Options and Opportunities for Onsite Renewable Energy Integration (Central Time)
Date: Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: 2525 Dirksen Federal Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois
Opening Statement By The Honorable Russ Carnahan
Thank you all for joining us at today’s hearing on “Options and Opportunities for Onsite Renewable Energy Integration.” I would also like to thank the staff of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse for hosting today’s hearing.
As many of you know, our nation’s buildings have a surprisingly large environmental footprint consuming 70 percent of all electricity off the grid, emitting almost 40 percent of all carbon emissions and using roughly 60 percent of all raw material in the U.S. However, with these challenges also comes great opportunity. According to a recent U.S. Green Building Council report, greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.
These opportunities and a desire to bring greater awareness to these issues led Congresswoman Biggert and I to found the bipartisan High-Performance Buildings Caucus in 2007. The Caucus has over 30 Members of Congress and works with over 150 building trade associations, private companies and design firms to heighten awareness and inform policymakers about the major impact buildings have on our economy, the environment and our energy future.
I want to thank the Congresswoman for her strong leadership and support over the past years on these issues that are so important to the both of us and I look forward to continuing our efforts here today and in the future.
As our nation and continues on the road to recovery we have a real opportunity to make lasting investments in our nation’s future by rethinking our built environment and investing in high-performance buildings.
In April of last year, this Committee held a hearing focused on building and industrial energy efficiency. This was a very informative hearing and re-confirmed for everyone who attended that energy efficiency is the number one priority when it comes to addressing our energy crisis. That being said, we are here today to talk about another part of the solution: integrating renewables into out built environment.
As our witnesses will explain, we are already integrating renewables into the built environment. Yet, there are many barriers to integration that can be overcome through better technology. However, we cannot rely on improved technology alone to solve these problems – we must have a combination of technology, smart federal policy and targeted investments for us to reach our goals. I look forward to hearing suggestions on what specific research and development needs exist to help overcome these barriers and what the federal government can do to better encourage these activities.
I want to thank today’s witnesses for taking time out of their busy schedules to join us here today and I look forward to hearing how we can best proceed in these endeavors.
Witnesses
Panel
1 - Dr. Jeffrey P. Chamberlain
Department Head Electrochemical Energy Storage & Energy Storage Major Initiative Leader, Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory
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2 - Ms. Martha G. VanGeem, PE
Principal Engineer & Group Manager Building Science and Sustainability, CTL Group Building Science and Sustainability, CTL Group
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3 - Mr. Daniel Cheifetz
Chief Executive Officer Indie Energy Systems Company Indie Energy Systems Company
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4 - Mr. Michael Lopez
Director of Facility Operations Bolingbrook High School Bolingbrook High School
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5 - Mr. Joseph Ostafi IV
Regional Leader for the Science and Technology Division Group Vice President, HOK Group Vice President, HOK
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