Opening Statement By Vice-Chair Gabrielle Giffords

I want to thank Chairman Lampson and Ranking Member Inglis for considering HR 2774, the Solar Energy Research and Advancement Act in Subcommittee this afternoon.

On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to hear from a very distinguished panel of witnesses, including the Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the President of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and the Solar Technology Coordinator for Arizona Public Service (APS), which is the second fastest growing electric utility in the U.S. over the last five years.

Many members of the Subcommittee attended the hearing, and we had a very informative and engaging dialogue on the discussion draft for this legislation.

The bill before us today contains two main components that will move research and development forward on concentrating solar power (CSP). The first would establish a “Thermal Energy Storage Research and Development Program” within the Department of Energy. This will help us solve perhaps the most significant problem with concentrating solar power technology: energy storage. We need more advanced technology so that we can store solar energy when the sun shines and use it at night or on a cloudy day. This is all about energy reliability and viability.

In giving his strong support for this research at the hearing, Dr. Dan Arvizu from NREL said that “the ability of CSP technologies to store energy presents an opportunity … [to] produce baseload power at about 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Such systems would include 13-17 hrs of thermal storage and would compete with the cost of power from coal plants using carbon sequestration technology. It is expected that an aggressive R&D program could achieve the cost goal by 2020.”

The second component would require DOE to conduct two “Concentrating Solar Power Commercial Application Studies.”

One would study methods to integrate concentrating solar power energy into regional electricity transmission systems. The best time of the day to produce and use solar energy is from 10am-5pm. We need to research how to connect major solar power plants to the electric grid, relieve expensive demand on electric utilities, and use solar energy during these peak hours. We also need to figure out how to bring this abundant resource from the Southwest to the entire country.

The other report would require DOE to examine methods to reduce the amount of water consumed by concentrating solar power systems. Given the strain on water resources in the Southwest, we must study this subject so we can realize the full benefits of CSP technology.

In addition to the initiatives I’ve just laid out, I will also offer an amendment today to create a solar workforce development initiative, and I look forward to talking more about this shortly.

As I said on Tuesday, solar energy is a non-partisan issue. The sun beats down on Democrats, Republicans, and Independents with equal intensity, and we can all benefit from harnessing the power of the sun.

This bill will help us do just that.

I look forward to Members’ support of this legislation, and I will continue to work with you as we move to the full Committee markup next week.