Steven Chu is Leaving his Post as Energy Secretary

According to a Bloomberg report, Energy Secretary Steven Chu is going to announce that he is leaving his post in President Barack Obama's cabinet. Chu has worked to advance a low carbon economy in the US. He was the 12th US Secretary of Energy, he is well known for having won the Nobel Prize in 1997 for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light.

Chu was a professor of physics at Stanford University and at the time of his appointment as Energy Secretary, Chu was a professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He was also the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where his research was concerned primarily with the study of biological systems at the single molecule level.

Inhabitat Interview with the Winning Lead Designer of the 2011 Solar Decathlon

Here is an Inhabitat interview with David Gavin the project design lead for the University of Maryland team that won the 2011 Solar Decathlon. Their winning entry was a solar powered, water conservation-focused home called the WaterShed.
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University of Maryland Wins Solar Decathlon

Students at the University of Maryland won the 2011 showcase for innovative and affordable solar powered homes known as the US Energy Department Solar Decathlon. A total of nineteen collegiate teams from as far away as China and New Zealand traveled to Washington to compete in this year’s event, the fifth Solar Decathlon since 2002.

DOE's EV Oriented Transportation Budget

The 2012 Department of Energy (DOE) budget submitted to Congress includes a 20 page section on Vehicle Technologies (VT), much of which is focused on vehicle electrification. In the 2012 DOE budget, VT finance increases 80 percent from $325 million to $588 million. Charging equipment and energy storage technology are getting the bulk of the financing assistance.

The majority, ($229 million) of the VT budget increase goes towards EV deployment and infrastructure. It will benefit programs like Clean Cities which provides grants for purchasing of EVs and charging equipment. It will also benefit EV charging equipment companies.

Funding increases also include energy storage technology which increased from 94 million in 2010 spending to $188 million in the proposed budget. The VT budget also invests in accelerating cost reduction through more research and manufacturing funding.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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US DOE Supports Electric Vehicles with $184 Million in Grants

Late in 2010 US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the U.S. Department of Energy will start accepting applications for grants to accelerate the development and deployment of new efficient vehicle technologies. Up to $184 million in grants is available for a wide variety of EV technologies including advanced materials, combustion research, hybrid electric systems, fleet efficiency, and fuels technology.

"[The DOE] awards will help ensure America leads the world in the development of advanced vehicle technologies that support cost-competitive, convenient, and comfortable fuel-efficient vehicles," said Secretary Chu in the DOE press release. "Investments in the next generation of vehicle technologies are laying the groundwork for a sustainable transportation sector in America that strengthens our economy and improves our economic competitiveness."

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
DOE's EV Oriented Transportation Budget
US DOE Supporting EVs and Creating Jobs
Improving Battery Technology Key to Greener Cars
A Glimpse into the Future of Traction Batteries
The US is Ahead in the Global Competition for EV Supremacy
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Wind Stock
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