazardous waste, or enough to fill nearly two Olympic-sized swimming pools. 

Workers have removed more than 99 percent of the liquid waste in the tanks.  Tanks 18 and 19 will now be grouted, or filled with a cement-like material, to ensure the remaining residual waste film is immobilized and poses little to no future risk to the environment or the public.

SRS was constructed in the early 1950s to produce basic materials used in the fabrication of nuclear weapons in support of our nation's defense programs.  Tanks 18 and 19, two of the many nuclear facilities constructed at the site to support the United States Cold War effort, were built in the late 1950s to store radioactive liquid waste generated through the site’s nuclear weapons material processing.

The determination announced today allows SRS to complete cleanup and closure of Tanks 18 and 19 by the end of this year and the remaining 18 tanks in the F Tank Farm over the next several years as they are emptied and cleaned.  Prior to the decision, the Department and SRS conducted extensive technical environmental analysis, public review and comment, and consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The state of South Carolina and the Environmental Protection Agency were also included in and supportive of the decision to close the tanks.

The SRS FTF 3116 Waste Determination, its Basis, and the Supplement Analysis can be viewed HERE.

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Secretary Chu Announces New Institute to Help Scientists Improve Massive Data Set Research on DOE Supercomputers

Secretary Chu Announces New Institute to Help Scientists Improve Massive Data Set Research on DOE Supercomputers | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersOperations OfficesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Secretary Chu Announces New Institute to Help Scientists Improve Massive Data Set Research on DOE Supercomputers March 29, 2012 - 2:48pm Addthis

Washington D.C. – Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $5 million to establish the Scalable Data Management, Analysis and Visualization (SDAV) Institute as part of the Obama Administration’s “Big Data Research and Development Initiative,” which was announced this morning and takes aim at improving the nation’s ability to extract knowledge and insights from large and complex collections of digital data. Led by the Energy Department’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the SDAV Institute will bring together the expertise of six national laboratories and seven universities to develop new tools to help scientists manage and visualize data on the Department’s supercomputers, which will further streamline the processes that lead to discoveries made by scientists using the Department’s research facilities.

“Scientific discovery in energy research and a wide range of other fields increasingly depends on effectively managing and searching large datasets for new insights,” said Secretary Chu. “The newly establish SDAV Institute takes on the important challenge of ensuring our nation’s talented scientists can analyze these large datasets and make the important discoveries that will shape our nation’s future.” 

The SDAV Institute will help scientists better extract insights from today’s increasingly massive research datasets by assisting researchers in using state-of-the art software tools for data analysis on these supercomputers – ranging from superfast search engines to sophisticated visualization software that enables researchers to literally picture and “see” complex relations among data points.  The Energy Department supports some of the world’s fastest supercomputers located at Argonne, Oak Ridge, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, which are used by scientists from a wide range of fields. Simulations running on the Department’s supercomputers have increased in size and complexity over time.

In addition to Berkeley Lab, the SDAV team includes experts from Argonne, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Sandia National Laboratories  as well as from the Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Rutgers University, the University of California at Davis and the University of Utah. Kitware, a company that develops and supports specialized visualization software, is also a partner in the project and will accelerate deployment of the technologies that the Institute develops into the private sector. Subject to congressional appropriations, the Department plans to make an additional $20 million available over the next four years to fully fund the Institute.

As part of the Administration’s “Big Data Research and Development Initiative,” six Federal departments and agencies today announced more than $200 million in new commitments that, together, promise to greatly improve the tools and techniques needed to access, organize, and glean discoveries from huge volumes of digital data. For more information, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/big_data_press_release.pdf.

For more information on the SDAV Institute, visit http://sdav-scidac.org/. For more information on the Department’s Office of Science, visit science.energy.gov.

