NREL director speaks at UTEP

Sept. 28, 2006

The head of the government’s main energy research lab sees a day when we will fuel our cars and power our homes and businesses without the need for foreign oil and natural gas.

Dr. Dan Arvizu, director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., spoke to a full house last week at UTEP’s Undergraduate Learning Center. His talk, titled “Harnessing Innovation for a Renewable Energy Future,” was the first of the 2006-07 Millennium Lecture Series. This year’s series will focus on environmental themes.

Dr. Dan Arvizu became director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2005.

Arvizu gave an overview of promising energy technologies that could one day end the need for imported energy sources, much of which comes in the form of oil from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria and Iraq – parts of the world where the risk of supply disruption is high.

“We have serious vulnerabilities when it comes to the supply (of oil),” Arvizu said.

The easiest and most cost-effective way to reduce our thirst for oil and natural gas is the efficient use of energy, through conservation and products and practices that use less electricity and fuel, he said.

“Energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit,” Arvizu said.

When it comes to producing electricity, Arvizu said solar-voltaic technology is “still pricey.” Wind energy, however, is “probably the closest to the marketplace now.”

When it comes to ending our dependence on the foreign oil that fuels millions of American vehicles, Arvizu is bullish on biofuel. Biofuels, such as ethanol, can be produced from agricultural crops and organic waste.

Through conservation, energy efficiency and new technologies, the United States can cut its dependence on foreign fuel sources, Arvizu said.

A recent study by the departments of Energy and Agriculture found that the United States has the potential to produce 1.3 billion tons of biomass – plant and plant-derived materials – every year without affecting our food needs.

Arvizu presented a chart that showed how 1.3 billion tons of biomass could be used to produce the equivalent of 3.5 billion barrels of oil annually, tantalizingly close to the 4.4 billion barrels of oil that were imported to the U.S. in 2003.

“If we couple energy efficiency with resources, we can really have an impact,” he said.

Arvizu said his laboratory is working on technologies that hold promise in converting biomass into fuel cheaply and efficiently.

“We think we can get (biofuels) to a cost that is very competitive with future fossil fuel,” he said.

After his presentation, Arvizu took several questions from audience members. He was asked whether he was satisfied with the amount of funding the energy laboratory has received from the government.

“We are woefully underfunded for the kinds of contributions we can make,” he said.

However, he said he has gotten this message across to President George W. Bush. Arvizu said the lab “now has a prominent seat at the discussion table.”

Arvizu’s point is reflected in the White House’s recent Advanced Energy Initiative, which calls for a 22 percent increase in funding for clean-energy technology research.

Arvizu said he is excited about what the future holds, and he is focused on taking improved energy technologies from the lab to our cars, homes and businesses in rapid fashion.

“It’s our job to ensure it doesn’t take another 25 years to make it to the marketplace,” he said.

The next Millennium Lecture Series event will be a special showing of the Discovery Channel’s “Global Warming: What You Need to Know, with Tom Brokaw,” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 at the Undergraduate Learning Center.

Related links:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency page

White House Advanced Energy Initiative


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--David Peregrino
--Photos by Chad Puerling