In what comes as a surprising move, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner announced his resignation from the Department of Energy on Wednesday. Karsner’s resignation came on the same day as news that Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to extend funding for renewable energy tax credits for the fourth time this summer. It is still unclear if there is any relationship between the two events.

While Karsner has not given any reason for the resignation, the underlying point is that he resigned from a one-of -a-kind job at a time when there is major political discord about how the U.S. should be moving forward with its energy policy. Perhaps Mr. Karsner wanted to get off the U.S.S. Bush before it took him down with it?

In a statement released by the DOE, Karsner’s language was guarded and infused with the tone of possibility and potential, rather than one of accomplishment and success. Karsner said that he has full faith that the Nation has the “capacity” to lead the world to innovate, invest, and deploy efficient, clean, green, renewable, and secure energy. Karsner went on:

“With meaningful policy and leadership in place, the United States is now on track to be a global leader in clean energy technology development, deployment, and diffusion, transforming global challenges into economic opportunity. But it will take the sustained multigenerational collaborative efforts and leadership of policy makers, our entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, and commercial developers…” [emphasis added]

Karsner’s resignation will be effective August 31, 2008.

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Photo: whitehouse.gov