Dr. Steven Koonin, Institute for Defense Analysis

Dr. Steven Koonin, former Undersecretary for Science at the US Department of Energy, delivered the 2012 Dow/Union Carbide Lecture on March 23rd at West Virginia University. The lecture was entitled, “Addressing America’s Energy Challenges.” Koonin currently works at the Institute for Defense Analyses’ Science and Technology Policy Institute in Washington D.C. The STPI provides analysis of science and technology policy issues to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Koonin reviewed the findings of the DOE’s first Quadrennial Technology Review, bringing together various energy technologies and multiple DOE energy technology programs in the common purpose of solving the nation’s energy challenges. The U.S. is the world’s third-largest producer of petroleum, yet it sends $1 billion out of the country each day to pay for oil. Koonin said the challenge for the nation and its residential, commercial and industrial sectors is to provide heat and power in environmentally responsible ways that strengthen U.S. competitiveness and protect the climate.

In particular Koonin emphasized six strategies for the future: (1) increase building and industrial energy efficiencies, (2) introduce more clean energy into the electrical grid system, (3) modernize the electrical grid, (4) increase vehicle efficiencies, (5) electrify our future vehicles, and (6) find alternatives to hydrocarbons to fuel transport.  As these indicate, major reductions in oil imports and oil consumption are needed.  ….. clean energy does not include coal energy; and, similarly, natural gas is problematic because of the carbon dioxide produced when it is burned

The full DOE-QTR report can be found here