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Energy Department’s First-Ever “Apps for Energy” Competition Begins Today

Energy Department’s First-Ever “Apps for Energy” Competition Begins Today | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersOperations OfficesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Energy Department’s First-Ever “Apps for Energy” Competition Begins Today April 5, 2012 - 2:00pm Addthis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to help consumers save money by saving energy, the Department of Energy’s first-ever “Apps for Energy” competition begins today, offering $100,000 in cash prizes. “Apps for Energy” challenges innovative software developers to build new apps – for mobile phones, computers, tablets, software programs and more – that utilize data from major utility companies to help consumers and businesses use less energy and save money. Today, April 5, the Department released the official rules and began accepting submissions for the competition at http://appsforenergy.challenge.gov.

“The Apps for Energy competition supports the President’s goals of helping consumers lower their energy costs and increasing public access to data by challenging our nation’s talented software developers to create apps that provide energy usage data in the most comprehensive and accessible formats,” said Secretary Chu. “Improving consumers’ access to data about how they use energy in their homes will help them save money on their energy bills and reduce energy consumption.”

Developers competing in “Apps for Energy” will create apps that are designed to make the best use of the data provided through the President’s Green Button initiative, which recently announced that nine major utilities and electricity suppliers will provide more than 15 million households access to data about their own energy use. Learn more about the announcement HERE.

This competition is part of the Administration's broader efforts to make government more open and to engage the American people in new ways.  “Apps for Energy” will work closely with the Energy Department’s recently revamped website www.Energy.gov that offers new tools and resources to help consumers connect with the Department on an interactive, dynamic information platform.

Newly announced rules and dates for the "Apps for Energy” competition include:

Submissions can be for any kind of software application, including apps for the web, personal computers, mobile devices, or any software broadly available to the public. A list of resources for developers is available at http://energy.gov/developer-resources. May 15 is the last day to submit an app design. Following the close of submissions, an internal review and public vote will take place from May 17 to May 21. The winners will be announced on May 22.Winners will receive cash prizes that in total equate to $100,000. The team that develops the best overall application will win $30,000.  The second place team will win $15,000, and the third will win $7,500. There are also cash prizes available for the best apps built entirely by students, and for the apps that receive the most votes on appsforenergy.challenge.gov during the public contest.A diverse panel will evaluate the apps. The panel includes: Patricia Hoffman, Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Energy Department; Karen Austin, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Sharelynn Moore, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Itron, Inc.; Bill Reichert and Guy Kawasaki, Managing Directors, Garage Technology Ventures; and Aaron Shapiro, Chief Executive Officer, HUGE, Inc.

Learn more detail about the “Apps for Energy” competition and see the full list of rules HERE.

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Energy Department Announces up to $15 Million to Research Biomass-Based Supplements for Traditional Fuels

Energy Department Announces up to $15 Million to Research Biomass-Based Supplements for Traditional Fuels | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersOperations OfficesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Energy Department Announces up to $15 Million to Research Biomass-Based Supplements for Traditional Fuels April 6, 2012 - 10:16am Addthis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of President Obama’s blueprint for an economy fueled by homegrown and alternative energy sources, the Energy Department announced today up to $15 million available to demonstrate biomass-based oil supplements that can be blended with petroleum, helping the U.S. to  reduce foreign oil use, diversify the nation’s energy portfolio, and create jobs for American workers.  Known as “bio-oils,” these precursors for fully renewable transportation fuels could be integrated into the oil refining processes that make conventional gasoline, diesel and jet fuels without requiring modifications to existing fuel distribution networks or engines.

“The Energy Department’s investments to develop renewable transportation fuels are a key part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to develop America’s domestic energy resources and reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Driving innovation through targeted investments helps to speed development of next-generation biofuels made in America, biofuels that will help to protect American families and businesses from the ups and downs of the global oil market.”

The Department expects to fully fund between five to ten projects in fiscal year 2012 to produce bio-oil prototypes that can be tested in oil refineries and used to develop comprehensive technical and economic analyses of how bio-oils could work.  The proto-type bio-oils will be produced from a range of feedstocks that could include algae, corn and wheat stovers, dedicated energy crops or wood residues.  Domestic industry, universities and laboratories are all eligible to apply.

