Department of Energy News 
Top News
- 5 percent of federal workers to be furloughed Friday
- Congress pressures agencies to speed up office consolidations
- Katherine Archuleta chosen as next OPM director
- Data breach puts DHS workers at risk of identity theft
- DoD chooses interoperability over integration for new e-health record system
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB fuels synergy between mobile, open data
- IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'
- Accountability breakdown leading factor in DoD sexual assaults
- OMB reworking financial system requirements
- Federal retirement funds temporarily tapped
- VanRoekel to lead OMB management team
- Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal finalists
- Thursday federal headlines - May 23, 2013
Cool Roofs Initiative helps agencies achieve energy-saving goals
Agencies are installing white, reflective roofs, solar panels and plant-filled green roofs to cut down on energy costs and save taxpayers money. This is all in response to President Barack Obama's executive order requiring agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency.
Energy official lacks authority to manage electric grid cybersecurity
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said he needs congressional approval to manage cybersecurity on the electric grid.
NARA claims progress against backlog of classified papers
Ninety percent of backlogged papers have been assessed and sent to agencies for review, but unexpected problems may cause government to miss 2013 deadline to clear the backlog.
Report says warnings ignored in Solyndra loan
Republicans investigating the government's investment in a bankrupt solar panel manufacturer have concluded that the Obama administration ignored numerous red flags about the company's financial viability, leaving taxpayers on the hook for more than $500 million.
Panel: Budget preparation best practices
Panelists are former Energy CFO Owen Barwell and Treasury Department's Nani Coloretti.
DoE forges ahead in green trend
DoE has implemented changes to improve its energy sustainability efforts in support of greenhouse gas reduction goals.
USDA, DoE, Navy kick starting biofuel development
The agencies are making $30 million available for companies to investigate the possibilities for creating military biofuels. The projects could help achieve the President's energy goals, military energy security and rural economic improvement.
CHCO recommends employee-sharing as budget salve
Managers should consider allowing employees to solve problems in other parts of government. Doing so is an effective way for agencies to improve workers' skillsets and maximize resources, said retiring Energy Department HR chief Mike Kane.
Energy gets new CIO, loses CHCO to retirement
Secretary Steven Chu announced several leadership changes, including naming Robert Brese as the department's new chief information officer.
Man charged with hacking into Energy Department networks
After breaking into the network, the man allegedly tried to sell access to DoE for $50,000.
Agencies sitting on $70B in unspent funds, report finds
A congressional report released today outlines $70 billion of unspent federal dollars that could have helped disaster victims, spurred highway construction and fund education programs.
Energy in focus: The future of power plants and the energy debate in Congress
On this week's Capital Impact show, energy analysts Rob Barnett and Richard Heidorn discuss the future of nuclear power. Plus, the latest on the congressional energy debate with Loren Duggan and Derek Wallbank.
Army IT agency head departs for Energy
Donald Adcock, who served from 2010 until this month as the executive director of the Army Information Technology Agency, has left the Pentagon to become the associate CIO for IT services at the Department of Energy.
EXCLUSIVE: Energy CIO Locatis heads to DHS
Mike Locatis will become the new assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate. He replaces Greg Schaffer who left in March.
White House aims to improve energy security for DoD
The White House announced several initiatives to improve energy security for the military.
Energy app contest to help turn electric bill into energy-saving guide
The energy department announced a new "challenge" for software developers: Create new applications allowing people to download data detailing how — and how much — they use energy. The Apps for Energy contest, which offers $100,000 in prizes to winning developers, is part of the Green Button Initiative.
White House, agencies commit $200M to solving 'big data' quandary
Federal technology leaders unveiled an initiative to develop better ways of harnessing the rapidly growing volume of increasingly complicated data sets, known as big data. The push is led by a joint solicitation — from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health — to develop the core technologies for reigning in big data. All told, six federal departments and agencies will take part in the program — committing more than $200 million in research-and-development investments.
Three agencies fall short in assessing IT supply chain risks
Gregory Wilshusen, GSA's director of information security issue, discussed a recent report about IT supply chain risks with The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp
Lawmakers push DoD, Energy for answers on IT supply chain security
Two GAO reports find agencies lack oversight and controls over ensuring vendors buy the components for hardware and software from trusted sources. DoD is ahead of most agencies. It is using intelligence expertise to secure the supply chain of national security systems.
Bill will propose combining Energy, EPA into one agency
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is introducing legislation this week to consolidate the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency into a single agency.
