Make Department of Energy a bigger energy umbrella
The United States Department of Energy was formed Aug. 4, 1977, but traces its roots to 1942, when the Army Corps of Engineers established the Manhattan Engineer District to design and build the atomic bomb.
After the war, Congress transferred control of Manhattan Project activities to the civilian Atomic Energy Commission. Later, the Atomic Energy Act ended exclusive government control of atomic energy and laid the groundwork for commercial nuclear power.
And that, in a nutshell, was U.S. energy policy. As DOE notes in its online history, “No overall energy policy existed. Government officials generally thought in terms of particular fuels, technologies and resources rather than energy.”
Then came the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, the U.S. supported Israel, and Arab oil producing countries responded by cutting oil exports 25 percent. It led to gasoline shortages, rationing and our first “energy crisis.”
The 1974 Energy Reorganization Act established the Energy Research and Development Administration. DOE was created from ERDA in 1977.
Over the past 65 years, energy policy changed with administrations and circumstances. As President Obama begins his second term with a new nominee for DOE secretary, Southwestern Pennsylvania has a stake in energy policy, so here is my advice to the nominee:
First, strengthen the Energy Information Agency. EIA is DOE’s data gathering arm. Our ability to make good policy decisions starts with having good information. Our energy situation has changed since 1977. Are we still vulnerable to energy shortages or could we soon be energy self-sufficient? Will renewable energy shoulder a bigger load or fall short? Are recoverable reserves of fossil fuels growing or have they peaked? The answers to these and other questions drive policy.
Second, make DOE the Department of ALL Energy not just SOME Energy. Lately, DOE has gained a reputation for supporting some types of energy while shunning others. Our energy portfolio needs to be diversified. Yes, it should include renewables, but it should also include a role for coal and natural gas.
Third, emphasize the R in R&D. While it is tempting to underwrite commercial development in hopes of spurring chosen projects to market more quickly, that option is fraught with pitfalls and best left to the private sector. In the long run, programmatic research support for many energy types ensures the country will have a menu of energy options from which to choose.
Fourth, increase research on carbon capture and storage as well as on efficiency. Carbon fuels are likely to dominate our energy mix for decades. While some think the way to address the climate impacts of carbon dioxide is to simply eliminate the use of fossil fuels, that is unlikely to happen given the size of our energy needs. Finding ways to lower the cost of capturing carbon before it is emitted is a task uniquely suited to DOE. And increasing energy efficiency from production to end use probably is the cheapest way to limit carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
Finally, keep the National Energy Technology Laboratory here. NETL is part of DOE’s national laboratory system, focusing primarily on fossil fuel research. Of five NETL sites, two are here in our region – Pittsburgh and Morgantown, W.Va. In addition to onsite research, NETL partners with industry and universities on an array of topics related to energy security, environmental integrity of energy production and use, and the competitiveness of U.S. energy systems. Southwestern Pennsylvania’s wealth of energy sources, its huge domestic energy market to the east and our region’s aggregation of industry and university expertise make this the right place for DOE to site significant research efforts.
After all, they do not call Washington County “The Energy Capital of the East” for nothing.
Jeff Kotula is president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.