In this issue:
ASME FELLOW ARUN MAJUMDAR NOMINATED FOR UNDER SECRETARY OF ENERGY
On November 29, President Obama announced his intent to nominate ASME Fellow Dr. Arun Majumdar to serve as Under Secretary of Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Dr. Majumdar became the first Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), the country's only agency devoted to transformational energy research and development, in October 2009. Dr. Majumdar also currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Secretary.
When confirmed as Under Secretary of Energy, Dr. Majumdar would oversee a number of crucial DOE programs, including the offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy and Nuclear Energy.
Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Majumdar was the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His highly distinguished research career includes the science and engineering of energy conversion, transport, and storage ranging from molecular and nanoscale level to large energy systems.
At Berkeley Labs and UC Berkeley, Dr. Majumdar helped shape several strategic initiatives in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy storage. He also testified before Congress on how to reduce energy consumption in buildings. Dr. Majumdar has also served on the advisory committee of the National Science Foundation's engineering directorate, was a member of the advisory council to the materials sciences and engineering division of the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences, and was an advisor on nanotechnology to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Additionally, Dr. Majumdar served as the founding chair of the ASME Nanotechnology Institute.
Dr. Majumdar is a recipient of the Institute Silver Medal, NSF Young Investigator Award, ASME Melville Medal, the Best Paper award of the ASME Heat Transfer Division of ASME, Gustus Larson Memorial Award of the ASME, and Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT-B. He is a fellow of ASME and AAAS, and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering. He received a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at: rainsr@asme.org
NRC FINALIZES POST-9/11 SAFETY REGULATIONS
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has finalized a regulation amending certain emergency preparedness (EP) requirements in its regulations that govern domestic licensing of production and utilization facilities. The final rule, which becomes effective on December 23, 2011, adds a conforming provision in the regulations that govern licenses, certifications, and approvals for new nuclear power plants.
The final rule codifies certain voluntary protective measures contained in NRC Bulletin 2005-02, “Emergency Preparedness and Response Actions for Security-Based Events,” and generically applicable requirements similar to those previously imposed by Commission orders. In addition, the final rule amends other licensee emergency plan requirements based on a comprehensive review of the NRC's EP regulations and guidance.
Those requirements:
- Enhance the ability of licensees in preparing to take and taking certain EP and protective measures in the event of a radiological emergency;
- Address, in part, security issues identified after the terrorist events of September 11, 2001;
- Clarify regulations to effect consistent emergency plan implementation among licensees; and,
- Modify certain EP requirements to be more effective and efficient.
NRC will be holding a series of national workshops in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over the next several months to give industry and local responders an opportunity to ask questions about the rule.
Detailed information on the 161-page final rule, “Enhancements to Emergency Preparedness Regulations,” may be viewed at http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/11/23/2011-29735/enhancements-to-emergency-preparedness-regulations#p-4
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
HARVARD RESEARCHERS CALL FOR A DOUBLING OF U.S. RD&D SPENDING
The U.S. government could save the economy hundreds of billions of dollars per year by 2050 by spending a few billion dollars more a year to spur innovations in energy technology, according to a new report by researchers at the Harvard Kennedy School. Entitled “Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation,” the report recommends a doubling of government funding for energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) efforts to about $10 billion per year, with the largest percentage of increases focused on four specific fields: energy storage, bio-energy, efficient buildings, and, solar photovoltaics. The report was unveiled as part of an event on Wednesday, November 22, 2011 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The project, part of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group in the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, included the first survey ever conducted of the full spectrum of U.S. businesses involved in energy innovation, identifying the key drivers of private-sector investments in energy innovation.
The project began in 2008 with three primary goals:
- To develop a methodology for assessing opportunities in energy research, development, and demonstration (ERD&D) investment and to produce a set of comprehensive recommendations for the U.S. administration's investment in ERD&D;
- To prepare an annual analysis of and set of recommendations for the Department of Energy's ERD&D budget, including, but not limited to, climate-change-related technologies; and
- To understand the private sector's current role in the carrying out and funding of ERD&D and in the drawing of conclusions about effective structures of public-private undertakings, areas of opportunity, and strategies for international cooperation in energy technology innovation.
The researchers surveyed more than 100 experts working with an array of energy technologies to get their recommendations for energy R&D funding and their projections of cost and performance under different R&D scenarios. They then used the experts’ input to conduct extensive economic modeling on the impact of federal R&D investments and other policies (such as a clean energy standard) on economic, environmental, and security goals.
