Resignation of Energy Secretary Steven Chu Is “Most Welcome”

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 1, 2013 — Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu announced Friday he will resign his post, effective at the end of this month.

Myron Ebell, Director of the Center for Energy and the Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, had the following to say about Chu’s time in office and resignation:

“Dr. Steven Chu’s resignation as Secretary of Energy is most welcome. He won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 for developing methods to cool and trap atoms using laser light. But his involvement in energy issues was not that of a professional in the field but rather was based on an amateur’s enthusiasm for new renewable energy technologies.

“In addition, he supported cap-and-trade legislation and other energy-rationing policies that would raise energy prices for consumers and manufacturers significantly with no discernible benefit. He oversaw the distribution of $35 billion in stimulus funds, much of which was wasted on deadbeat companies such as Solyndra. He wanted to raise gasoline prices to European levels—$8 or $9 per gallon. Thankfully, he was comically ineffective. We would be in much worse shape if he’d been able to get his way.”