Obama’s Energy Secretary Choice, Steve Chu, Key Contributor to Council’s 100 Day Energy Action Plan

WASHINGTON—The Council on Competitiveness is honored that Steve Chu, a member of the Council’s Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability Initiative (ESIS) Steering Committee, is President–elect Barack Obama’s choice for secretary of energy. Chu’s selection marks the first time that a national laboratory director has been named to this key post.

“Steve served on the steering committee that drafted Prioritize, the Council’s 100 Day Energy Action Plan for the new administration,” said Council President Deborah L. Wince-Smith, “we’re excited that he has an energy roadmap to bring to his office that he helped develop.”

Andy Karsner, distinguished fellow at the Council on Competitiveness and former assistant secretary of energy, agrees that Chu is an outstanding choice, “To say Steve is an excellent choice does not capture how extraordinary the selection actually is," said Karsner. “He is a uniquely qualified and globally renowned energy visionary who has the capacity to guide the Department of Energy (DOE) through a new and impactful era.”

The Council on Competitiveness—representing national leaders from business, labor and academia—receives critical input from its key leaders who represent America’s network of national laboratories and has benefitted from the strong support of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The Council has consistently highlighted the fact that a strategic partnership between DOE and America’s national laboratories and universities is the key to achieving real impact on the national energy agenda.

Through the leadership of the Council’s Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability (ESIS) Initiative, the Council’s work has raised national awareness about the economic dimensions and environmental impact of an energy revolution. The ESIS Initiative has published four major documents, Prioritize, Discover, Define and Provoke, which are the result of active collaboration from America’s top leaders on the energy issue.