Other findings of the report include the following:
- Investing more money in energy innovation without also setting a substantial carbon price or stringent clean energy standards would not bring big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions -- largely because without such policies, companies would not have enough incentive to deploy new energy technologies in place of carbon-emitting fossil fuels;
- The government needs to strengthen its energy innovation institutions, particularly the national laboratories, so that the United States can get the most “bang for its buck” in its investments in energy innovation; and,
- The performance of public-private partnerships and international partnerships on energy innovation would benefit from gathering information about the performance of previous projects.
A 48-page executive summary of the report may be viewed at: http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/uploads/transforming-us-energy-innovation-executive-summary.pdf
The full report, 340 pages in length, is available at: http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/uploads/transforming-us-energy-innovation.pdf
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at: rainsr@asme.org
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related research and development (R&D) issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
fakesp@asme.org
BINGAMAN TO INTRODUCE CES BILL EARLY NEXT YEAR
Senator Jeff Bingaman, chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), has indicated that he will introduce a clean energy standard (CES) bill early next year. His remarks come on the release of an Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysis of eight different CES policy options, an analysis that Bingaman had requested. The analysis examines eight different CES policy options and discusses the effects of each on the deployment of clean generation technologies, electricity and natural gas prices, and greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.
A CES is a policy that requires covered electricity retailers to supply a specified share of their electricity sales from qualifying clean energy resources. Under a CES, electric generators would be granted clean energy credits for every megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity they produce using qualifying clean energy sources. The concept has been embraced by President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget rollout, called for the establishment of a CES that could encompass 80 percent of the country’s electricity use by 2035 (For more information, please see the February 21, 2011 Edition of Capitol Update). Variations of a CES have popped up in legislation as well, including the “Clean Energy Leadership Act,” a bill that passed ENR in 2009 but was not adopted by the full Senate (Please see the June 26, 2009 Edition of Capitol Update for more information).
Utilities that serve retail customers would use some combination of credits granted to their own generation or credits acquired in trade from other generators to meet their CES obligations. Generators without retail customers or utilities that generated more clean energy credits than needed to meet their own obligations could sell CES credits to other companies.
The design details of a CES can significantly affect its projected impacts. Chairman Bingaman's request set out a base CES specification and several variants. The base CES specification, henceforth referred to as the Bingaman CES (BCES) case, has various provisions describing the definition of clean energy, the allocation of credits, and the dates when target milestones become binding, as described below:
- All generation from existing and new wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, municipal solid waste, and landfill gas plants earns full BCES credits;
- Incremental hydroelectric and nuclear generation from capacity uprates at existing plants and from new plants earns full BCES credits;
- Generation from existing nuclear and hydroelectric capacity does not receive any BCES credits. However, the total generation from these two sources counts towards the overall clean energy sales goal of the policy. Generation from these sources is reflected in the policy through a reduced requirement for holding BCES credits;
- Partial BCES credits are earned for generation using specific technologies fueled by natural gas or coal, based on a calculated crediting factor that reflects the carbon intensity of each technology relative to that of a new supercritical coal plant. These technologies include coal plants which capture and sequester their carbon dioxide emissions (0.9 BCES credits), natural gas plants that also sequester their carbon dioxide emissions (0.95 BCES credits), existing natural gas combined-cycle units (0.48 BCES credits), new gas combined-cycle units (0.59 BCES credits), existing gas combustion turbines (0.16 BCES credits), new gas combustion turbines (0.45 BCES credits), and integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) coal plants without carbon capture (0.15 BCES credits); and,
- The BCES target for the share of retail electricity sales from clean energy sources starts at 45 percent in 2015 and ultimately reaches 95 percent in 2050. However, as noted above, the requirement to hold BCES credits is generally reduced by generation from existing nuclear and hydroelectric capacity, which counts toward the clean energy targets but does not earn BCES credits.
The “Analysis of Impacts of a Clean Energy Standard as requested by Chairman Bingaman” is available at: http://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/ces_bingaman/
Senator’s Bingaman’s statement may be reviewed at: http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=abbd7472-15cc-4fb1-a5dc-ebc064bcfa3f&Month=11&Year=2011&Party=0
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
SEVEN STATES APPLY FOR RTT3 FUNDING
On November 23rd, the U.S. Department of Education announced that seven states (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) were eligible for a share of $200 million in the Race to the Top Round 3 (RTT3) funds. These states had each narrowly missed getting funding in last Race to the Top Round, which awarded $4 billion.
For RTT3, each of the seven states had to complete applications, which included commitments to enhance data systems, raise academic standards, improve principal and teacher support and evaluation systems and implement school interventions in under-performing schools. In addition, by December 16th, each of the seven applicants must provide a detailed narrative and budget.
RTT3 focuses on supporting efforts to leverage comprehensive statewide reform, while also improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Round Three awards will be announced in late December. Award amounts within the $200 million fund are based on state population and are anticipated to range from $12 million to $49 million.
