Office of Inspector General audit report on the US Department of Energy`s large-scale demonstration and deployment projects

The Department of Energy has about 7,000 surplus buildings that will eventually require deactivation and decommissioning (D and D). The estimated cost of D and D for the Department`s surplus facilities is over $11 billion with an additional $20 billion to stabilize, deactivate and decommission facilities which are currently active. The Office of Environmental Management is responsible for assuring that adequate technologies are available to address these D and D needs. Through the development and widespread deployment of new technologies, the Department has established a goal of reducing D and D costs by approximately $1 billion by 2006. Environmental Management uses Large-Scale Demonstration and Deployment Projects to identify and promote deployment of improved technologies throughout the Department. These projects are intended to provide an opportunity to compare the cost and performance of new or improved technologies against established technologies. To date, the projects have demonstrated many technologies which offer cost and performance improvements over established technologies. Environmental Management uses a concept of Integrating Contractor Teams to manage each project. The objective of the audit was to determine if opportunities exist to increase D and D technology deployments within the Department and to reduce the cost of managing technology demonstration projects