Federal Agencies Join Forces to Spur Energy Innovation

The Department of Energy and the Department of Defense have agreed to cooperate on the acceleration of clean energy innovation and strengthening the nation's energy security. Under this Memorandum of Understand (MOU), the agencies will work cooperatively together in the several areas including energy efficiency, alternative fuels and renewable energy. An under-secretary level working group will coordinate R&D efforts between the agencies. This will allow the agencies to reduce "waste" by avoiding the duplication of energy innovation efforts. The agreement also calls for DOD installations to serve as test beds for research. Read the MOU.

This agreement comes shortly after a report by the military advisory board of the Center for Naval Analysis (CAN) advising the Defense Department to become more active in R&D for clean technologies. According the CNA report, nation's energy profile undeniably is linked to nation's security. The report summarizes that current reliance on fossil fuels will have a strong negative effect on long-term U.S. economic development, which will diminish the military's ability to protect national security due to the price volatility of fossil fuels and drainage of billions of dollars from the U.S. economy.

Establishment of a public-private partnership — "Operation Energy Innovation Center" — was among the other recommendations included in the report. Due to DOD's size and characteristics of military culture (e.g., organizational discipline, efficiency, supply-chain management), it is "uniquely positioned to spur energy innovation." This public-private partnership if adopted could lead to the development of energy technology incubators. These centers would be modeled after the DOE's innovation Hubs. They also recommended that the DOD should make installation of clean energy technologies at military institutions a priority. Read the report

In other energy related news, the DOE also announced six pilot projects that will attempt to convert captured carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial sources into useful products including green fertilizer, polycarbonate products, jet fuel and construction materials. Using public ($106 million in stimulus funding) and private ($156 million in matching funds) funds, the project will attempt to demonstrate the potential opportunities to use C02 as an inexpensive raw material that will reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions and provide commercially viable consumer products. During this phase, they also will evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of the proposed project. Read the press release .

These recent developments indicate a bright future for government support of the renewable energies and clean technologies sectors. However, you should not wait on these possible opportunities because federal agencies already are providing several outstanding opportunities to grow your area's renewable energy sector! By attending SSTI's preconference session — The Energy Imperative: Maximizing Green TBED Opportunities — you will learn how to capitalize on this great opportunity. To learn more about this preconference session, check out the brochure at: http://www.ssticonference.org/.