The results of the projects will inform future efforts directed at advancing bio-oil technologies and bringing these renewable fuels to market. A description of the funding opportunity, eligibility requirements, and application instructions can be found on the Funding Opportunity Exchange website under Reference Number DE-FOA-0000686.

The Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) accelerates development and facilitates deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions that strengthen U.S. energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality. Learn more about EERE’s work with industry, academia, and National Laboratory partners on a balanced portfolio of research in biomass feedstocks and conversion technologies. 

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Obama Administration and Great Lakes States Announce Agreement to Spur Development of Offshore Wind Projects

Washington, D.C. – As part of President Obama’s all of the above approach to energy, the Obama Administration today joined with the governors of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will streamline the efficient and responsible development of offshore wind resources in the Great Lakes.  This effort underscores the President’s commitment to American made energy, increasing energy independence, and creating jobs.

“President Obama is focused on leveraging American energy sources, including increased oil and gas production, the safe development of nuclear power, as well as renewable energy from sources like wind and solar, which is on track to double in the President’s first term,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  “This agreement among Federal agencies and Great Lakes states is a smart, practical way to encourage the development of homegrown energy that will create jobs, power homes, and help increase our nation’s energy security.”

 “As the President has made clear, an American economy that lasts is one built on American energy, designed and produced by American workers,” said Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman.  “This effort will allow us to tap into our abundant offshore resources, enhancing our energy security through an all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy.”

The MOU will enhance collaboration between Federal and State agencies to speed review of proposed offshore wind projects.  Specifically, Federal and State agencies will develop an action plan that sets priorities and recommends steps for achieving efficient and responsible evaluation of proposed offshore wind power projects in the Great Lakes region.

Unlocking the Great Lakes’ offshore wind energy resources could yield tremendous economic and environmental benefits throughout the region, and has the potential to produce more than 700 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind, about one fifth of the total offshore wind potential in the U.S.  The development of even a small portion of the area’s offshore wind potential could create tens of thousands of clean energy jobs and generate revenue for local businesses.  These efforts are in line with the steps the Administration has taken to increase domestic energy production, including increased production of our nation’s oil and natural gas resources – with domestic oil production higher than any time in the last eight years and natural gas at an all-time high.  The Administration is also supporting the construction of the first nuclear power plant in 30 years, and today’s announcement builds on the extensive effort by the Administration to increase energy from renewable sources like wind and solar, which will double by the end of the President’s first term. 

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that each gigawatt of offshore wind installed could produce enough electricity to power 300,000 homes.  The efforts made possible by today’s agreement will also bolster existing investments in offshore wind technologies by promoting a consistent and predictable regulatory environment that inspires innovation and helps to bring clean energy solutions to market.

“In Illinois, we believe investing in clean energy projects and the development of wind resources helps promote economic development and create jobs, while reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources,” Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said.  “We are extremely pleased to collaborate with the U.S. DOE and our fellow Great Lakes states to harness the clean, natural power of our offshore wind.”

“Minnesota has been a leader in developing wind energy for nearly two decades.  We now have more than 2.7 thousand megawatts of wind projects online, and we rank fifth among the states for the most installed wind capacity,” said Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton.  “We look forward to sharing our expertise with other states and federal agencies, to learning from them, and to collaborating on the further development of offshore wind resources.”

“The Great Lakes have the potential to provide clean energy from offshore wind and related green jobs in upstate New York,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.  “This MOU offers a responsible mechanism for enhanced and efficient collaboration among federal, state and local interests in evaluating processes and proposals for development of this resource.”

“This agreement will enable states to work together to ensure that any proposed off-shore wind projects are reviewed in a consistent manner, and that the various state and federal agencies involved collaborate and coordinate their reviews,” said Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett.

