DOE NAMES TWO NEW FOSSIL ENERGY DEPUTIES

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
8/27/13

A top Lawrence Livermore National Lab official has been tapped as the Department of Energy’s new clean coal chief, acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Chris Smith announced today. Julio Friedmann, who most recently served as Livermore’s Chief Energy Technologist, will be DOE’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Clean Coal, Smith told FE employees during a town hall this afternoon. The position has been vacant since December, when Jim Wood stepped down in order to head up the technology development company ThermoEnergy Corp. Darren Mollot, director of FE’s Office of Clean Energy Systems, had been serving in the role in an acting capacity.

Smith also announced that American Gas Association Senior Vice President Paula Gant has been named Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas. “The Energy Department is fortunate to have attracted such qualified people with relevant industry and technical experience,” Smith said in a statement. “Their expertise and experience make them the right people in the right jobs, and I’m proud to have them as part of our Fossil Energy team.” Friedmann and Gant are the first two officials to be named to FE’s leadership team since Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz was confirmed by the Senate in May.