President’s Chief Science Advisors Call for Energy Innovation

On 11.30.10, In News, By Daniel Goldfarb

On Monday, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released a new report outlining the steps it deems necessary for America to “accelerate the pace of change in energy technologies” and secure our “economic competitiveness, environmental stewardship, and enhanced security.”

The report to President Obama, titled “Accelerating the Pace of Change in Energy Technologies Through an Integrated Federal Energy Policy,” represents one of the most comprehensive sets of recommendations recently offered by the Executive Branch for U.S. energy policy reform. The report’s most significant recommendation is to triple federal investment in clean energy technology research, development, and demonstration to $16 billion per year — a figure we have been advocating at AEL along with the Breakthrough Institute, American Energy Innovation Council, and a number of other groups.

Two things are especially notable about the report’s recommendations. First is that the emphasis is on research, development, and demonstration but not deployment. Second, and potentially most significant in their near term possibility, are the measures to improve energy policy coordination and long term planning amongst federal departments.  While the revenue streams necessary to make a significant increase in energy related spending viable remain vague, opportunities for increased inter-governmental cooperation should be achievable in the short term.  The following are the reports recommendations:

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Cancun and the Intellectual Property Challenge

On 11.30.10, In Opinion, By David Livingston

While it looks increasingly likely that the same dynamics which undid the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit  are again present in Cancun, it is far too early to eulogize international approaches to climate change mitigation. One area that the developed and developing world share an interest in sorting out in more explicit terms is the debate over the global intellectual property (IP) rights framework as it applies to energy technologies.

Given the urgent imperative to reduce carbon emissions, the diffusion of ideas, components, and processes across the globe is a modern day “Icarus” whose trajectory must be delicately plotted.  Protect IP rights too stringently, and the promise of a widespread clean-tech revolution is stymied by the torpid pace of technology diffusion.  Yet maintain too loose of a regime and we risk melting away the financial incentive to innovate in the heat of our haste.  In avoiding both the sun and sea, the world community should expand the role of actors that stand apart from, or at least above, the contentious politics of bilateral trade disagreements.

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Secretary Chu Warns of “New Sputnik Moment”

On 11.30.10, In News, By Kevin Hsu

On Monday, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu warned that in the global clean energy race, “America still has the opportunity to lead” — but “time is running out.” While our nation seems to be standing still, countries like China, South Korea and Germany have been speeding ahead to develop and deploy new technologies — and reap the economic benefits.

Chu’s speech also marked the release of a new report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).  This report joins a growing call for increased federal investment in RDD&D to around $16 billion per year.  The most compelling of the recommendations is one to create a Quadrennial Energy Review—modeled after the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review—that could provide increased long term planning and coordination for the federal government’s energy policy.

As reported by CNET, during his speech at the National Press Club, Chu “suggested that the U.S. is reaching a ‘Sputnik moment’ where political leaders and the general population will realize how the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in science and technology.” In response, the U.S. must “fund research in clean-energy technologies in order to stay apace and take advantage of the economic opportunity that cleaner energy technologies represent globally.”

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Special Series: The Future of Energy Technology

On 11.29.10, In Announcements, By David Cohen-Tanugi

Thin Film Solar Panel

As we collectively stepped back this past week for Thanksgiving, the prospects for real change in the United States’ energy policy – at least in the near term – look rather bleak. If the policymaking machine is at a roadblock, can technology save the day?

The host of Democratic lawmakers and (a few liberal Republicans) who championed the fight against global warming pollution in the past two years will find it hard to promote the same approaches in the post-election environment. And while climate negotiators from around the world will make some headway on international climate talks as they gather in Cancun next week, most experts agree that any progress will be limited.

In this context, it is disturbingly unclear how the United States will manage to meet its climate pledge in the next ten years. And it remains equally uncertain how countries across the world will manage to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. As it becomes increasingly clear that lawmaking and international negotiations won’t be enough to help us meet these goals, many have begun to look at technology as the answer.

In a forthcoming series of posts for Americans for Energy Leadership, I will explore the role that new technologies can play in helping us face the challenges – and opportunities – of our common energy future.

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Third Way: Visualizing the Clean Energy Race

On 11.23.10, In News, By Staff

Last week we posted a data graphic from Third Way’s new report “Creating a Clean Energy Century,” which portrayed American and Chinese clean energy investments as poker bets. Below are a few more of these very telling visualizations from the report (click for larger versions).  Taken together these graphics tell a complex story of American priorities and emerging international competition.

The above graphic is especially shocking, not only does the U.S. spend less than half of what it did on DOE R&D thirty years ago, but fossil fuels have maintained the same percentage of that spending while renewables have slipped.

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What the Tea Party Means for National Energy Policy

On 11.22.10, In Opinion, By Natalie Relich

The success of the Tea party has been a constant focus of the media leading up to and in the wake of November’s election. The newly elected cohort of Tea Party-backed candidates is making its way to Washington, bringing a cause for joy among some Americans and despair for others. There may only be 39 new Tea Party candidates heading to Capitol Hill, which is a relatively small number given the size of Congress, but don’t let the numbers fool you. In the short amount of time since the election, Tea Party candidates have shown considerable influence within the Republican Party. Many uncertainties remain over the direction of public policy during the next term, but one thing is for certain, the small but feisty Tea Party minority cannot be ignored.

