Arctic Energy Office (2020 Presidential transition)

Book 3 - Organization Overview
Entire 2020 DOE Transition book As of October 2020

With a direct report to the Under Secretary and a crosscutting mission, the Arctic Energy Office (AEO) aims to be nimble and move across the DOE complex, coordinating the numerous activities within the Department. Utilizing this structure, it can bring together Program Offices, National Labs and stakeholders to one single point in the Department.

Mission Statement

The Arctic Energy Office will lead cross-cutting operations in the Arctic with a mission to tackle the energy, science and national security challenges of the 21st Century. The office will act as a nexus for DOE activities and represent the Department in engagements involving the Arctic.

Budget

AEO is operating within the Office of Policy (OP) funding line until an approved budget is provided for the new office. OP provided approximately $100K to AEO in FY 2020, $450K of carryover dollars in FY 2021, and $250K in FY 2021 funds.

Human Resources

The office has hired three interim employees to stand up the office and identify qualified candidates for permanent staff. The Director is through an IPA with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, a Senior Advisor is on staff via a change of station coordinated with Los Alamos National Laboratory, and another Senior Advisor is part of AEO via detail from DOE International Affairs. To support coordination of the AEO’s initial stakeholder engagement and organizational development, an Advisor is on detail from Legislative and Government Affairs through February 2021.

History

The Secretary was granted the authority to establish the Arctic Energy Office, by the 2001 National Defense Authorization Act. Specifically, the language stated that “The Secretary shall locate such office at a university.” This language drove the selection of University of Alaska – Fairbanks as a partner university for AEO.

In the 2020 Senate Energy & Water Development (SEWD) Appropriations Bill report, under Crosscutting Initiatives, language is included to support the re-establishment of the Arctic Energy Office, including: “The Department is directed to support a renewed focus on the Arctic region, and as a cross-cutting activity, use the Arctic Energy Office as a centralized area to support the use of energy resources, but also innovative activities, including microgrids and integrated energy systems.”

The office was officially re-established on November 27th, 2019, by Secretary Perry, as committed to by Secretary Brouillette at his confirmation hearing, with a renewed focus on the Arctic region.

Functions

The office will have three primary areas of focus: Energy, Science, and National Security. While it will not provide funding opportunity announcements, it will coordinate and streamline existing research and deployment activities in the Arctic, including work by the Office of Science to measure solar radiation, work by Fossil Energy on modular gasification applications in challenging environments, work by the Office of Electricity on deployment of microgrid technologies in Alaska, and work by Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on next generation river power systems. The Office will build on this work to define a focused research agenda based on these activities

Additionally, the Office will engage and collaborate with other governmental agencies with equities in the Arctic region, including the Departments of Defense and State.

The geographic scope of the office is not limited to activities within the state of Alaska. AEO will also support our international engagement obligations, such as the Arctic Council, which interacts with the 7 other Arctic nations in the region

Recent Organization Accomplishments

Hired three interim employees over the course of the past six months; secured office space at University of Alaska-Fairbanks for AEO via GSA lease; launched new office and website in September 2020; coordinated 2020 Arctic Lab Partnerships (ALPs) virtual workshop to identify key arctic-relevant research needs; reviewed and updated document assessing arctic critical infrastructure; participated in monthly inter-agency Arctic Policy Working Group; coordinating AEO introductory meetings with DOE departments in preparation for launch of DOE-internal arctic working group; and initiated AEO introductory meetings with external organizations.

Leadership Challenges

As a new office within DOE, AEO currently has no consistent funding source within Congress for sustained and reliable funding levels. Bringing on permanent FTEs is a priority for the interim staff that the office is working on currently. AEO has a critical coordination role to play at DOE, ensuring that the above-mentioned challenges are addressed is vital to ensuring the success of AEO in coordinating Arctic functions at DOE.

Critical Events and Action Items

Continued and sustained funding from Congress will be needed. Additionally, Congressional allies will need to be expanded beyond the Alaska delegation by educating others on the impacts of Arctic research well outside of Alaska and the Arctic Circle.

Organizational Chart

Organizational Chart

Links

Internal

• Department of Energy
• Department of Energy: Transitions 2020-organization overviews table of contents
• Arctic Energy Office

External

Department of Energy

Department of Energy Offices

Arctic Energy Office