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Posted by Jonathan Nurse on November 18, 2009 at 3:11 pm 

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) announced this week that a climate bill will not likely emerge before the spring of 2010. The announcement confirms that at least 1 of 3 (and likely all 3) of President Obama’s top legislative initiatives for 2009 will slip into 2010 -the other two being health care and student aid reform. Some proponents of the three pieces of legislation hoped to move to completion this year, as to avoid political considerations made by the 2010 mid-term election season. The cap-and-trade climate legislation, introduced by Senator Kerry and Senator Boxer (D-CA), initially drew support from accross the aisle; as Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) came out in support of the effort. However, since then, the bill has garnered little bipartisan support; passing the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee without Rebuplican support on the panel and after a boycott of the mark-up. At present, it appears that Senator Kerry is trying to put together a compromise that will garner the 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster; much the same tactic that is being employed by Majority Leader Reid in advancing a health-care overhaul.

Given that the Senate companion bill to the House Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) has been linked to the passage of health care reform, student aid reform remains on hold. Leaders on the Hill have indicated that both chambers will likely be in session until the third full week of December.

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on November 5, 2009 at 3:32 pm 

Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved its climate change mitigation legislation -despite a boycott of the markup by the minority party. Republicans wanted more analysis from the EPA on the impacts of the legislation. The Senate bill, which requires 60 votes on the floor to move to a final vote, will likely require significant modification to pass.

Senators Kerry (D-MA), Graham (R-SC), and Lieberman stated today that they intend to work on a compromise with business groups and the White House that can garner 60 votes. The three offered few details on what the essential elements of a compromise bill would include.

Of note to our community in the legislation:

Investments in Advanced Energy Research and Development- 4% (compared to 1.5 % in House legislation) of distributed allowances in 2012 and 2013, 2% in 2014 and 2015, and 1.7% of allowances in subsequent years will be allocated for research on advanced energy technologies, including funding for applied research at “Clean Energy Innovation Centers” at research universities and institutions.

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on October 19, 2009 at 4:03 am 

**Update 10/19** Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) are offering an alternative to the cap and trade portion of the Boxer-Kerry climate bill (described below). The senators are opposed to allowing carbon permits to be traded as commodities. However, they do support proposed caps on carbon emissions.

On October 27th, the US Senate’s Environment and Pulbic Works (EPW) Committee will begin hearings on a companion bill to the American Clean Energy and Securirty (ACES) Act (H.R. 2454) that passed the House over the summer.  The Senate legislation, introduced by EPW Chair Barbara Boxewr (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) on September 30th, is currently being refined by committee staff and is undergoing an analysis by the EPA that should be completed in time for the hearings. Conventional wisdom held that the Senate’s version of a massive climate change mitigation plan would be pushed until next calendar year, due to the already partisan environment created by the current health reform debate. However, Senator Boxer’s team is moving ahead with the legislation now. Further, initial drafts of the Senate bill have drawn bipartisan support. Last weekend, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and John Kerry co-authored a piece in the New York Times entitled “Yes We Can (Pass Climate Change Legislation).“  In the article, Senator Graham makes the case that a climate change bill that promotes nuclear energy, more offshore oil and natural gas development and carbon sequestration from coal power plants would draw the 60 votes necessary to assure passage. The duo also articulated that climate change legislation should also establish limits on prices for carbon allowances provided under a cap-and-trade system, and a tax on energy-intensive goods from countries with less stringent emissions requirements than the United States.

Research investments were mentioned only briefly in the op-ed. House and Sente bills seem to ignore President Obama’s call for a $15 billion investment in research and development as part of a comprehensive climate change mitigation bill; a point made to Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) this week in a letter from the research community. Read more

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on October 15, 2009 at 10:07 am 

**10/15 Update: Today, the Senate passed the Energy & Water (E&W) Appropriations Conference Report, sending the legislation to the President’s desk for signature. The E&W Appropriations bill is the third of nine to make it all of the way through the appropriations process. UW projects in the legislation and accounts of interest are noted below**

House and Senate conferees on the fiscal year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations have approved a conference agreement. The conference agreement reconciles differences in the bills produced by the individual chambers and now must go back for final approval, which is expected. Within the legislation is support for two important University of Washington projects: $880,000 for the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, and $1 million for the Washington Biofuels Industry Development project. Additional items of importance in the conference report include:

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy- $2.2 billion, $314 million above 2009, to increase investments in technologies that use energy more effectively and produce clean, inexpensive energy from domestic sources.

