Energy Independence Initiative :: July 4, 2007

Energy Independence Initiative

Science & Technology Committee Legislation Contributes to House Energy Package

On August 4, the House of Represenatatives passed H.R. 3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act. The Science & Technology Committee is among 11 House Committees contributing wide-ranging solutions to the legislation, designed to achieve energy independence.That independence will lead to stronger national security, economic and job growth, lower energy prices and a start to addressing global warming.

The Committee has reported 12 energy and environment research bills in the 110th Congress, seven of which are expected to be included in the House Energy Independence Day Legislative Initiative outlined just before Independence Day.

"For too long we have depended on a handful of finite resources to power our economy," said Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN). "Our future lies in our ability to develop a wide range of energy technologies using the cleanest natural resources from the sun, the oceans, and the earth. To do this we have to tap America's most abundant and renewable resource - the human spirit of innovation that has given us the quality of life we enjoy today."

Here you will find the legislation, authored and steered by the Science & Technology Committee, which is now included in H.R. 3221.

Legislation

H.R. 364 Establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
Sponsor: Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN)
Cleared Committee May 23, 2007

Under H.R. 364, the ARPA-E would be modeled after the Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The new program is charged with the mission of reducing US dependence on oil through the rapid development and commercialization of transformational clean energy technologies. The agency would recruit the best and brightest science and technology researchers and allow them unprecedented flexibility to develop cutting-edge technologies to be pushed from the lab into the public domain for consumption. As a part of the Committee's Innovation Agenda, this bill implements recommendations made by the National Academies' report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future."

H.R. 906 Global Climate Change Research Data and Management Act of 2007
Sponsor: Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO)
Cleared Committee June 27, 2007

H.R. 906 places greater emphasis on the production and exchange of information needed to develop strategies to cope with current climate change and to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions to reduce further impacts. The measure updates the current U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) to help federal, state, regional, and local user groups gain better access to valuable climate change information when making decisions.

H.R. 1933, Department of Energy Carbon Capture and Storage Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 2007
Sponsor: Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO)
Cleared Committee June 27, 2007

H.R. 1933 is based on a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Report, The Future of Coal (2007). The measure follows recommendations made in the report by reauthorizing the Department of Energy's (DOE) research and development (R&D) programs, and specifically, authorizing large-scale demonstrations of both carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technologies and sequestration. The bill will provide for the testing of a variety of geological settings for carbon dioxide storage and accelerate the demonstration of the three main categories of carbon dioxide capture technologies bringing them closer to commercial application. H.R. 1933 also aims to integrate the carbon dioxide capture with the large-scale storage demonstrations in order to gain the operational experience with an integrated system of capture, transportation, and storage of carbon dioxide at scale.

H.R. 2304, Advanced Geothermal Energy Research and Development Act of 2007
Sponsor: Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA)
Cleared Committee June 13, 2007

H.R. 2304 would authorize $90 million a year for fiscal years 2008-2012 for research and development (R&D) of technologies to locate and develop geothermal resources. The bill would also establish a research program, coordinated with the Environmental Protection Agency, to identify potential environmental impacts of geothermal energy production and to research, develop and test technologies to mitigate or avoid adverse environmental impacts. H.R. 2304 would also establish technology transfer centers to collect and disseminate scientific and technological information relevant to geothermal energy development.-

H.R. 2313, Marine Renewable Energy Research and Development Act of 2007
Sponsor: Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-OR)
Cleared Committee June 13, 2007

H.R. 2313 authorizes $50 million a year from fiscal years 2008-2012 to support R&D of technologies to produce electric power from renewable marine resources, such as waves, tidal flows, ocean currents, and ocean thermal gradients. The bill would support R&D activity in high-priority areas necessary to bring marine renewable energy technologies to a state of commercial readiness, and would also authorize funding for one or more Marine Renewable Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Centers where prototype technologies could be developed and tested in real-world conditions.

H.R. 2773, Biofuels Research and Development Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chair Nick Lampson (D-TX)
Cleared Committee June 27, 2007

H.R. 2773 will better coordinate and compile information from federal biofuels research programs; focus research on infrastructure needs and efficiency of biorefineries; study the challenges of broader biofuels usage; and increase funding levels for DOE biofuels research. The measure extends the authorization of Section 931 (Renewable Energy) Energy Policy Act of 2005 through 2010 (currently expires in 2009) and funds the programs at $963 million. H.R. 2773 also increases the authorization levels for Section 932 (Bioenergy Programs) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

H.R. 2774, Solar Energy Research and Advancement Act of 2007
Sponsor: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)
Cleared Committee June 27, 2007

H.R. 2774 authorizes funds to establish a research and development program on storage technologies for concentrating solar power (CSP); conducts studies to determine necessary steps to integrate CSP plants into the national electric grid and to research how to reduce water usage in CSP plants. The measure also establishes a program to ensure an adequate number of solar industry workers are trained and educated; creates a research and development program in solar air conditioning; creates a program to support the commercial application of direct solar lighting technology; and establishes a nationwide solar demonstration program.

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