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Category: Energy R&D

Today in Congress

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The Senate is in at 10:00am and will vote on a number of amendments to and final passage of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (S 47). It is expected to pass. The Senate will recess from 12:30pm to 2:15pm for weekly party caucus lunches.

The House returns at noon and will consider three bills under suspension of the rules: the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act (HR 267), the Collinsville Renewable Energy Promotion Act (HR 316), and the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act (HR 235). The House will recess no later than 5:30pm to allow a security sweep of the chamber prior to President Obama’s State of the Union address.

At 8:20pm, the Senate will proceed to the House of Representatives for President Obama’s State of the Union address, set for 9:00pm. The House will meet again at about 8:35pm for the purpose of receiving, in a joint session with the Senate, the President of the United States.

Kilmer Named to House Science & Technology Committee

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Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-6th) has been named to the House Science, Space & Technology Committee.  The Committee has jurisdiction over all energy research, development, and demonstration, and all federalland all federally owned or operated non-military energy laboratories; astronautical research and development; civil aviation research and development; environmental research and development; marine research; commercial application of energy technology; National Institute of Standards and Technology, standardization of weights and measures and the metric system; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; National Science Foundation; National Weather Service; outer space, including exploration and control thereof; science scholarships; scientific research, development, and demonstration.

The UW research community is fortunate to have Congressman Kilmer appointed to this committee.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in WA State

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has updated its states website to link to EERE resources for each state. The new site is called Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in My State and links to state-specific content published by EERE.

The site also publishes graphs of DOE energy statistics reflecting the status of energy efficiency and renewable energy in each state. These graphs allow you to compare and rank states according to per capita and economic indicators, and you can download the graphs for reports or presentations. You can find graphs showing electricity production from renewable energy resources for every state. And you can find links to state renewable energy resource maps.

Finally, the site lists also publishes state news relating to renewable energy and energy efficiency activities sponsored by EERE technical programs or facilitated by the state or local governments. You can search for news by state and set up a news feed (via RSS) for each state.

Energy Production Legislation Debated

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This morning the House will continue debate on the Strategic Energy Production Act of 2012 (HR 4480), which seeks to increase domestic oil and gas production and reduce regulation of the energy industry in order to reduce energy prices and boost economic growth. This measure is the result of compiling the text of 7 separate bills – two reported by the Energy and Commerce Committee and five reported by the Natural Resources Committee. The new comprehensive bill would delay implementation of certain EPA air quality and fuels regulations, and create an interagency committee to review the impact of EPA rules and regulations on energy prices and the broader economy. It also changes the management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to require additional oil and gas leasing on federal public lands and waters commensurate with a release of the Reserve’s oil.

More specifically, the bill requires the Interior Department to develop a strategic plan for the nation’s energy needs over 30 years and set domestic production goals to meet demand; increases the amount of federal land available for energy production and streamlines the process for approving drilling permits; and sets new standards for judicial review of civil actions filed against energy lease sales or drilling permits.

Several amendments will be considered today, with a final vote predicted for this afternoon.

DOD Biofuels Efforts Threatened

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The House is also slated to vote on a defense authorization bill (HR 4310), which has a small provision with big implications for future transportation fuels. The Defense Department has been developing advanced biofuels for its ships and planes, helping make a market along with other federal agencies. The DOD’s goal is to curb dependence on oil products, provide reliable home-grown motor fuels with less wild price swings than oil, and perhaps ultimately deploy biofuel facilities that could shrink fuel tanker convoys that make inviting targets for adversaries. Commercial ship lines, railroads, airlines and other motor fuel users are watching, partly because biodiesel and jet fuel could help trim their emissions and partly in hopes of getting fuels with less volatile costs. House conservatives don’t like the DOD paying for alternative fuels when oil-derived fuels may be cheaper, and the authorizing bill would exempt the DOD from the alternatives program. That could cripple the effort since the DOD is the world’s largest buyer of oil fuels and its fleets are key to developing new-era fuel options.

Source:  CQRollCall.com