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Scientists applied a simple approach for growing hBN films on the surface of ubiquitous steels and other metal alloys to “armor” them and thus increase their capabilities. Credit: Adam Malin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hexagonal boron nitride coatings on metal alloys enhance durability, reduce friction, and protect against harsh conditions, paving the way for improvements in solar panels, semiconductors, and aerospace components. Researchers demonstrated that stainless steel and other metal alloys coated with hexagonal boron nitride, or hBN, exhibit non-stick or low-friction qualities along with improved long-term protection against harsh corrosion and high-temperature oxidation in air. Metal alloys —...

When Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm set out on a four-day electric-vehicle road trip this summer, she knew charging might be a challenge. But she probably didn't expect anyone to call the cops. Granholm's trip through the southeast, from Charlotte, N.C., to Memphis, Tenn., was intended to draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars. The administration's ambitious energy agenda, if successful, could significantly cut U.S. emissions and reshape Americans' lives in fundamental ways, including by putting many more people in electric vehicles. Granholm approaches a charging station to charge...

HOUSTON, Texas — The world will need fossil fuels for decades but they must be paired with technologies that capture their greenhouse gas emissions, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday. The Biden administration wants the U.S. to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 to help limit global warming. It is seeking to displace oil, gas, and coal with renewable energy and electric technologies, but forecasts, including those by the Energy Information Administration, indicate prolonged demand for traditional energy sources. "We know that even the boldest projections for clean energy deployment suggest that, in the middle of this century, we’ll be using...

ONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Authorities investigated a reported suspicious package Wednesday at the entrance of the U.S. Department of Energy Campus (DOE) on Germantown Road in Montgomery County. A FedEx truck was being searched. Montgomery County Police Department said the county's emergency communications department received a call around 11:15 a.m. reporting the possibility of a suspicious package inside of a delivery truckThe Montgomery County Fire and Rescue (MCFRS) Fire and Explosive Investigations Unit responded to the scene assisting police and the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct a search of the truck, police said. Germantown Road is closed between...

It seems President Joe Biden made history last month: That's when Sam Brinton announced the administration had hired them as deputy assistant secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition in the office of nuclear energy for the Department of Energy.Brinton, like many of the people quoted in this article, uses the pronouns they and them, and may be the first openly gender-fluid person in federal government leadership — as they noted on LinkedIn upon accepting the role.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry says he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming, a statement at odds with mainstream scientific consensus but in line with the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Perry was asked Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” whether carbon emissions are primarily responsible for climate change and said no. He added that “the most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in.” …

PIKETON, Ohio (WSAZ) -- The Department of Energy has announced they are ending the American Centrifuge Test Demonstration and Operation contract at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, according to an Ohio Congressman. This announcement comes after 235 workers at the plant received WARN notices earlier this week saying they may be out of a job in 60 days. At that time, Centrus Energy, which operates the facility, said the contract was set to expire on September 30, and they were hopeful to get funds to continue the cleanup project. The Portsmouth Daily Times reports an email from...

Remember this moment from two weeks ago? Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) challenged Energy Secretary Steven Chu to assign himself a grade specifically on his stewardship of Department of Energy resources in relation to the 2009 stimulus funds granted for the Loan Guarantee Program. After Broun recites a litany of failures in the LGP, Chu insists that he's done very well -- and gives himself an A-minus:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO As it turns out, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has another grade entirely for the LGP, the DoE, and ultimately Energy Secretary Steven Chu. In the report released this...

Stop me if this sounds familiar. The Department of Energy approves multi-million-dollar loan to green-tech energy firm as part of its job-stimulus bill, only instead of stimulating jobs, the company declares bankruptcy. In this case, it only took a year after the loan was granted for Beacon Power to file for protection from its creditors: Beacon Power Corp filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, just a year after the energy storage company received a $43 million loan guarantee from a controversial Department of Energy program.The bankruptcy comes about two months after Solyndra — a solar panel maker with a $535 million...

A September item from "Coach is Right" blog, just making news in the "legacy media!" Just when you thought crony handouts of taxpayer millions couldn’t get much worse than the White House managed Solyndra debacle, along comes the story of global warming shyster Al Gore and fledgling, plug-in hybrid car maker Fisker Automotive, Inc. In 2009, Gore happened to be at an event hosted by the California venture capital firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers. Of course, Al happened to be there because he is a PARTNER in the firm. Well low and behold, Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker just...

The controversial Energy Department loan program that backed a now-bankrupt solar panel maker could nearly double in size by the month's end. The Department of Energy has until Sept. 30 to give 14 companies final approval for loan guarantees totaling over $9 billion. So far the Energy Department has already backed over $10 billion in loans to 18 companies, including a $535 million loan to Solyndra, the solar panel maker that went bankrupt and is now the subject of congressional and FBI investigations. The high-profile bankruptcy is causing some to question whether the rest of the loan guarantees should be...

The Energy Department (DOE) is not backing down in its efforts to support clean energy companies, despite a Republican push to pummel the Obama administration for approving a $535 million loan guarantee to a now-bankrupt solar firm. The department could approve as many as 15 renewable energy loan guarantees by the end of the month when a program launched under the stimulus law ends. The approvals could open up the Obama administration to more criticism from Republicans, who have raised broad concerns about the administration’s investments in clean energy in the aftermath of the bankruptcy of California-based Solyndra. The 2009...

Last week, the Obama administration’s Department of Energy announced it is extending an $852 million loan guarantee to something called the Genesis Solar Project in California. Genesis, according to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, will be built on federal land and ultimately employ perhaps 800 people during its construction and 47 people once it is up and running. This would seem to be a lot of money to generate very few jobs at a time when the nation is on the verge of bankruptcy, but the project really isn’t about jobs. It’s the latest in the administration’s attempt to turn us...

Crony capitalism is alive and well in Barack Obama's Washington. Business for lobbyists on K Street is booming as never before. Green energy promoters are raking in our tax dollars, often for wasteful "investments ." Al Gore is certainly raking in the green. He is a global warming myth profiteer on a robber baron scale. Democratic sugar daddy George Soros, whose investments in the green energy industry amount to over one billion dollars and counting, has made parallel investments in bringing about Democratic dominance in Washington. Soros also has a friend in the Oval Office to help assure his investments...

Dr. Robert L. Brent has been studying environmental toxicology for nearly half a century. A distinguished professor at Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, he specializes in the effects of environmental factors like radiation, drugs and chemicals on the developing embryo and child. But Dr. Brent, who is also the head of a birth defects research laboratory at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., said he often found himself defending the safety of such environmental agents in the face of misinformation that ignites the fears of parents and causes confusion. Too often, Dr. Brent says, many...

<p>A U.S. Energy Department investigation into University of California mismanagement of the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico will widen to include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Bay Area, a federal official confirmed Friday.</p> <p>And, under mounting federal pressure, UC announced Friday it would reinstate two investigators who were fired after alerting officials of possible credit card misuse and $2.7 million in missing computers and other equipment at the Los Alamos lab.</p>