• Solar Energy: $225 million for research, development, and demonstration projects to make solar energy more affordable.
• Biofuels: $220 million for grants to improve production of alternative fuels such as cellulosic ethanol
  and biodiesel.

Office of Science- $4.9 billion, $131 million above 2009, for scientific research critical to addressing long-term energy needs. This funding, in addition to the $4.8 billion appropriated in fiscal year 2009 and $1.6 billion in the Recovery Act, exceeds the goals in the America COMPETES Act.

• Basic Energy Sciences: $1.6 billion for basic research primarily on materials sciences and on chemical
  sciences, energy biosciences and geosciences. This work places heavy emphasis on advancing the frontiers of using ever-faster tools, including $394 million in the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program, to better understand ever-smaller and more detailed phenomena.
• Applied Research: $2.4 billion for Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics, Biological and Environmental Research, and Fusion Energy Sciences.
• Energy Innovation Hubs: Funding for three of the proposed eight Energy Innovation Hubs (at $22 million each) in the following areas: Fuels from Sunlight; Energy Efficient Building Systems  Design; and Modeling and Simulation.
• RE-ENERGYSE: Funding was not provided for the newly proposed RE-ENERGYSE education program.

Full Energy and Water Conference Report

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on September 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm 

Washington, DC – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $12.5 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be awarded in early 2010 to support at least 80 graduate fellowships to U.S. students pursuing advanced degrees in science, mathematics, and engineering through the newly created Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Fellowship program. The goal of the fellowship program is to encourage outstanding students to pursue graduate degrees in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering, and environmental and computer sciences – fields that will prepare students for careers that can make significant contributions in discovery driven science and science for national needs in energy and the environment.

“Training the next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers is critical to our future energy security and economic competitiveness,” said Secretary Chu. “This Fellowship is part of the Administration’s effort to encourage students to direct their talents towards careers in science and our nation’s next technology revolution.”

To be eligible for the Fellowship, applicants must be U.S. citizens and currently a first or second year graduate student enrolled at a U.S. academic institution, or an undergraduate senior who will be enrolled as a first year graduate student by the fall of 2010.  Applicants must be pursuing graduate study and research in the physical, biological, engineering and computational sciences.  Interested students can apply online at: http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/SCGF.html

Each fellowship award will be $50,500 per year for three years to provide support for tuition, living expenses, research materials and travel to research conferences.  Fellowships will be awarded on the basis of peer review. Applicants may begin submitting applications on September 30, 2009.  Completed applications are due November 30, 2009.

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on September 8, 2009 at 1:31 pm 

The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) is seeking public and stakeholder input on 1) programmatic areas well suited for support by ARPA-E and 2) specific scientific and technological opportunities to overcome key technological roadblocks to the development of widely market deployable transformational technologies relevant to the ARPA-E mission. The information collected through this process will assist ARPA-E in developing potential programs and funding opportunities.

Deadline for Comment: September 25, 2009

Submission Method: Responses are to be submitted as email attachments sent to Submission Method: Responses are to be submitted as email attachments sent to arpa-e-rfi@hq.doe.gov.

Full Notice

Posted by Christy Gullion on August 14, 2009 at 6:43 am 

The Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation has established the Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) to serve a critical role in focusing on important emerging areas in a timely manner.  The EFRI Office is launching a new funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams of researchers to embark on rapidly advancing frontiers of fundamental engineering research.  For this solicitation, they will consider proposals that aim to investigate emerging frontiers in the following two specific research areas: (1) Renewable Energy Storage (RESTOR), and (2) Science in Energy and Environmental Design (SEED): Engineering Sustainable Buildings.  This solicitation will be coordinated with NSF Directorates listed above, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  EFRI seeks proposals with transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental engineering knowledge with a strong potential for long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge.  The proposals must also meet the detailed requirements delineated in this solicitation.