To safely and responsibly develop offshore wind resources, Federal and State agencies – which share jurisdiction in the Great Lakes – must fully evaluate the potential social, environmental, safety and security impacts of projects.  The agreement signed today will enhance collaboration between Federal and State agencies to speed review of proposed offshore wind projects and accelerate the development of clean, American energy from offshore wind energy resources in the Great Lakes region.  Under the MOU, Federal and State agencies will develop an action plan that sets priorities and recommends steps for achieving efficient and responsible evaluation of proposed offshore wind power projects in the Great Lakes region.

The following participants have signed the MOU:

State of Illinois

State of Michigan

State of Minnesota

State of New York

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

White House Council on Environmental Quality

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of the Army

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

U.S. Coast Guard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Aviation Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A fact sheet can be found HERE, and the MOU can be read in full HERE.

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Energy Department Nominees Confirmed by U.S. Senate

Energy Department Nominees Confirmed by U.S. Senate | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersOperations OfficesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Energy Department Nominees Confirmed by U.S. Senate March 29, 2012 - 7:55pm Addthis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Energy Department is pleased to announce that four nominees to key Departmental positions have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The individuals confirmed today include:

David Danielson, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Dr. David Danielson has been a Program Director at the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) since 2009. Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Danielson was a clean energy venture capitalist at General Catalyst Partners, a Boston-based venture capital fund. He co-founded the firm's clean energy investment practice and helped build and grow startups in various clean energy technology areas including solar power, wind power, advanced biofuels, bio-gas, carbon capture and storage, and advanced lighting. Dr. Danielson is a co-founder of the New England Clean Energy Council. He has authored more than 20 scientific articles in the field of advanced materials. While at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dr. Danielson was the founder and President of the MIT Energy Club, and was a founding Director of the MIT Energy Conference. For his work in building a strong multidisciplinary energy community at MIT, he was awarded the Karl Taylor Compton Prize, MIT's highest student award. Dr. Danielson holds a B.S., summa cum laude, in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dot Harris, Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact

Dot Harris is currently President and CEO of Jabo Industries, LLC, a minority-woman owned management consulting firm concentrated primarily in the energy, information technology and healthcare industries. Previously, Ms. Harris was an executive at General Electric Company (GE) and held a number of leadership positions in GE's Energy and Industrial Systems businesses, including Global Marketing Leader for GE's Industrial Services business. Before joining GE, Ms. Harris was an officer and Vice President of Operations & Production for ABB Service, Inc. She also spent twelve years as Field Services Engineer and Services Manager with Westinghouse Electric Company. Ms. Harris currently serves as the National Secretary for the American Association of Blacks in Energy. She holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC and a M.S. in Technology Management from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, GA.

Charles McConnell, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy

Charles McConnell is the Chief Operating Officer in the Office of Fossil Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Prior to joining DOE in 2011, Mr. McConnell served as Vice President of Carbon Management at Battelle Energy Technology from 2009-2011, with responsibility for business and technology management. He previously spent 31 years with Praxair, Inc., in various positions in the U.S. and Asia, including as Global Vice President. Mr. McConnell has held a number of advisory positions including chairmanships of the Gasification Technologies Council and the Clean Coal Technology Foundation of Texas. He has served on the FutureGen Advisory Board in Texas, the Gulf Coast Carbon Center, T&P Syngas Company, the Pittsburgh Coal Conference and the Coal Utilization Research Council. Mr. McConnell holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Cleveland State University.

