ASERTTI News
ASERTTI Fall Meeting
Summary
ASERTTI held our fall 2009 meeting, Exploring
California's Energy Strategies, from October 5-7,
2009 in Palo Alto, California. Hosted by the
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the
California Energy Commission (CEC), this year's fall
meeting included presentations on the California
Climate Change Strategy and several discussion
panels covering such topics as energy efficiency,
renewable energy, smart grid and nuclear energy.
Please
click here to link to the meeting presentations,
now available on the ASERTTI website. ASERTTI also
elected the new Executive Committee as follows:
- Chair, Frank Murray, New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority
- Vice Chair and Treasurer, Jake Fey,
Washington State University - Cooperative
Extension Energy Program
- Vice Chair of RDD&D, Ken Koyama, California
Energy Commission
- Secretary, John Cuttica, University of
Illinois at Chicago Energy Resources Center
- Past Chair, Susan Stratton, Energy Center of
Wisconsin
Senators Kerry and Graham
– Yes We Can (Pass Climate Change Legislation)
In a recent joint op-ed, Senators John Kerry
(D-MA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) described their
motivation to pass a bipartisan climate change bill
as soon as possible – outlining their framework for
climate legislation to pass Congress and the
blueprint for a clean-energy future that will
revitalize the economy, protect current jobs and
create new ones, safeguard national security and
reduce pollution. Both senators, as military
veterans, agree that American energy dependence and
climate change are factors of national security that
can no longer be ignored or marginalized. Increased
government support for wind and solar, onshore and
offshore oil and gas exploration, clean coal, as
well as nuclear power will be coupled with energy
cost easing measures and job protection methods to
spur growth at every opportunity.
Senators Kerry and Graham also described a
"border tax on items produced in countries that
avoid these standards," which is consistent with our
obligations under the World Trade Organization, to
encourage international action on this global issue,
With bipartisan support, a comprehensive energy,
national security and climate change bill will
reshape the American energy sector and reestablish
the U.S. as a world leader in this sector. Please
click here to link directly to the New York
Times article.
U.S. Representative Gabrielle
Giffords' Solar Roadmap Act Approved by Science and
Technology Committee
U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords' Solar
Technology Roadmap Act is on its way to the full
House after earning strong bipartisan support today
from her colleagues on the Science and Technology
Committee. Giffords' legislation would require the
U.S. Department of Energy to appoint a group of
experts to create a long-term plan to guide solar
energy research and its transition into commercial
uses. The bill also authorizes $2.25 billion for
solar research over the next five years. Please
click here for more information abut the Solar
Technology Roadmap Act.
DOE Announces Up to $55
Million in Funding to Develop Advanced Carbon
Capture Technology at Existing Coal-Fired Power
Plants
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that
$55 million will be made available to develop
advanced technologies that can capture carbon
dioxide from flue gases at existing power plants so
that the greenhouse gas may be sequestered or put to
beneficial use. The funding announced is a direct
investment in carbon capture and storage related
technologies that will support the Obama
Administration's effort to help mitigate the effects
of CO2 – a major greenhouse gas and contributor to
global climate change. For the full story and
additional information on the funding opportunity,
please
click here.
DOE Announces $87 Million in
Funding to Support Solar Energy Technologies
At the opening of the U.S. Department of Energy's
Solar Decathlon on the National Mall, Energy
Secretary Steven Chu announced up to $87 million
will be made available to support the development of
new solar energy technologies and the rapid
deployment of available carbon-free solar energy
systems. Of this funding, $50 million comes from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 47
projects with universities, electric power
utilities, DOE's National Laboratories, and local
governments have been selected to support use of
solar technologies in U.S. cities, help address
technical challenges, ensure reliable connectivity
with the electrical grid, and train a new generation
of solar workers to install and maintain solar
energy systems. These projects will help speed
adoption of solar energy nationwide, while
supporting development of a skilled workforce, and
continuing to pursue new scientific breakthroughs to
increase the efficiency and lower the cost of solar
technologies. To view the full story, please
click here.
ITP Fuels Flexibility Program
Development Webinar, Developing and Deploying Low
Carbon Fuels for Use in Industry
The ITP Fuels Flexibility Program Development
Webinar, Developing and Deploying Low Carbon Fuels
for Use in Industry, will be held on October 20,
2009 from 2 pm – 4 pm EST. Congress, the White
House, the EPA, and many leading industrial nations
are seriously considering initiatives to cut carbon
dioxide emissions by as much as 80% over the next 40
years. Because industry releases greater volumes of
heat-trapping gasses than any other sector of the
economy, cost-effectively reducing its greenhouse
gas footprint is indispensable to attaining these
goals while preserving the competitiveness and
vitality of a crucial economic sector.
The mission of the Department of Energy's Fuels
Flexibility program is to enable energy diversity in
industry. As part of its program planning, ITP
invites the industrial energy community to join it
for a discussion of the challenges and opportunities
relating to integration of advanced, low carbon
fuels into industrial operations. Key discussion
questions include:
- What non-technical barriers are limiting the
use of alternative fuels in industry?
- Do programs developed by academia, state
agencies, or foreign governments provide
replicable models or partners for DOE to
leverage in commercializing advanced
technologies?
- What other types of commercialization
programming and improvements to existing
programs should DOE consider with respect to
introducing these technologies?
- What technical breakthroughs would enable
industry to adopt low carbon energy sources
developed for other sectors (e.g. electric
power, transportation fuels)?
This webinar is a key element of an update to the
Fuel Flexibility program strategy taken in response
to technical, commercial, policy and financial
changes affecting the alternative fuels sector.
Program leadership will incorporate the results of
the webinar into the development of the program's
priorities, fuel targets, delivery models, and
financial opportunities. The webinar is free of
charge and you can register by
clicking here. To view the webinar agenda,
please
click here.
Webinar October 28, 2009:
The Financial Effect of Energy Efficiency on
Utilities: A Closer Look at Decoupling
The Energy Center of Wisconsin will host a free
webinar on "The Financial Effect of Energy
Efficiency on Utilities: A Closer Look at
Decoupling," presented by Steve Kihm, Research
Director, Energy Center of Wisconsin on Wednesday,
October 28, 2009 from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm CDT. Many
energy efficiency advocates believe that revenue
decoupling consistently removes the disincentive for
utilities to promote energy efficiency. Finance
principles suggest a more nuanced conclusion. In
this webinar, Steve Kihm explains that utility
managers ultimately care about stock prices, of
which rate of return is only one component. Energy
efficiency affects all three key drivers of a
utility's stock price: rate of return, cost of
capital and investment scale. Decoupling, however,
addresses only the rate of return driver. When Steve
applies the more comprehensive financial framework,
he shows that decoupling is a tactical tool that can
be applied effectively to some utilities rather than
a strategic approach that will work for all
utilities. For more information and to register for
the webinar, please
click here.
OurEnergyPolicy.org
Our Energy Policy Foundation is introducing new
online platform, www.OurEnergyPolicy.org, a
broad-based, non-partisan dialogue on energy policy
limited to experts throughout the United States, but
visible to the American people. The substantive
discussion is facilitated by a web-based application
that allows users to link comments to specific
policy topics, share resource documents with the
community of experts, and download an organized PDF
Book of the entire conversation. To register as a
dialogue participant, please email our Program
Coordinator, Richard Salem (Rsalem@ourenergypolicy.org). |
