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Bills Funding Energy Storage Research Pass Committee
In a markup session this morning, the House Committee on Science and Technology passed two bills focused expanding research on energy storage technologies. The Industrial Energy Efficiency Research and Development Act of 2007 (H.R.3775) and the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Act of 2007 (H.R.3776) would initiate projects within the Department of Energy to research and develop, respectively, industrial and commercial technologies for improved energy efficiency and storage.
According to Energy and Environment Daily (subscription), the bills would together authorize $150 million for the programs through 2013.
H.R.3775 points out that the industrial sector utilizes more energy of the nation’s energy (32 percent) than any other sector: residential (21 percent), commercial (18 percent), or transportation sector (29 percent). It would fund research, some of it through university centers, on alternative fuel feedstocks and efficient industrial control systems.
H.R.3776 calls for basic research in materials design and applied research in storage and distribution systems that could power vehicles and demonstration projects would include a variety of smart grid applications and vehicles that utilize advanced batteries and charging systems.
Developing potent technologies for storing and distributing energy is just as–if not more–important than developing new sources to generate energy. As Gristmill pointed out last week, storage technology is a “woefully underappreciated piece of the energy puzzle and overdue for some concerted attention.”
Spurring DoE research on these technologies is vital because, as another Gristmill story points out, “the utility industry spends one-tenth of one percent of its revenues on R&D, less than any other major U.S. industry.”
UPDATE: Technology Review on successful demonstration projects for storage on U.S. grids.
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