May 27, 2009
conservation as critical to the Nation's economic vitality; its goal of reducing dependence on foreign energy sources; and, related efforts to improve the environment. The Act highlights the significant use of various forms of energy in the Federal sector and promotes efforts to improve the energy efficiency of Federal operations. One specific area of interest is the increasing demand for Federal sector computing resources and the corresponding increase in energy use, with both cost and environmental implications. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that, without aggressive conservation measures, data center energy consumption alone is expected to double over the next five years. In our report on Management of the Department's Data Centers at Contractor Sites (DOE/IG-0803, October 2008) we concluded that the Department of Energy had not always improved the efficiency of its contractor data centers even when such modifications were possible and practical.
The Department of Energy and its facility contractors are major players in this process. U.S. taxpayers invest more than $2 billion annually in Department information technology resources, including devices that consume significant amounts of electricity. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, required the Department and all other Federal agencies to improve energy efficiency and to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2008, to help achieve these goals, the Department issued operating guidance requiring the adoption and implementation of a number of information technology-related environmental stewardship practices, including enabling power management features on computers and peripherals.
Because of significant cost, energy and environmental impacts, we initiated this audit to determine whether the Department managed information technology resources in an energy-efficient and environmentally responsible manner.
Office of Inspector General