Two other states, California and South Carolina, were also eligible to apply, but California submitted an incomplete application and South Carolina declined to apply, due to a major turnover in leadership since the last round.
For additional information on RTT3, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase3-resources.html
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education issues for ASME. She can be reached at: carlm@asme.org
SIX MORE STATES SIGN ON TO HELP DRAFT SCIENCE STANDARDS
On November 29th, Achieve, the nongovernmental organization who is facilitating the writing of the upcoming new Next Generation science standards, announced that six more states recently agreed to join the effort. The states are: Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon. This brings the number of states assisting Achieve with this effort to twenty-six.
In the press release, Achieve’s President Michael Cohen said, “"A majority of the states, educating more than 50 percent of our nation's students, have committed to developing the Next Generation Science Standards, and they should be commended.”
Originally, Achieve was planning to have a much smaller group of states play a lead role in developing the standards, but decided instead to include all interested states. It should also be noted that just because a state is in this leadership role with Achieve, it does not commit the state to adopting the standards. But upon completion, participating states are expected to “give serious consideration” to adoption.
To review the Achieve press release, please visit: http://www.achieve.org/six-more-states-join-NGSS
The Next Generation Science Standards are being based on the science framework recently developed by the National Research Council (NRC) in late July 2011. For more information about this framework, please see the July 25th edition of Capitol Update.
To review the NRC document, “A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas,” please visit: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education issues for ASME. She can be reached at: carlm@asme.org
NATIONAL COMPETITION SELECTS 12 LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS TO BUILD INNOVATIVE LEARNING LABS FOR TEENS
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently announced the first 12 winners of a national competition to build 21st Century learning labs in museums and libraries around the country. The winners, four museums and eight libraries, will receive a total of $1.2 million in grants to plan and design the labs. Inspired by YOUMedia, a new teen space at the Chicago Public Library, and innovations in science and technology centers, these labs will help young people move beyond consuming content to making and creating it. The competition was announced in answer to President Obama's “Educate to Innovate" campaign, a nationwide effort to bring American students to the forefront in science and math.
The learning labs will be based on new research about how young people learn today. Teens will use both digital and traditional media that promote creativity, critical thinking, and hands-on learning. The labs will connect teens to mentors and peers, as well as anytime, anywhere access to information through online social networks so that they can pursue their interests more deeply. The winning institutions will match the funds from the competition and partner with local educational, cultural, and civic organizations to build a network of learning opportunities for young people.
The 12 recipients of this round of grants were selected out of a pool of 98 applicants from 32 states. Applications were evaluated by professionals with relevant expertise in digital media and learning and museum and library management. Winners will participate, in-person and online, in a community of practice that will provide technical assistance, networking, and cross-project learning. Application materials for a second round of grants will be available in spring 2012. Additional information is available at www.imls.gov
Go to http://www.imls.gov/news/21st_century_learning_lab_locations1.aspx for information on each of the initial 12 recipients.
Information on YOUMedia may be found at http://youmediachicago.org/
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education issues for ASME. She can be reached at:
carlm@asme.org
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM ISSUES GUIDEBOOK ON TRANSPORTATION SUSTAINABILITY
The National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board has recently issued a new guidebook for transportation agencies on transportation system sustainability. The guide was developed under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), which conducts research in problem areas that affect highway planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance nationwide.
The new guidebook, “Sustainability Performance Measures for State DOTs and Other Transportation Agencies,” provides background on transportation system sustainability issues, as well as recommended performance measures, resource materials, and frameworks to support agency sustainability strategies. The research proposes a performance measures based linked to a range of potential agency strategic planning goals for sustainable transportation, and describes computation methods and possible data sources to support agency programing and planning.
The full guidebook is available at the NCHRP Project 8-74 website at: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/166313.aspx
Additional information is available through InfrastructureUSA, a nonprofit website project which brings together hundreds of think tanks, advocacy groups, trade and professional associations and governmental agencies to address U.S. infrastructure issues. See InfrastructureUSA coverage at: http://www.infrastructureusa.org/a-guidebook-for-sustainability-performance-measurement-for-transportation-agencies/
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related R&D issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
fakesp@asme.org
THE ARTICLES CONTAINED IN CAPITOL UPDATE ARE NOT POSITIONS OF ASME OR ANY OF
ITS SUB-ENTITIES, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NOTED AS SUCH. THIS PUBLICATION IS DESIGNED
TO INFORM ASME MEMBERS ABOUT ISSUES OF CONCERN BEING DEBATED AND DISCUSSED IN
THE HALLS OF CONGRESS, IN THE STATES, AND IN THE FEDERAL AGENCIES.
ASME Government Relations
1828 L Street, NW, Suite 906
Washington, DC 20036