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March 09, 2009

Chairman Gordon's remarks at the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum

remarks as prepared for delivery

As you know, the Obama Administration and the leadership in the House and Senate have all indicated their intentions to move the country in a new direction to address our energy needs and climate change. 

That said, there is still much to do to develop the policy and pass the legislation, and as we all know, the devil is in the details. There are many moving parts to Washington’s legislative and policy machine, and it remains to be seen how they are all going to fit together over the coming months.
 
We already know there are additional resources available for energy over the next two years. The recent economic recovery package included $40 billion for energy programs and a multi-year extension of the renewable energy tax credit. And, we are likely to see a ramp-up in federal energy investments in the final FY09 appropriations bills. 
 
Both Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid have indicated their intention to move climate and energy legislation by this summer. 
 
I’m sure you are all interested to know what the chances are for these deadlines to be met and a bill to be passed. Given the unknowns, I cannot handicap that for you now. But, there are three things I firmly believe: At some point  there will be a mandate to reduce carbon emissions, there will be a renewable electricity standard, and we can not get from here to there without new technology.      
 
In addition to a legislative path for carbon emission reductions, there is also the possibility of a regulatory path. Already, EPA Administrator Jackson announced her intentions to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle. 
 
Congressional leaders in both chambers clearly intend to combine both climate and energy legislation into one package.  The practical result of this will be multiple committees in both chambers working towards a single bill. 
In addition to serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee, I am also chairman of the Science and Technology Committee. We will be working on several energy and climate R&D provisions.
 
I’ll mention a few of the new things we are working on and some of the work we are doing to ensure the energy legislation we developed in the last Congress is implemented as intended.
 
Energy efficiency and conservation will have the greatest near-term impact of any approach to the energy problem.  We’ll never find cheaper, cleaner energy than that we don’t use.  While there were a number of provisions included in the last two energy bills, the fragmented nature of these energy efficiency programs at DOE makes prioritization of the research agenda a challenge, but necessary. 
 
Additionally, the interest in all flavors of advanced vehicles suggests it is time to take a close look at DOE’s vehicle research programs. 
 
This includes heavy duty trucks. There is plenty of room to make tremendous efficiency and emissions gains in the heavy-duty vehicle sector.
 
Our attention will also be focused on the monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
Basically, we need to know who is emitting, what they are emitting, and if the control programs we put in place are reducing those emissions.
 
Our Committee wants to build upon existing systems where possible and authorize new systems where needed to ensure that we accurately account for greenhouse gas emissions and achieve our reduction goals. 
 
As the Committee continues to work on these new initiatives, we are also working to advance programs enacted in the last Congress. 
 
In response to a recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences, I introduced and the House passed legislation establishing an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy or ARPA-E. This is a new research organization with in DOE modeled on DARPA. 
 
In order to make the kind of technological leaps we need to transform the ways in which we produce and use energy, we must rethink how we approach technology R&D. This nimble new agency will be staffed with extraordinary people armed with the resources and freedom to take risks.
 
ARPA-E will enable us to forge new partnerships between the government, our national labs, academia and industry to draw upon the talents and resources of each of these sectors.  
 
Secretary Chu has $400 million dollars to establish ARPA-E and will hopefully have a billion dollars or more each year there after.  
Additionally, I believe an expanded focus on carbon capture and sequestration is also vitally important for our future. Coal is the most widely used fuel in our utility sector.
 
The question we must grapple with is: How are we going to continue to utilize the valuable, abundant fuel that provides so much of our electric power and achieve greenhouse gas reductions?
 
If we are going to reduce emissions and continue to have a robust supply of electricity, CCS is an essential part of the answer to this question and my Committee will be working closely with Secretary Chu to ensure we devote sufficient resources to move this technology forward
 
As you probably know, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $10 million to develop the framework for information management that will help us to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems. This work is currently managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. We will continue to monitor their progress.
 
I know I am preaching to the choir when I point out the importance of energy storage devices as a means to achieve cleaner, more efficient energy production. 
 
Deploying energy storage technologies has two great benefits: it is the great equalizer for renewables, and it helps to avoid the need to upgrade transmission and distribution facilities
 
Because our economy relies heavily on an affordable and reliable electricity delivery system, the energy security benefits achieved from greater use of energy storage systems would be significant.
 
I also want to touch quickly on nuclear power. I believe it would be difficult, if not impossible to meet our targeted reductions in emissions without it.  This calls for a fair and reasonable discussion about the future of nuclear power, most specifically about storage and reprocessing.   I will make the Committee on Science and Technology a venue for that conversation. 
 
In conclusion, what is clear is to significantly reduce carbon emissions will involve the development and deployment of a wide range of new technologies. There is no silver bullet to solve this problem. What we need is silver buck shot. 
 
Last week at the President’s Summit on Healthcare, Tom Donahue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce summed up his perspective by saying, “If you don’t get in this game, you’re on the menu.” Clearly, difficult decisions are ahead. 
 
But it is important for all stakeholders to not rush to judgment, to be a part of the conversation, and look at it in a holistic way that benefits us all.