WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who won a Nobel Prize in physics but came under questioning for his handling of a solar energy loan, is stepping down.
Chu offered his resignation to President Barack Obama in a letter Friday. He said he will stay on at least until the end of February and may stay until a successor is confirmed.
...Potential replacements for Chu include former North Dakota Sen. Byron
Dorgan, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Washington
Gov. Christine Gregoire.Obama said in a statement Friday that Chu
brought a “unique understanding of both the urgent challenge presented
by climate change and the tremendous opportunity that clean energy
represents for our economy.”
During his tenure, Chu helped move
the country toward energy independence, Obama said, referring to
billions of dollars in Energy Department loans to boost renewable energy
such as wind and solar power.
“Thanks to Steve, we also expanded
support for our brightest engineers and entrepreneurs as they pursue
groundbreaking innovations that could transform our energy future,”
Obama said.
Chu, 64, a former director of the Lawrence Berkeley
National Lab in California, had little political experience before
taking the energy post in 2009....
Full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/energy-secretary-steven-chu-resigns
[Chu is a scientist but not bold enough to support, with a few of those billions, groundbreaking research and inventions (not just innovations in traditional alternatives) that could radically transform our energy future. He did not understand the politics and the economics of energy and Oil & NG Fracking revolution won! - Vlad]
