Arizona State University (ASU) and the New America Foundation hosted a panel on U.S. energy independence at the National Press Club. Michael Crow, President of ASU, said while there’s been a lot of discussion on idea of getting to energy independence, the goal was to outline the “revolutionary steps” needed to achieve energy independence.
Sunil Paul, Gigaton Throwdown Project, said we need to make energy secure by creating alternative energy systems. “Salt no longer holds any strategic power because there are now other ways to preserve food — refrigeration.” In the same way, Paul argues, oil needs to be taken off its central perch in global energy production. “We need a transportation system that doesn’t require oil. If this were to happen, oil would lose its strategic power, and its central role in global energy production.”
Paul is exploring algae-based fuels and trees that can be turned into ethanol, “energies we can scale up.” In order to embrace complexity, we need more alternatives.
Gary Dirks, Arizona State University Lightworks (and former President of BP Asia Pacific), said the world is at a crossroads because current energy systems aren’t sustainable. Energy usage is expected to grow 1.5 percent per year, meaning a 40 percent increase in supply is needed by 2050. Much of the demand will be coming from Asia and the Middle East. “This means a revolutionary shift in energy to the developing world. Developing the supply and distribution infrastructure for all these new consumers will be a mammoth task.”
The world’s current energy system is a marvel of efficiency, and a “true human achievement.” In less than a hundred years, the world set up a complex, inter-locking system of energy production and distribution that has co-evolved with consumption systems. “It’s all about maximizing availability and convenience while lowering costs.” However, there are down sides — the system is highly adverse to change. “The system is sophisticated, competitive, and adaptive, but highly resistent to change. This is because the costs are so low.” As a result, new innovative energy technologies often break down when they are introduced into the system.
Dirks thinks that pricing carbon is the first step in altering the current system because the market does respond well to price, and right now “there are no prices on carbon.”
Skip Laitner, Director of Economic and Social Analysis, American Council for an Energy-efficient Economy, argues that scaling up energy efficiency was the critical issue. To date, 75 percent of increased energy production is tied to increased energy efficiency, while 25 percent is linked to new supplies. “Energy efficiency is the invisible resource.” Laitner says we need to dramatically improve the rate of efficiency improvement through information technology and new materials.
Additionally, innovation must be “continuous and driven.” “There must be a purposeful effort to change the entire energy system.”
Lisa Margonelli, Director, Energy Policy Initiative, New America Foundation, contends that over the next 40 years we need productivity growth equal to the gains made during the Industrial Revolution. Asia and Europe already have policies in place for GHGs. Europe is investing in a new super smartgrid. “Where’s the U.S. on this?” Margonelli pointed to the incredibly inefficient domestic utility structure which includes 50 different public utilities. “The U.S. is missing a huge competitive opportunity.”
Arun Majumdar, Advanced Research Projects Initiative (ARPA-E), U.S. Energy Department, thinks a Sputnik-like moment awaits the U.S.. “We need to focus on security, environment, and technological leaps so we can create a tectonic shift. The pace and scale of innovation needs to change.” On the positive side, the U.S. has the best R&D infrastructure in the world. “Our innovation ecosystem is the best.”
ARPA-E is trying to play a catalytic role, unleashing “disruptive technologies” that can create new industries. “Right now, the U.S. has about one percent of the global share of the ion battery market. Our goal is to create a new technology that will supercede the ion battery so we can win in the new technological market.”
China is rapidly expanding its new energy technology portfolio because there’s great demand there. “We have to create demand in the U.S. through policy.”
James Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, thinks the U.S. has the capacity to radically transform its energy system. He pointed to the success the U.S. had in creating universal access to electricity in 1910. “That’s great scale, and we also did at a price lower than the rest of the world.”
Before widespread electricity appeared across the U.S., “we couldn’t envision productivity gains, or the new role many technologies would play. Computers, the Internet, all were the result of universal access to electricity.”
To jump-start a technological boom like the U.S. had in 1910, Rogers thinks we need to (1) modernize and decarbonize the entire economy and (2) create smart grids that enable a new round of innovation, “innovation we can’t yet envision.”
What’s holding us up?
Panelists made a few points:
- We need better images of the future, including a bipartisan roadmap and clear market signals.
- U.S. energy policy swings back and forth between panic and complacency.
- The UK, Germany, China, and South Korea are all on their way. Most of these countries have set industrial and energy policies. The U.S. has a deep reliance on market mechanisms and lacks a country-wide energy or industrial policy.
- There are no prices on carbon. If carbon is included in the price of energy, then innovation can happen.
- It’s relatively easy to open a new power plant, but incredibly difficult to find financing for home weatherization. Community-level energy efficiency needs to be built in.
Most panelists agreed that:
- Multiple energy options (nuclear, solar, hydrothermal, etc) are needed. The market should decide which are best.
- Government should help set up the R&D infrastructure but shouldn’t be creating five-year plans.
- Cooperation with other countries, particularly China, is crucial.
- Incentives need to be aligned.
- There should be constant, pervasive innovation.
Interestingly, there was little discussion on how multi-use infrastructure could improve energy efficiency. Through piezo-electric systems, roads could produce energy powering cars. Bridges could also host solar energy systems. Transportation networks could double as energy providers. Just as interdisciplinary design and engineering teams are helping create water treatment facilities that also function as working parks, they could also be creating energy systems that serve other functions.
See an earlier post on next-generation design technologies. What do you think? What should next-generation energy infrastructure look like?
Image credit: Treehugger
