Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
november 2015

The Monthly Review is part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy.
Current and archived monthly reviews are available online.

Subscribe to receive the Monthly Review directly.

energy

DOE partners with cities and states to share energy data via open-source software

November 10, 2015

The Department of Energy, in collaboration with the National League of Cities and the National Association of State Energy Officials, is launching a data-sharing program aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in buildings and lowering costs throughout the U.S. This program, known as the SEED Collaborative, will utilize open-source software (the Standard Energy Efficiency Data Platform) developed by the DOE to manage and channel energy data collected from various sources, primarily buildings. It allows the users to track their energy usage by providing a wide range of building metrics; the software also enables the users to graph their energy consumption. 

Currently, cities use a variety of data management sources, which can produce errors and be costly. The SEED Initiative’s purpose is to provide software that will standardize the format of energy consumption data.

Sources: eenews

Senate bill would increase tech transfer from DOE’s national labs to the marketplace

November 18, 2015

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) released a bill known as the Accelerating Technology Transfer to Advance Innovation for the Nation (ATTAIN) Act (S.___) on November 17. The purpose of the bill is to accelerate the transfer of cutting-edge research and technology produced at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) national laboratories to the marketplace. The bill allows researchers at the national labs to pursue marketplace feedback on their technologies. Along with promoting this exchange, the bill would make the DOE’s new tech transfer office permanent and expands the geographical reaches of funding for smaller businesses to employ and develop the national lab’s tech products.

The bill aims to increase the effectiveness of the national laboratories by making their research more commercially viable and available. In June 2015, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) also introduced similar legislation geared toward improving the management of national laboratories.

Sources: congress.gov, eenews

Senators introduce legislation that will finance carbon capture and storage projects

November 19, 2015

Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced legislation on November 19, 2015 that allows industrial facilities to finance the purchase and installation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) equipment. The bill , called the Carbon Capture Improvement Act, would permit businesses to use tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance the upfront costs of a facility that captures and then stores carbon dioxide underground or uses it for enhanced oil or gas recovery. The goals of this bill include increasing the economic feasibility of CCS projects and boosting oil production while reducing emissions.

Sources: Sen. Bennet Press Release, eenews