‘My fellow citizens... We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.’

So, President Obama did mention alternative energy in his inauguration speech. His predecessor didn’t mention energy in either of his inaugural addresses, but he has been very supportive of hydrogen and fuel cell R&D in particular over his two terms in office. It is clear that energy policy will be a key concern for the Obama administration in the coming years.

There are a few more details of the new energy and environment policy on the White House website. The New Energy Plan will ‘help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next 10 years, to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.’

While the focus in transportation appears to be on increasing fuel economy standards – which are amazingly low, even now, compared to European and Asian standards – and hybrid plug-in vehicles, there are also commitments to ‘advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure’ and ‘promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy.’

And the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan calls for ‘doubling the production of alternative energy in the next three years.’ These all offer hope for significant support for the alternative energy industry, most parts of which are lobbying hard for funding in the promised financial bailout.

Indeed, President Obama has nominated Nobel Prize winner Dr Steven Chu, currently director of DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to be the next Secretary of Energy. Dr Chu is credited for guiding LBNL towards more research on low-carbon energy sources, including renewable challenges, and clearly understands that technical solutions are needed.

Posted 30 January 2009 by Steve Barrett