October 21, 2019
BY Erin Krueger
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Oct. 17 announced plans to resign from his post, effective later this year. The White House has not yet announced a nominee to replace Perry following his departure.
President Trump nominated Perry to serve as energy secretary in December 2016. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 62 to 37 in March 2017.
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In a letter to Trump announcing his planned resignation, Perry called the opportunity to serve as energy secretary “an extreme honor.”
“The work being done across the Department of Energy and throughout our national labs to develop more abundant, less expensive and cleaner energy is world-class,” Perry wrote. “From reviving our commercial nuclear energy industry to producing historic levels of domestic oil and gas and renewable energy, America has seen a remarkable turnaround in our energy industry.”
Perry also addressed DOE’s work to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “An important part of the American energy story is what we are doing with science and technology to make our air cleaner,” he said. “Greenhouse gas emissions have fallen dramatically, with remissions from the electric power sector at their lowest levels since 1987. During the same time, energy-related carbon emissions fell at an even greater pace. This was achieved through American innovation.
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“Now more than ever, I believe strongly in the mission of the Department of Energy,” Perry continued. “The people across the enterprise have a sincere commitment to this country. I feel comfortable that the Department is well prepared to continue this mission with new leadership at the helm.”
The U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced up to $23 million in funding to support research and development (R&D) of domestic chemicals and fuels from biomass and waste resources.
The U.S. DOE has announced its intent to issue funding to support high-impact research and development (R&D) projects in two priority areas: sustainable propane and renewable chemicals and algal system cultivation and preprocessing.
Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., in August introduced the Renewable Chemicals Act, a bill that aims to create a tax credit to support the production of biobased chemicals.
The Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium, a consortium of the U.S. DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, has launched an effort that aims to gather community input on the development of new biomass processing facilities.
USDA on March 8 celebrated the second annual National Biobased Products Day, a celebration to raise public awareness of biobased products, their benefits and their contributions to the U.S. economy and rural communities.