President Obama has announced that he will nominate Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist Dr. Ernest Moniz to head the U.S. Department of Energy.
This announcement comes after Energy Secretary Steven Chu stepped down from the top job at the DOE, citing a desire to return to academia at Stanford University.
Dr. Moniz the founding Director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), which aims “to link science, innovation and policy to help transform global energy systems.” Since its founding in 2006, the largest single area of research at MITEI has been solar power.
Photo Credit: MIT
But despite being on the MIT faculty since 1973, this wouldn’t be Dr. Moniz’ first foray into politics: he held the post of Undersecretary of Energy from 1997 to 2001, and was an Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 1995 to 1997.
While some environmentalists have expressed concern about Moniz’ enthusiasm for nuclear power and natural gas – for example, he served on the recent Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future – the national solar industry group welcomed the nomination.
“The DOE has been a critically important partner in the solar industry’s efforts to make solar technology more affordable and help break down barriers to solar deployment across the nation to establish America as a leader in clean energy,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“Dr. Moniz’s prior leadership at DOE and M.I.T. will be instrumental in promoting the innovation across the solar value chain to develop a strong clean energy economy.”
Dr. Moniz will likely be confirmed in this new role in the coming months.