Several newly elected Senator’s owe their success to a Tea Party endorsement. An ABC article notes how this block consisting of newcomers Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Pat Toomey, and Ron Johnson as well as veteran Jim DeMint could be an ultraconservative force pushing against the moderate Republican leadership. Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, has already caved to Tea Party pressure and supported an earmark ban, despite previously defending the practice. This could be the first of many instances where the Tea Party prevails over Republican leadership. In the House of Representatives, freshman members Kristi Noem and Tim Scott, both of whom received Tea Party backing, have been given leadership posts in the new Boehner- led majority.

Where does energy policy fit into this new establishment?  Senator McConnell and President Obama have already indicated that energy is an issue where both sides might be able to achieve compromise. But where does the Tea Party stand on energy issues? At first glance, the rise of the Tea Party presents a gloomy picture for environmentalists; however, energy policy may be one of the few issues that politicians with starkly different ideologies will be able to achieve progress.

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Senators Call for Clean Energy Innovation

On 11.17.10, In News, By Staff

In order to regain its economic greatness, the United States needs to re-invest in clean energy innovation.  That’s the conclusion of a new report by Third Way, “Creating a Clean Energy Century,” and an accompanying op-ed in today’s Politico by Senators Stabenow (D-MI), Hagan (D-NH), and Udall (D-CO). Citing a history of American innovation and its economic benefits, the Senators write:

“Beyond recovery from the current economic crisis, the country that first develops and integrates affordable clean energy technologies is likely to dominate the 21st century global economy — and create the jobs that go along with it…

The innovations we need to dominate this market include major, game-changing breakthroughs, like next-generation nuclear power and long-distance electric cars. But they also include incremental progress — like expanded battery storage, upgrades to our transmission system and improvements in solar panels.

But large or small, innovations don’t just happen. With slower capital returns than usually seen with IT and biotech investments, we need to encourage private sector involvement in clean energy. Lack of demand — since new energy sources have been more costly than fossil fuels — can deter development of promising technologies.

But we have succeeded in past when the public sector worked hand-in-hand with business to solve these problems. We can re-ignite this public/private partnership, as Third Way outlines in an innovation report out today, by focusing on four steps:

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Can Federal Investment Reduce the Budget Deficit?

On 11.16.10, In Notes, By Teryn Norris
Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, Co-Chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, Co-Chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

David Leonhardt — one of the country’s leading economic reporters at the New York Times — has a new article, ”One Way to Trim Deficit: Cultivate Growth,” which calls for increased federal investment in science, technology, and education as one of “the best ways to promote growth” and a primary strategy to reduce the budget deficit. He reports:

“If the economy grew one half of a percentage point faster than forecast each year over the next two decades — no easy feat, to be fair — the country would have to do roughly 40 to 50 percent less deficit-cutting than it now appears…

Even more important than the next couple of years is the second part of a pro-growth strategy: the long term. A good deficit plan doesn’t simply make across-the-board cuts for years on end. It cuts funding for programs that do not spur economic growth and increases funding for those relatively few that do…

Beyond tax reform, both [proposed] deficit plans mention the importance of making investments that will lead to future growth. In particular, the Bowles-Simpson plan calls for a gradual 15-cents-a-gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax to pay for highways, mass transit and other projects. The plans also urge the government to prioritize education and science.
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How Energy Reform Can Break the Partisan Stalemate

On 11.16.10, In Columns, By Teryn Norris

Published by National Journal
Energy & Environment Expert Blog

By Teryn Norris
November 16, 2010

In the aftermath of the mid-term elections, it’s unlikely that Washington can overcome the crippling gridlock in Congress. Yet one critical opportunity for bipartisan compromise stands out among the rest: energy policy.

Addressing the country the day after elections, President Obama signaled a clear opening by pressing the reset button on cap and trade and calling for a new agenda. “I don’t think there’s anybody in America who thinks that we’ve got an energy policy that works the way it needs to, that thinks that we shouldn’t be working on energy independence,” he declared. “And that gives opportunities for Democrats and Republicans to come together and think about… how do we move forward on that agenda.”

Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) quickly agreed. “I think energy is an area where there is potential for a bipartisan accomplishment of some consequence,” Senator McConnell told the Wall Street Journal. “There are a variety of other things there could be pretty broad agreement on… Nobody thinks it is a bad idea to reduce carbon emissions, the question is how do you do it.”

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Washington Post Calls for New Energy Agenda

On 11.15.10, In News, By Staff

The Washington Post editorial board has issued a prominent endorsement of the bipartisan energy innovation agenda advocated by Americans for Energy Leadership and our colleagues.  In an editorial published this Sunday, the Post predicted that an energy innovation agenda could represent one of the most important opportunities for bipartisan progress:

“Where can President Obama and ascendant House Republicans find compromise? The president has signaled one possibility: energy policy… The American Energy Innovation Council, a group of business leaders that includes Bill Gates, hopes that the parties might yet be able to agree on a more ambitious and cohesive policy. It recommends a $16 billion annual investment in clean energy innovation, including research and support for getting new technologies to market. An ideologically diverse group of think tankers from the Breakthrough Institute, the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution agrees and argues that Congress should supplement that investment with subsidies that lower the price of new energy sources. They would also nurture the relationship between the Defense Department, which will increasingly demand clean-energy technologies, and clean-tech researchers. Even if cap-and-trade had passed, the logic goes, the government would still have had to invest in scientific research to make green energy affordable; might as well make those investments, anyway.”

In our latest op-ed at National Journal, “The Next Bipartisan Energy Agenda,” we offered a similar endorsement, building upon our previous and ongoing efforts:

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