Speaker: Steve Koonin, Under Secretary for Science, US Department of Energy
Abstract: The Department of Energy Quadrennial Technology Review is an assessment that binds together multiple energy technologies, as well as multiple DOE energy technology programs, in the common purpose of solving our energy challenges. Access to clean, affordable, secure, and reliable energy has been a cornerstone of America's prosperity. And yet, energy security, U.S. competitiveness, and the environmental impacts of energy are long-standing challenges.
We really have two energy challenges in this country. Our challenge in transportation is energy security. Despite the fact that the United States is currently the world's third largest producer of petroleum, we send $1 billion out of the country each day to pay for oil. In the residential, commercial and industrial sectors, our challenge is to provide heat and power in environmentally responsible ways that strengthen U.S. competitiveness and protect the climate.
The QTR utilizes six strategies as a robust framework for the Department's energy technology activities, including principles we can use to establish multi-year program plans and prioritize our technology research and development. While technical innovation is vital to addressing the nation's energy challenges, it creates a practical problem: we have limited resources and urgent problems. So how do we choose among the many technically viable approaches to pursue? Since we cannot pursue all approaches simultaneously, the QTR focused on developing the principles that guide those difficult choices. The QTR, as recommended by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), is the necessary first step of a multi-agency Quadrennial Energy Review that could dramatically improve the integration and effectiveness of the government's energy policy.