MONIZ LISTS CLIMATE, CLEAN TECH DEVELOPMENT AS MAJOR FOCUS AT DOE

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
5/24/13

New Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz vowed to make carbon capture and storage and clean energy technology development some of his main priorities at the Department of Energy in a May 22 town hall-style event with employees. A day after he was sworn in as the 13th Secretary of Energy, Moniz said moving forward with what he called the “clean energy climate agenda” would be his top issue moving forward and that advancing CCS and CO2 utilization would be a key part of that approach. “Very importantly, I think we’ve gotten a great head start now with the roughly $6 billion—including Recovery Act funds—that went into significant carbon capture and sequestration projects. CCS, or CCUS, is clearly a major focus,” he said. “It’s central to the role of coal in a carbon-constrained world, and I think that’s an area where we really have to move that forward with the view that what we do in terms of these demonstrations will provide the basis long-term for the kind of regulatory environment that we will need for private-sector activity in these areas.” In his previous role as head of the MIT Energy Initiative, Moniz co-authored several highly-cited reports on CCS and the future of coal in the U.S.

Moniz said during the town hall meeting that the opportunity to address climate change through technology development was the “clincher” in his decision to return to DOE. “Moving forward on climate I think is enormously important, and frankly, that was in some sense the clincher for me to want to come back and be a part of advancing that agenda,” Moniz said. “Indeed I would argue that when all is said and done, it is the progress that we will help facilitate in terms of lowering the cost of low carbon technology that is going to be a tremendous facilitator for that policy agenda.” In that sense, Moniz said he wants to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Steven Chu in emphasizing energy technology innovation.

Moniz Sees Gas Boom as ‘Boon’

Moniz said he sees the recent natural gas boom as a “boon” in terms of clean energy technology development, particularly for renewables. “First of all, we all know that it is partially responsible for the decrease in CO2 emissions that we have experienced over the last years in the absence of over-arching legislation. Secondly, what I would argue is that the way to look at gas [is] as kind of a bridge to a very low carbon future,” he said. “It affords us a little bit more time to develop the technologies, to lower the costs of the alternative technologies, to get the market penetration of these new technologies. The key is that buying time is not very useful if you don’t use the time… It means pushing hard on those other technologies, on the renewable technologies. This is the time to get those ready for the marketplace on a big scale.”

Moniz was unanimously confirmed by the Senate last week, more than two months after President Obama submitted his nomination for consideration. His nomination had been stalled for weeks by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who objected to DOE plans to cut funding for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility being built in South Carolina.