Hill Heat

The ethanol mandate taught us that energy subsidies for commercial energy projects can lead to unintended consequences and ultimately be counterproductive. Yet Washington’s attempts to address America’s energy questions continue to rely heavily on preferences, mandates, and subsidies for energy commercialization. This is causing energy experts from across the political spectrum to begin questioning the role of subsidies in energy policy. Is this an area where liberals and conservatives might agree?

Join us for a panel with four politically diverse energy experts who will discuss these questions and others as they investigate where agreement exists on the role of energy subsidies, mandates, and preferences in commercializing energy in the United States.

• Peter Bradford, Vermont Law School, former NRC Commissioner and Union of Concerned Scientists Board Member
• Marlo Lewis, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Doug Koplow, Founder, Earth Track
• Ben Lieberman, Senior Policy Analyst, Energy and Environment, The Heritage Foundation

• Jack Spencer, Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy Policy, The Heritage Foundation
• Henry Sokolski, Executive Director, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC)

214 Massachusetts Ave NE

The nuclear science and engineering education and research community cordially invites you to attend a luncheon briefing: “Everything You Wanted To Know About Nuclear Energy—But Were Afraid to Ask.”

• The Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization
• National Organization of Test, Research, and Training Reactors
• Nuclear Energy Institute
• American Nuclear Society

This lunch will feature prominent scholars and experts from universities in 25 different states. The event complies with rules for a widely attended event.

RSVP: Please RSVP with Sherazhad Hakky via e-mail: ssh@nei.org. Please note that space is extremely limited. RSVPs must be received by Monday, March 23.

Witnesses

• Dale E. Klein, Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Gregory B. Jaczko, Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Peter B. Lyons, Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Kristine L. Svinicki, Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• Peter A. Bradford, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School, Former NRC Commissioner
• Harold Denton, Former NRC Employee
• Dick Thornburgh, Of Counsel, K&L Gates LLP, Former Governor of Pennsylvania
• Marvin Fertel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Nuclear Officer, Nuclear Energy Institute

E&E News:

Lawmakers are expected to hear testimony on how and where to best place infrastructure to maximize energy development at minimal environmental costs. Witnesses also will testify regarding the ongoing effects of the Exxon Valdez spill, as well as potential environmental hazards associated with offshore oil and gas production.

• Thomas C. Baloga, Vice President of Engineering, BMW of North America
• Steven Chalk, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
• Dr. Kathryn Clay, Director of Research, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
• Anthony Greszler, Vice President of Government and Industry Relations, Volvo Powertrain North America, Member, 21st Century Truck Partnership Executive Committee
• Dr. John H. Johnson, Presidential Professor, Michigan Technological University Chair, National Academies Committee to Review the 21st Century Truck Partnership

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, will deliver remarks on the path forward for addressing global warming, including legislation and other actions.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing to examine the energy, environmental, economic, and national security issues associated with liquid transportation fuels derived from coal. Coal-based fuels were first developed almost 100 years ago. Germany used liquid coal fuels from the 1920’s until World War II and South Africa has had an active liquid coal industry since 1955. Desire to reduce dependence on foreign oil has driven interest in developing alternative transportation fuels including liquid coal in the United States, which has the largest known recoverable coal reserves of any country in the world. Liquid coal, however, raises significant questions about costs, benefits, and impacts in terms of energy security, climate change, land and water resources, and public health. Speakers for this event include:

• James Katzer, PhD, Independent Consultant; Former Vice-President, Technology, Mobil Oil Corporation
• Sasha Mackler, Research Director, National Commission on Energy Policy
• Sarah Ladislaw, Fellow, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Matthew Wasson, PhD, Director of Programs, Appalachian Voices

The potential impacts of these fuels on U.S. and global greenhouse gas emissions have been a dominant concern. Unless the carbon dioxide emissions generated by the processing of these fuels can be permanently sequestered and stored, the greenhouse gas footprint of these fuels is estimated to be approximately twice that of conventional gasoline. Options to reduce life-cycle carbon emissions are being explored but are presently uncertain. How national security, climate change, and local environmental impacts should be weighed and integrated into public policy decisions regarding these fuels remains controversial and unclear.

This briefing will review these multiple issues to help guide a full and informed comparison of different policy options regarding alternative transportation fuels. Key questions to be addressed include:

• How are liquid coal fuels produced? What are the factors driving and limiting their development?
• What is the range and scale of impacts associated with the production and consumption of these fuels?
• What are the energy, environmental, and national security consequences of developing these fuels?
• How should different costs, benefits, and impacts be factored into federal policy decisions?

This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, contact Jan Mueller at (202) 662-1883 or jmueller@eesi.org.

This briefing is the first in a series on alternative transportation fuels. Subsequent topics will include oil shale and tar sands, biofuels, and electricity. Details will be posted at www.eesi.org/briefings as they become available.

The hearing will address potential domestic legislative provisions to prevent the leakage of jobs and carbon emissions from the United States to countries that do not take similar action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

• Jack McMackin, Jr., on behalf of The Energy Intensive Manufacturers Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Regulation
• Marty McBroom, Director of Federal Environmental Affairs, American Electric Power
• Eileen Claussen, President, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
• Richard Morgenstern, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
• Paul Cicio, President, Industrial Energy Consumers of America
• Margo Thorning, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, American Council for Capitol Formation

• David Hayes, nominee to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior

This week’s nomination hearing will be the second time around for Hayes, who previously held the deputy secretary position at the tail end of the Clinton administration. Hayes was confirmed by a unanimous Senate vote to serve as second-in-command at Interior under former Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

During his previous stint at Interior, Hayes worked on negotiations for habitat conservation plans under the Endangered Species Act, acquisition of old-growth redwood forest in Northern California and introducing new water management approaches in the West.

He also helped to settle longstanding American Indian water and land disputes and establish the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, according to a biography provided by Interior.

Recently, Hayes oversaw the energy and natural resources transition for President Obama. Also, he has been partner and global chair of the Environment, Land and Resources Department at Latham & Watkins. In addition, he served as chairman of the board of the Environmental Law Institute and as a senior fellow at the World Wildlife Fund and the Progressive Policy Institute.

Hayes’ name was floated as a candidate for Interior secretary. The option was met with resistance from some environmental groups, which noted that he has worked as a lobbyist for several groups, including Sempra Energy and the San Diego Gas & Electric Co., and that as a lawyer he represented the Chemical Manufacturers Association and Ford Motor Co.