About the Office of Fossil Energy

Charles D. McConnell Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy

Charles D. McConnell is Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy with responsibilities for office operations and managing the oversight of Fossil Energy's Research and Development program (encompassing coal, oil and natural gas) and the U.S. Petroleum Reserves. Prior to joining DOE, Mr. McConnell served as Vice President of Carbon Management at Battelle Energy Technology. He also spent 31 years with Praxair, Inc., in various positions in the U.S. and Asia, including Global Vice President. Mr. McConnell has held a number of advisory positions, including chairmanships of the Gasification Technologies Council and the Clean Coal Technology Foundation of Texas.  Mr. McConnell holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Cleveland State University.

The Office of Fossil Energy in Brief

The Energy Department's Fossil Energy organization is made up of about 1,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and administrative staff. Its headquarters offices are in downtown Washington, DC, and in Germantown, Maryland. The organization also includes the National Energy Technology Laboratory with offices in Morgantown, WV, Pittsburgh, PA, Sugar Land, TX, Albany, OR, and Fairbanks, AK; the Strategic Petroleum Reserve based in New Orleans, LA; and the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center in Casper, Wyoming.

The Office of Fossil Energy is responsible for several high-priority initiatives including implementation of the $2 billion, 10-year Clean Coal Power Initiative to develop a new generation of environmentally sound clean coal technologies, the Fossil Energy elements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, both key emergency response tools available to the President to protect Americans from energy supply disruptions. 

           > Fossil Energy Program Fact Sheets [592KB PDF]
           > Benefits of Fossil Energy Research & Development [532KB PDF]
           > Clean Coal Technology: From Research to Reality [1.5MB PDF]
           > NETL Technology Support Facility Dedication, August 14, 2008 [978KB PDF]