Hill Heat

E&E News:

The Energy and Environment Subcommittee will consider the bill that would create a new National Climate Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. H.R. 2306, introduced Thursday by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), would authorize $2 billion for the climate service over its first five years, beginning in fiscal 2011.

The Dicks bill builds on language included in the draft energy and climate bill from Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), which called for the creation of a climate service at NOAA but offered few additional details.

Dicks’ bill would place the climate service in NOAA’s Climate Program Office, creating both a national center and network of regional and local facilities for climate observations, modeling and research. NOAA already supports several regional climate centers and other climate-related agency laboratories, including the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Draft legislation

Witness

• Lisa Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

S. 967, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Modernization Act of 2009, and S. 283, a bill to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to modify the conditions for the release of products from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve Account.

Witnesses

• David F. Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Petroleum Reserves, Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
• Dr. Frank Rusco, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office
• John Shages, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Petroleum Reserves, U.S. Department of Energy
• Kevin Book, Managing Director, ClearView Energy Partners, LLC
• Didier Houssin, Director of the Office of Oil Markets and Emergency Preparedness, International Energy Agency

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing to examine the economic, energy security, climate, and other environmental issues associated with biofuels-liquid fuels derived from plant, animal, or other organic matter (biomass). Expanded biofuels production in the United States and abroad presents several questions regarding the appropriate scale, direction, and regulation of biofuels development. This briefing will discuss the current state of biofuels technologies in order to better understand the full range of potential benefits, costs, and impacts associated with these fuels. Speakers for this event include:

• Lawrence Russo, Technology Manager, Biomass Program, U.S. Department of Energy
• Jennifer Holmgren, PhD, General Manager, Renewable Energy Division, Universal Oil Products
• Gerald Nelson, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute
• William Harrison, Technical Advisor for Fuels and Energy, United States Air Force
• Richard Altman, Executive Director, Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuel Initiative

Biofuels can be produced through a number of different processes using a variety of input materials or “feedstocks” and yielding different types of fuel products. This briefing will explore the intersection of technology, feedstock, and end-use issues and the implications of different pathways of biofuel production on fuel costs, agricultural resources, energy security, and greenhouse gas reduction. Key questions this briefing will address include:

• How are different types of biofuels produced?
• What are the different classes of feedstocks that can be processed into biofuels?
• What economic, technical, and environmental factors are driving or limiting biofuel development?
• What are the energy security and national security considerations associated with biofuels?
• What are the impacts of different biofuels on greenhouse gas emissions?
• How should federal policy weigh different costs, benefits, and impacts associated with biofuels production?

This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, contact Jan Mueller at (202) 662-1883 or [email protected].

This briefing is the third in a series on alternative transportation fuels. Previous briefings focused on liquid coal and tar sands and oil shale. The next briefing will focus on electricity, with details posted at www.eesi.org/briefings as they become available.

In an effort to explore the use of solar power to meet America’s future energy needs, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, led by Chairman Jim Costa (D-CA), will hold an oversight field hearing in Palm Desert, California on “Solar Energy Development on Federal Lands: The Road to Consensus.”

Federal lands have the potential to play a significant role in achieving our national renewable energy goals – experts believe some of the best solar and wind resources in the world are located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service lands in the western United States. The deserts of southern California, in particular, hold exceptional promise for providing large amounts of solar power. The BLM has already received applications from developers interested in building nearly 50,000 Megawatts of solar in that region.

However, some contend that solar power plants could take up large amounts of land and potentially use considerable quantities of water, leading to questions about the most environmentally appropriate places to locate these facilities.

The Subcommittee will explore the complexities surrounding the siting and permitting of solar plants and transmission lines on federal lands, and examine the planning processes being undertaken by the State of California to achieve consensus among various stakeholders.

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Jim Ferguson, Councilman, City of Palm Desert, California
• Commissioner Julia Levin, California Energy Commission
• Commissioner Rachelle Chong, California Public Utilities Commission
• James Abbott, Acting State Director, California State Office, Bureau of Land Management
• Thomas M. Kretzschmar, Senior Projects Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Panel 2

• Steven Malnight, Vice President of Renewable Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Carl Zichella, Western Renewable Projects Director, Sierra Club
• Katherine Gensler, Manager of Regulatory & Legislative Affairs, Solar Energy Industries Association
• Michael Niggli, Chief Operating Officer, Sempra Energy Utilities

University of California, Riverside (UCR)
Palm Desert Graduate Center
75080 Frank Sinatra Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92211

Witnesses Panel I

• Earl Devaney, Chairman, Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
• Gene Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Panel II

• Danielle Brian, Executive Director, Project on Government Oversight
• Dr. Gary Bass, Founder and Executive Director, OMB Watch

The purpose of the Business Meeting is to consider the nominations of Kristina M. Johnson, to be the Under Secretary of Energy, Steven Elliot Koonin, to be the Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy, Ines R. Triay, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Environmental Management), Hilary Chandler Tompkins, to be Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, and Scott Blake Harris, to be the General Counsel of the Department of Energy.

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Ray LaHood, Secretary, Department of Transportation

Panel 2

• Anne P. Canby, President, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership
• James Corless, Campaign Director, Transportation for America
• Steve Heminger, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission
• Ned S. Holmes, Texas Transportation Commissioner and Chairman, Transportation Transformation Group

Archive webcast

Witnesses * Dr. Rick Melberth, Director, Federal Regulatory Policy, OMB Watch * Caroline Smith DeWaal, Director, Food Safety Program, Center for Science in the Public Interest * Rena Steinzor, Professor of Law, University of Maryland * Wesley Warren, Director of Programs, Natural Resources Defense Council * Dr. Cary Coglianese, Associate Dean, Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania Law School