Breaking down barriers to advanced energyAdvanced Energy Economy (AEE) is calling on Congress for a new approach to energy innovation -- one that includes better utilizing federal funds for advanced energy technology, products and services. Malcolm Woolf, AEE senior vice president for policy and government affairs, testified yesterday before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy Science, Space and Technology. "New energy technologies face a series of structural market barriers to entry. As such, the federal government needs to continue to play a vital role in supporting new energy technologies, products and services," Woolf told the subcommittee. "Just as the Internet economy transformed society in ways we did not expect, the advanced energy economy is creating dramatic new opportunities for economic growth in the United States and around the world." AEE supports several principles for policymakers developing energy policy to drive domestic energy innovation. Endless government support should not be given to mature technologies with significant market penetration, AEE contends. Instead, the federal government should focus on driving the commercialization of next-generation technology, Woolf stressed in his testimony. As part of this principle, AEE contends that permanent subsidies and investments for companies and technology should instead remain only long enough to achieve maturity at which point the company or technology must stand on its own so as not to distort price and market signals, creating barriers for new technologies. Further, Woolf contends that frequently changing rules create unpredictability and are disruptive to markets and harmful to the businesses, investors, and consumers participating in them. In his testimony, Woolf urged Congress to be technology neutral in an effort to support all forms of advanced technology. "Many of today's energy policies were written by Congress with one sector in mind, even favoring a single technology," Woolf said. "Such an approach distorts market signals and puts the weight of Congress behind investment decisions." Advanced energy includes a broad range of diverse technologies such as renewable energy systems, hybrid vehicles, energy-efficient appliances, nuclear power, advanced gas turbines, and information technology for the energy industry. The advanced energy opportunity is ripe for the picking. A recent report by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute, found that worldwide, the advanced energy industry by revenue is larger than pharmaceutical manufacturing, and approximately two-thirds the size of telecommunications. In the U.S., the advanced energy industry is larger than the trucking industry and more than twice the size of the casino industry. For more:
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