RESEARCH FUNDING
National Academies gives ARPA-E good grades NAS recommends continuation of energy research effort as well as EPA grant program A federal energy research program that U.S. chancellor of the University of California, President Donald J. Trump has proposed San Diego. to defund earned positive Congress created ARPA-E marks from the National in 2007, but the program did Academies of Sciences, Ennot get significant funding gineering & Medicine. until 2009. The report says In a congressionally manthat given its few years of dated report released on operation, ARPA-E “cannot June 13, the National Acadereasonably be expected to mies assesses the Advanced have completely fulfilled its Research Projects Agengoals.” cy-Energy (ARPA-E). The The extent of the proin federal funding in report says the program is gram’s impacts won’t be seen fiscal 2017 delivering on its mission to for years, the report contindevelop early-stage energy ues. It warns that attempts to innovations and pave a path reshape the agency through to their commercialization. pressure to produce shortof project teams or ARPA-E focuses on highterm results would create a technologies received risk and potentially transsignificant risk of failure. follow-on funding for formative technologies and In his budget request for continued work opportunities that neither 2018 released in May, Trump other federal agencies nor asked Congress to eliminate the private sector is funding. funding for ARPA-E. Earlier This, the report says, is one this month, CEOs of energy, of ARPA-E’s strengths. chemical, and biotechnolof projects had results “ARPA-E has made signifi- published in peer-reviewed ogy companies wrote to cant contributions to energy top congressional approjournals R&D that likely would not priators, asking them to take place absent the agencontinue federal funding of cy’s activities,” said Pradeep energy programs—especialKhosla, chair of the commitly early-stage and high-risk tee that wrote the report and of projects led to patents research.
ARPA-E by the numbers
$million 306
25%
~50% 13%
In a separate report, another National Academies committee assessed EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grant program. Trump’s 2018 budget proposed to eliminate the approximately $35 million funding for STAR, the agency’s primary extramural grants program that was established in 1995. In a report released on June 15, the committee finds that the STAR program has supported research of high scientific merit, produced results used to influence policy, and reduced the costs of compliance with environmental regulation. For example, STAR-backed research developed a tissue-based method for evaluating effects on the thyroid gland from exposure to chemicals. This method may reduce the cost of testing commercial compounds for toxicity compared with studies that use laboratory animals, the report says. The report recommends that EPA continue the STAR grants program. It also notes that the STAR program included fellowships for graduate students until 2015, when federal fellowships were consolidated into the National Science Foundation. But because NSF’s training programs don’t cover environmental health effects, the shift led to a large reduction in support of students wanting to conduct environmental research, the report says. It recommends the government restore the STAR fellowships at EPA. The National Academies began both assessments before the 2016 U.S. elections.—CHERYL HOGUE
CREDIT: JEFFREY B. BANKE/SHUTTERSTOCK
RENEWABLES
Wind and solar combined surpass 10% of U.S. electricity generation Wind turbines and photovoltaic arrays provided slightly more than 10% of U.S. electricity generation in March. This marks the first time these two renewables combined have made a double-digit contribution to the nation’s generation of electricity, says a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EIA anticipates that April figures will show that the two renewable sources again
contributed to more than 10% of U.S. generation. The agency expects this level to drop in the summer months. Data that EIA has gathered since 2014 indicate that the nation’s wind and solar generation reaches its annual peak in either spring or fall. Wind and solar together accounted for nearly 9% of total generation in March 2016 and for 7% in 2016 overall. Texas led the nation when wind and solar generation are
combined, followed by California. Texas harvests more wind energy than any other state, and California is number one in solar generation.—CHERYL HOGUE JUNE 19, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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