INFORMATION WEBCAST: The EFRI Office plans to hold an information workshop on September17, 2009, to answer any questions about the EFRI Office and this solicitation.  Details will be posted on the EFRI website (www.nsf.gov/eng/efri) as they become available.

Read more.

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on July 23, 2009 at 10:46 am 

**Note: Earlier this month, the House passed a comprehensive clean energy/climate change bill. The Senate, led by Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in this area, is expected to take up a bill after the August congressional recess. The higher education community is seeking increased funding for research in the Senate version of the legislation.**

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:                         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(202) 586-4940                                        Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Chu: U.S. Can “Lead this New Industrial Revolution” in Clean Energy
 
Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed highlights economic opportunities in energy and climate bill

WASHINGTON, DC– The Wednesday, July 22, 2009 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch includes the following opinion piece from Energy Secretary Steven Chu:
 
Cleaning Up: Energy and Climate Bill Will Boost the Economy
US ENERGY SECRETARY STEVEN CHU
Published: July 22, 2009
Over the next few months, Congress will decide on historic energy legislation that would create a generation of clean-energy jobs here in America, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and prevent the worst effects of climate change. I believe passing a strong energy and climate bill is the single most important step we could take to secure our economic prosperity and leave a healthier planet for future generations.

The status quo on energy is unsustainable. Today, we import about 60 percent of the oil we use, which is a huge drain on our economy and which weakens our security. When we burn fossil fuels for energy, we emit enormous amounts of greenhouse gases, which have already begun to change our climate. Climate experts predict that, on our current course, the planet could be around 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer by the end of this century. Such an increase could cause more frequent extreme weather events like droughts, heat waves, and hurricanes; rising sea levels and coastal erosion; serious agricultural losses and water shortages; and many other impacts in the United States. Read more

Posted by Christy Gullion on July 17, 2009 at 11:11 am 

WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $85 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be awarded in early 2010 to support at least 50 early career researchers for five years at U.S. academic institutions and DOE national laboratories. 

To be eligible for the competition, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant professor at a U.S. academic institution or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory.  The applicant must also have received a Ph.D. within the past ten years. 

Each university award will be at least $150,000 per year for five years to support summer salary and other research expenses.  For DOE national laboratories, awards will be at least $500,000 per year for five years to support year-round salary and expenses.

Early career researchers may apply to one of six Office of Science program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research; Biological and Environmental Research; Basic Energy Sciences; Fusion Energy Sciences; High Energy Physics; or Nuclear Physics.  Proposed research topics must fall within the programmatic priorities of DOE’s Office of Science, which are provided in the program announcements.  Funding will be competitively awarded on the basis of peer review. 

Letters of intent will be due on August 1, 2009, and proposals will be due on September 1, 2009.    

Read more about DoE grant opportunities.

Posted by Christy Gullion on July 15, 2009 at 12:39 pm 

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced plans to provide up to $52.5 million to research, develop, and demonstrate Concentrating Solar Power systems capable of providing low-cost electrical power both day and night. Today’s announcement underscores the Obama Administration’s commitment to creating jobs and saving money, making electricity generated from solar energy competitive with conventional grid electricity.

“Low-cost renewable energy generation that includes energy storage is one key to our efforts to diversify domestic energy sources and create new jobs,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. “By investing in the development of low-cost solar technologies we can pave the way toward faster deployment of carbon-free, large-scale energy sources.”

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies concentrate the sun’s energy and capture that energy as heat, which then drives an engine or turbine to produce electrical power. CSP plants can include low-cost energy storage, which allows them to provide electricity even when the sun is not shining. CSP technologies currently used in utility-scale power plants typically do not have the capability/capacity for storage, operating only during daytime hours. These projects will seek to improve technology and novel system designs to extend operation to an average of about 18 hours per day, a level of production that would make it possible for a CSP plant to displace a traditional coal power plant.

The competitive funding opportunity involves two areas:

• Research and development of concepts and components for a CSP system that enables a plant to produce low-cost electricity at least 18 hours of the day.
• Evaluation of the feasibility and development of a prototype complete CSP system capable of operating at least 18 hours per day while generating low-cost power.

Projects are based upon continuing annual appropriations. DOE anticipates making up to 13 project awards totaling up to $52.5 million. 

Learn more about US Department of Energy grant opportunities.

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