Effective risk management is essential for the success of large projects built and operated by the Department of Energy (DOE), particularly for the one-of-a-kind projects that characterize much of its mission. To enhance DOE s risk management efforts, the department asked the NRC to prepare a summary of the most effective practices used by leading owner organizations. The study s primary objective was to provide DOE project managers with a basic understanding of both the project owner s risk management role and effective oversight of those risk management activities delegated to contractors.

Since its inception in 1977, the Department of Energy has invested substantial sums in energy efficiency and fossil energy R&D. To monitor its effectiveness, the agency and Congress have, over the years, pursued evaluation of these R&D programs that focuses on its cost and benefits. Such evaluation, however, is difficult and must incorporate the full range of public benefits as well as what might happen if that R&D had not been funded by the federal government. To help address these challenges, and at the direction of Congress, DOE asked the NRC to develop a methodology for evaluating the prospective benefits of its fossil energy and energy efficiency R&D programs. Such methodology can be used to evaluate program management and funding decisions on an ongoing basis. This letter report provides an overview of the studies approach and how it differs from retrospective studies of this R&D previously carried out by the NRC. A final report is expected to be completed in February 2005.

The report that accompanied the House-approved Energy and Water Development Appropriations for FY2003 (H.Rept. 107-112) directed the National Research Council to evaluate the steps being taken by DOE to improve its facility and infrastructure management. Specifically, the NRC was to assess DOE s facilities and infrastructure management practices; identify or develop best practice tools for DOE property management; develop guidelines for deciding when to repair, renovate, or replace facilities; and define performance metrics. This interim letter report presents the NRC s preliminary assessment of DOE facility management policies and procedures and its current renewal activities. Seven broad-based attributes that characterize the quality of an organization s facility management policies and practices were applied by the study committee in developing this assessment.

In 1997, Congress, in the conference report, H.R. 105-271, to the FY1998 Energy and Water Development Appropriation Bill, directed the NRC to carry out a series of assessments of project management at the Department of Energy (DOE). This report, the 2003 Assessment, is the final one in that series. It presents an examination of DOE's progress in improving program management over the past three years including the Department's response to the recommendations of the previous assessments in this series. In addition to assessing DOE s progress, the report also describes opportunities for further improvement and gives a prognosis for future developments.

The announcement of a hydrogen fuel initiative in the President s 2003 State of the Union speech substantially increased interest in the potential for hydrogen to play a major role in the nation s long-term energy future. Prior to that event, DOE asked the National Research Council to examine key technical issues about the hydrogen economy to assist in the development of its hydrogen R&D program. Included in the assessment were the current state of technology; future cost estimates; CO2 emissions; distribution, storage, and end use considerations; and the DOE RD&D program. The report provides an assessment of hydrogen as a fuel in the nation s future energy economy and describes a number of important challenges that must be overcome if it is to make a major energy contribution. Topics covered include the hydrogen end-use technologies, transportation, hydrogen production technologies, and transition issues for hydrogen in vehicles.