DOE’s Moniz to travel for energy review

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will travel to Illinois, North Dakota and New Mexico this month to gather input on energy infrastructure and transportation needs.

Moniz’s meetings with the public, local officials and lawmakers are part of the Obama administration’s effort to make recommendations on energy storage, distribution and transmission, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Tuesday.

{mosads}The federal government and the DOE undertake the review every four years.

Moniz’s Chicago visit will focus on energy transportation by rail, truck and barge, DOE said. It will including Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, White House science adviser John Holdren and Army Corps of Engineers head Jo-Ellen Darcy.

Moniz, Foxx and Holdren will then go to North Dakota to discuss infrastructure, along with the state’s congressional delegation. Moniz will also visit two natural gas plants in North Dakota.

To end the trip, Moniz will travel to New Mexico with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). After the meetings, he will visit the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a Carlsbad, N.M., federal facility for storage radioactive nuclear waste.