DOE to Provide $50M to Make Electric Vehicles More Affordable & Hearing to Explore Lifting Ban on U.S. Crude Oil Exports

Regulatory Activity

Funding for Autos

The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it will provide $50 million in funding for its FY 14 Vehicle Technologies Program to help “make plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) more affordable and convenient…within the next 10 years.” The funding will be dedicated to target areas including: advanced light-weighting, advanced battery development, power electronics, advanced heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems and fuels and lubricants. Concept papers are due February 19 and full applications are due March 1.

Commercial Geothermal

On Tuesday, January 28, the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Geothermal Technology Office, will hold a webinar titled, “How to Utilize the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS).”  The NGDS gathers geothermal data from all 50 states, academia and industry. DOE intends for the webinar to support the “development of commercial-scale geothermal energy production.”  The webinar will provide a live demo with instruction as well as the opportunity to become an official node on the NGDS.

Legislative Activity

This Week’s Hearings:

Critical Minerals

Tuesday, January 28: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a full committee hearing on Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2013 (S.1600).  The bill has 17 bi-partisan cosponsors (10 Democrats; 7 Republicans) and it is expected that the bill will ultimately provide more efficiency in the federal permitting process in order to support job creation and investment in the U.S.

Oil Exports

Tuesday, January 30: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a full committee hearing titled, “U.S. Crude Oil Exports: Opportunities and Challenges” to explore lifting the current ban on U.S. crude exports.