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In a study of U.S. carbon capture and storage (CCS) potential published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found “that the United States can store enough CO2 to stabilize emissions at their current rate for over a hundred years. This result suggests that with a favorable political and economic framework, carbon capture and storage can be a viable climate change mitigation option in this country for the next century.” The video below explains their findings:
View InsightA study of successful cap-and-trade schemes published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science found that cap-and-trade policies – a widely favored tool in climate change mitigation – do not necessarily provide sufficient incentives for firms to innovative environmentally-preferable processes and technologies. This finding is significant, as a central argument in favor of cap-and-trade schemes is that they provide price signals that lead firms toward innovation. The study’s author, Margaret Taylor, a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, notes that compliance costs are frequently overestimated by firms and policymakers during the cap-and-trade schemes’ formulation. Because of this, capped… [more]
View InsightLast week The Economist called attention to growing demand for rare earth minerals, their importance in clean energy technologies, and rising tension over their global supply. Two of these minerals – dysprosium and neodymium – are essential components of the magnets used in wind turbines and electric motors. According to The Economist, for these technologies to play the role expected of them in reducing CO2 emissions, world supply of neodymium and dysprosium would need to increase “more than 700% and 2,600% respectively during the next 25 years.” China, which produces around 90% of the world’s rare earth minerals, has recently… [more]
View InsightSenate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, which would require electric utilities to derive increasing percentages of their supply mix from low-CO2 sources. The bill would take effect in 2015, and would require that by 2035 84% of power from large utilities come from low-CO2 sources. Sources eligible under the legislation include: renewables, such as wind and solar, “qualified” renewable biomass and waste-to-energy, hydropower, natural gas, and nuclear. Facilities with CO2 capture and storage, and some combined heat and power facilities, are also eligible. The bill establishes a market-based… [more]
View Insight“Jobs, the Energy Sector, and Government” February 16th, 2012 Capitol Hill, Washington, DC Opening Remarks: WILLIAM SQUADRON, President, OurEnergyPolicy.org Speakers: KENNETH P. GREEN, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute JIGAR SHAH, CEO, Carbon War Room ROBERT H. TOPEL, Professor, Urban and Labor Economics, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago YOSSIE HOLLANDER (moderator), Founder and Chairman, OurEnergyPolicy.org MR. SQUADRON: Thank you all for coming. There’s still a few people outside coming in, in a little bit of a line, but we should get started, because I know all of you have busy schedules, and we appreciate your taking the… [more]
View InsightJ.C. Ward Jr. Professor of Nuclear Energy Engineering
Cornell University
The President said in his State of the Union Address, “And nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy.” He then talked about opening federal land for oil and gas exploration, implied that relying on foreign oil is not a good thing, and stated, “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.” Considering the President’s all-of-the-above platform, and the goals implicit in it, we’d be wise to evaluate our national relationship to oil. The U.S. currently produces around 7.6 million… [more]
View InsightExxonMobil recently released its 2012 Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040, a report forecasting energy trends out for the next several decades. Among the projections highlighted in ExxonMobil’s announcement: “Global energy demand is expected to rise by about 30 percent from 2010 to 2040, [but] demand growth would be approximately four times that amount without projected gains in efficiency.” “ExxonMobil sees advanced hybrid vehicles accounting for 50 percent of the cars people will drive in 2040, compared to about 1 percent today. This, plus improved fuel economy in conventional vehicles, will cause demand for energy for personal vehicles to… [more]
View InsightProgram Manager
CLASP
The high-profile and controversial collapse of Solyndra and Beacon Power has led critics to question the integrity and merit of DOE’s loan guarantee program. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was asked to respond to these criticisms before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on 11/17/11. Rep. Stearns (R-FL), chairman of the subcommittee, said “it is readily apparent that senior officials in the administration put politics before the stewardship of taxpayer dollars” [NYT]. Dr. Chu denied this, arguing that a tough global market was to blame, that struggling loan recipients “got caught in a very, very bad tsunami.” He defended the value… [more]
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Transcript: “Energy Innovation and American Competitiveness” Sponsored by OurEnergyPolicy.org and the Congressional Research & Development Caucus 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3, 2011 B340 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. Opening Remarks: WILLIAM SQUADRON, President, Our Energy Policy Foundation Panel Speakers: NATHAN S. LEWIS, Director, U.S. DOE Innovation Hub; Professor of Chemistry, CalTech MARK MURO, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution DAVID KREUTZER, Research Fellow in Energy Economics and Climate Change, The Heritage Foundation Moderator: YOSSIE HOLLANDER, Founder and Chairman, Our Energy Policy Foundation
View InsightNote: Drawn from report synopses by OurEnergyPolicy.org. Highlights of Major 2010 Energy Innovation Reports A Business Plan for America’s Energy Future by the American Energy Innovation Council Released June 2010 Post-Partisan Power by Steven F. Hayward, Mark Muro, Ted Nordhaus, and Michael Shellenberger Released October 2010 Creating a Clean Energy Century by Third Way Released November 2010 Government must play a key role in accelerating energy innovation for two reasons. First, innovations in energy technology can generate significant public benefits that are not reflected in the market price of energy, including cleaner air and improved public health, enhanced national security… [more]
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