Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Can ARPA-E Solve Energy Problems?
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/39843/?mod=chfeatured[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif][font size=5]Can ARPA-E Solve Energy Problems?[/font]
[font size=4]The young agency is popular, but its short-term research programs aren't enough.[/font]
Monday, March 5, 2012 | By Kevin Bullis
[font size=3]Republicans and Democrats in Congress don't agree on much, especially when it comes to the U.S. Department of Energy, but they agree that the department's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), is a good thing. Last year, when they were cutting every program in sight, they actually voted to increase the agency's funding by 50 percent. The bipartisan support was clear last week at the agency's third Innovation Summit, attended by a mix of liberal and conservative politicians and business leaders.
ARPA-E has been popular in large part because it's inexpensive—for about the same amount the government gave to failed solar-panel maker Solyndra in the form of a loan guarantee, ARPA-E has funded 180 projects. But how important is the agency for solving major energy challenges like volatile oil prices and climate change? At the summit, several speakers warned that the sort of short-term, two-to-three-year funding that the agency provides isn't enough to address long-term energy problems.
…
"In the energy sector, it takes time for an innovation to go all the way and scale and make a big difference in the commercial market," said Arun Majumdar, ARPA-E's director, in a press conference. "That takes about 10, 15, maybe 20 years. Who knows?" He pointed to other measures of success. The agency has helped increase private investment in energy, he said, noting that 11 of the projects ARPA-E funded—with about $40 million—led to more than $200 million in private-sector funding. He also noted the success of Envia, which has demonstrated a large increase in battery-storage capacity.
During a panel discussion with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates warned that energy innovation moves a lot slower than innovation in software. "The IT revolution is the exception that kind of warped people's minds about how quickly things can work," he said. "If you underestimate how hard it is, that's part of why we can end up underfunding the kind of innovative work that needs to go on." He said that energy innovations in the past have taken 50 to 60 years to make an impact.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4]The young agency is popular, but its short-term research programs aren't enough.[/font]
Monday, March 5, 2012 | By Kevin Bullis
[font size=3]Republicans and Democrats in Congress don't agree on much, especially when it comes to the U.S. Department of Energy, but they agree that the department's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), is a good thing. Last year, when they were cutting every program in sight, they actually voted to increase the agency's funding by 50 percent. The bipartisan support was clear last week at the agency's third Innovation Summit, attended by a mix of liberal and conservative politicians and business leaders.
ARPA-E has been popular in large part because it's inexpensive—for about the same amount the government gave to failed solar-panel maker Solyndra in the form of a loan guarantee, ARPA-E has funded 180 projects. But how important is the agency for solving major energy challenges like volatile oil prices and climate change? At the summit, several speakers warned that the sort of short-term, two-to-three-year funding that the agency provides isn't enough to address long-term energy problems.
…
"In the energy sector, it takes time for an innovation to go all the way and scale and make a big difference in the commercial market," said Arun Majumdar, ARPA-E's director, in a press conference. "That takes about 10, 15, maybe 20 years. Who knows?" He pointed to other measures of success. The agency has helped increase private investment in energy, he said, noting that 11 of the projects ARPA-E funded—with about $40 million—led to more than $200 million in private-sector funding. He also noted the success of Envia, which has demonstrated a large increase in battery-storage capacity.
During a panel discussion with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates warned that energy innovation moves a lot slower than innovation in software. "The IT revolution is the exception that kind of warped people's minds about how quickly things can work," he said. "If you underestimate how hard it is, that's part of why we can end up underfunding the kind of innovative work that needs to go on." He said that energy innovations in the past have taken 50 to 60 years to make an impact.
…[/font][/font]