Gregory H. Woods, General Counsel

Gregory H. Woods is currently the Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation. From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Woods was a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, New York. He was an associate at the firm from 1998 to 2004. Mr. Woods was a member of the firm's corporate finance and Latin American practice groups and a member of the firm's hiring and diversity committees. From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Woods was a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he litigated fraud cases. Mr. Woods currently serves on the board of the Union Settlement Association in New York, which provides social services in East Harlem, and the Board of Trustees of Williams College. Mr. Woods holds a B.A. from Williams College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

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Energy Department, Volvo Partnership Builds More Efficient Trucks and Manufacturing Plants

Energy Department, Volvo Partnership Builds More Efficient Trucks and Manufacturing Plants | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov

Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersOperations OfficesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Energy Department, Volvo Partnership Builds More Efficient Trucks and Manufacturing Plants January 27, 2012 - 3:00pm Addthis

Washington, D.C. –Today, Acting Under Secretary of Energy Arun Majumdar joined with North Carolina Congressman Howard Coble (NC-6) to tour the Volvo Group’s truck headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, and highlight the blueprint for an America built to last laid out by President Obama in his State of the Union address earlier this week. The Department of Energy is partnering with companies like the Volvo Group to help harness American ingenuity to commercialize and deploy cutting-edge trucking technologies that will help boost the competitiveness of the U.S. auto and manufacturing industry, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create jobs for American workers.

“Earlier this week in his State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a blueprint for a stronger American economy based on a resurgence in American manufacturing and innovations in the way we use energy,” said Dr. Majumdar. “Companies like the Volvo Group that are pursuing energy efficiency in their operations, putting Americans to work, and building more fuel-efficient vehicles underscore how investments in clean energy technology are helping to secure America’s future economic prosperity.”

In partnership with the Energy Department, the Volvo Group is helping to lead the industry to advance innovative clean energy vehicle technologies and energy-efficient manufacturing. Through the Department’s SuperTruck program, the Volvo Group was awarded $19 million – which the company is matching dollar for dollar – to improve the efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles like the Mack and Volvo Trucks. Volvo Group has also embraced manufacturing efficiency as part of the DOE’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Program, pledging to reduce the energy intensity of its manufacturing plants with assistance and guidance from the Energy Department. These steps to become more energy-efficient will reduce operating costs at the facility, improving the competitiveness of the company’s products and manufacturing plants.

Dr. Majumdar and Congressman Coble were hosted by Dennis Slagle, Executive Vice President of Volvo Group Trucks Sales & Marketing - Americas, on the tour of the Volvo Group’s Technical Center, which is in the midst of an $8 million expansion.

The Volvo Group’s award was one of four Energy Department-sponsored SuperTruck development projects, which focus on increasing the fuel efficiency of Class 8 trucks – better known as 18-wheelers – by 50 percent.  To achieve this goal, companies like the Volvo Group are developing and improving vehicle technologies in engine efficiency, aerodynamics, waste heat recovery,  and hybridization, among other approaches.  Through the SuperTruck program, the Energy Department expects fuel economy increases from 6.5 miles per gallon to 9.75 miles per gallon – saving long-haul truckers more than $15,000 per truck per year in fuel costs.

Class 8 trucks represent only 4 percent of the on-road vehicles in America, but are responsible for almost 20 percent of the country’s on-road fuel consumption.  Implementation of SuperTruck technologies will not only lessen the nation’s dependence on petroleum, but also improve the global competitiveness of U.S. truck manufacturers.

While Volvo is building more efficient vehicles, the company is also improving the energy efficiency of the manufacturing plants that make them. In December 2009, the company joined the Department of Energy’s Save Energy Now LEADER initiative, now known as the Better Buildings, Better Plants Program, to begin an ambitious effort to significantly reduce the energy intensity of its operations as a way to increase competitiveness. Since then, Volvo’s New River Valley plant, located in Dublin, Virginia, has implemented a range of measures with guidance from the Department’s technical experts that reduced its energy intensity by almost 30 percent in just one year. Embracing energy efficiency measures helped Volvo cut costs and keep operations—and jobs—for its truck manufacturing business here in the United States.

Volvo Truck Corporation is one of the leading heavy truck and engine manufacturers in the world. Volvo Trucks manufactures a line of Class 8 trucks, and is known as a major innovator in the heavy-vehicle industry, selling products in more than 180 markets worldwide.

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