
October 16, 2007

HALL PROMOTES ENERGY STORAGE IN LEGISLATION APPROVED BY SCIENCE COMMITTEE

WASHINGTON, D.C. ...The House Committee on Science and Technology today approved legislation promoting energy storage technology that includes provisions introduced earlier this year by Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX/4^th). Hall is the Ranking Republican Member of the Committee. The committee passed by voice vote the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Act of 2007, which will establish a program at the Department of Energy to develop energy storage systems for stationary and vehicular applications. These technologies could be used in electric drive vehicles and in support of electricity transmission and distribution and other electricity sources, such as wind and solar. “This legislation will help our country use energy more efficiently,” Hall said. “New energy technologies are vital to our national energy strategy, along with conservation and production.” Many of the basic and applied research sections of Hall’s Energy for America bill, H.R. 2483, were used in this energy storage legislation. The committee also passed the Industrial Energy Efficiency Research and Development Act of 2007. This legislation will enhance research efforts within DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program to reduce energy use, improve energy efficiency, and develop alternative energy sources for energy-intensive industries. More than 170 technologies developed by ITP have been transferred to the commercial market, benefiting an estimated 13,000 U.S. manufacturing plants with a savings of 5 quadrillion units of energy totaling approximately 23 billion dollars. “Research at the federal level is vital to promoting cutting-edge technologies in the private sector,” Hall said. “I am pleased that the Committee on Science and Technology is at the forefront of energy research initiatives.”

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