Speaker

The Honorable Steven Chu Secretary of Energy US Department of Energy

US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu presented a Special Address at the opening session of CERAWeek 2010. Speaking of the need to develop new energy technologies to address climate change issues, Secretary Chu said, "The United States has the opportunity to lead the world in another industrial revolution."

Secretary Chu first illustrated the problem of climate change with a series of figures showing the rise in global average temperatures since 1940 and the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (and concomitant decrease in the C14/C12 ratio) since 1750. The implication is that human activity is affecting carbon levels in the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. It will be difficult to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in part because of their high energy density. For example, the energy density of kerosene is 43 megajoules (MJ) per kilogram (kg), while that of a lithium ion battery, used in electric vehicles, is only 0.54 MJ per kg. Clearly, a lot of research and development is required to bring advanced energy technologies to commercial fruition.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is investing $13 billion to fund transportation research including on advanced internal combustion engines (in particular to increase the fuel economy of heavy duty trucks), the next generation of biofuels that can substitute directly for gasoline, electric and natural gas vehicles, and hydrogen and natural gas fuel cells. Secretary Chu pointed to the past successes in funding research and development for unconventional natural gas--support for coalbed methane between 1978 and 1982 and for shale gas production between 1978 and 1992. Current funding for natural gas is going for research on methane hydrates.

The Secretary used this occasion to announce a grant of $154 million to NRG Energy under DOE's Clean Coal Power Initiative for a carbon capture and sequestration project that will use the captured carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery. Stating that "we will live in a carbon constrained world," Secretary Chu emphasized the need for price signals to energy markets and investors in order to elicit needed investments in clean energy technologies. In his view, "The most important policy that will stimulate innovation is a declining cap on carbon emissions." He closed with a strong statement of urgency: "Time is running out and the train is leaving the station."