Energy Secretary Steven Chu may face questions on the necessity of his agency's 92 renewable energy initiatives when he testifies before a Senate panel tomorrow on the Department of Energy's fiscal 2013 budget.

The Government Accountability Office released a report yesterday detailing the almost 700 federal initiatives that focused on renewable energies in fiscal 2010. DOE ranked third in number of programs, behind the departments of Defense and Agriculture (Greenwire, March 13).

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) requested the report as chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Collins said in an interview today that she hadn't yet read the report in detail, but she predicted it would come up when Chu testifies tomorrow before the Senate Appropriations Committee's panel on energy and water funding.

"It raises questions about duplication, about whether too many of the programs have conflicting goals and whether we need to do some consolidation," said Collins, who sits on the appropriations subpanel. "I expect when Secretary Chu comes before the appropriations committee that we'll raise the issue with him."

But lawmakers may need a few days to absorb the 174-page report, which goes into detail on programs at 23 agencies and their 130 subagencies. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who heads the appropriations energy subpanel, said today that she hadn't yet seen it.

The report doesn't take a position on whether any of the renewable energy initiatives are wasteful or redundant. Instead, GAO analysts created an inventory that lawmakers can use in determining whether some efforts can be consolidated.

Reporter Jean Chemnick contributed.