Renowned physicist Ernest Moniz, whom President Obama tapped last month to head the Department of Energy, has consulted for a private equity firm which invested heavily in the oil and gas sector, the Boston Globe reported Sunday.
Moniz, who directs the MIT Energy Initiative, has earned $75,000 since 2008 for advising a firm with $2.5 billion invested in fossil fuel production.
Moniz, a world renowned physicist whose selection to chart America’s energy future has been hailed by both energy companies and environmentalists, has come under scrutiny in recent days over his personal financial ties to some of the same oil and gas companies that have funded much of the MIT research — and over which he would have considerable regulatory authority if confirmed for the new energy post.
Accusations of potential conflicts of interest and questions about MIT’s academic integrity have centered on an influential and bullish study on natural gas that Moniz oversaw in 2011 that also included several coauthors with lucrative ties to the natural gas industry.
As the Globe reported, Moniz has additional financial ties to the energy industry. His Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for April 9.
