Discovery is hard, demonstration is harder, but Deployment — that’s what makes your country great. “A point that he consistently makes is that the technology risk itself isn't the hard part. Much of what's emerging is technology that people at the DOE have been working on literally for decades. The main challenge is not in coming up with something new that might work to produce clean energy. The challenge is getting something that's shown to work out into the field, and operating in an efficient, competitive manner. One key ingredient to making that happen is finding the necessary capital which is where the LPO has a role. And of course this is true with things that aren't at the cutting edge technologically as well. Nuclear has been around for a long time, and likely has a role to play in improving the grid. But it's hard to deploy, at least in the US, at least in some categories. So to an extent, the US economy faces a challenge that for much of the 20th century we might have associated with developing economies. The technology to achieve things people want exists. Thinking them up and showing they can work is not the hard part. The hard part is in the coordination and cooperation required to get them running.”
Darrell Polston
6mo
Mayne the harder part is showing they are financial feasible and can generate profit without subsidies and other assistance. this is especially, true for LDES and other energy redundancy projects. I would guess it will hold true for DRMs, VPPs and other technologies that hinge on the publics whim of resetting comfort levels,or for industry to shutdown production. always the question will be does your system/solution scale.
Daveed Sidhu
6mo
Well said, Jigar! The journey from discovery to deployment is indeed a challenging yet crucial path. It's not just about innovating new technologies, but also about overcoming the practical hurdles to bring proven solutions to the market efficiently. The DOE's long-term work on clean energy technologies highlights this reality, where securing the necessary capital and ensuring effective deployment are often the biggest obstacles. Your insights on the role of the Loan Programs Office in bridging this gap are enlightening. It's through such coordination and cooperation that we can truly drive the energy transition forward. Thanks for shedding light on this important aspect of our energy future. #CleanEnergy #Innovation #EnergyTransition #DOE
Mike L. Perry
6mo
Agreed, Deployment is hard and successful Demonstration projects are a key starting point. This is why DOE’s OECD program should offer open (or annual) solicitations to subsidize Demo projects for many clean-energy technologies, especially those that will be distributed assets (e.g., #LDES). When companies are ready to do a Demo, at a cost that is reasonable (e.g., ~ 2X commercial-viable), then they can apply for OECD funding with 50% cost share. Currently, OECD is unfortunately issuing $B solicitations for projects with $100M budgets on an irregular basis.
Ramani Hariharan
6mo
"The hard part is in the coordination and cooperation requires to get them moving..." and how ! Scaling up a proven technology or a business model even within a company is daunting. I have the scars to show for it. I called them "Death by Pilots". You demonstrate value creation in one region, then the P & L manager in another region says Yeah well it won't work here, yet another will say " Well our region is different because of blah, blah, blah.. Any new business without a hard mandate from the chief executive of a company and a culture & will to push a decarbonization project hrough seems doomed to fail. That I believe is the best value provided by the DOE Loan Programs Office. They make or try to help make a business case so attractive that the naysayers would be foolish to say no. The next challenge: Finding the right project so it doesn't end up being a white elephant...
Nick Mandala
6mo
Propagated Human Intelligence (PHI) is the software of tomorrow. Simply put, it is taking proven wisdom with innovation (thanks Amory Lovins, Wolfgang Feist) and applying it at scale. And is the clear solution to this: So to an extent, the US economy faces a challenge that for much of the 20th century we might have associated with developing economies. The technology to achieve things people want exists. Thinking them up and showing they can work is not the hard part. The hard part is in the coordination and cooperation required to get them running.”
John Wind
6mo
We need all hands on deck around deployment. The DOE does not have enough people who have deep experience in deployment of new technologies. As a taxpayer, I want my dollars being used efficiently, moving advanced technologies through the TRL pipeline. As a citizen of plant earth, I would like to see the energy system decarbonized as fast as possible to have a habitable environment. Getting those pieces working together efficiently at scale is a major challenge.
Cory Hewett
6mo
“The technology to achieve things people want exists…The hard part is in the coordination and cooperation required to get them running”
Maria Bries
6mo
Yes! Deployment of cleantech depends on a high rate of low-cost capital flow and changing a regulated monopoly system to sufficiently value and compensate the private companies that are bringing the tech to market (IPPs, VPP aggregators, GETs/smart grid operators) along with planning initiatives (both utility IRP and local communities) that prioritize advanced cleantech project development. Until projects are inked and energized, the climate future we are seeking to create will remain too far down the road. ~Dan Belin, AICP
At a time when we need to accelerate deployment, state and local governments (both blue and red) are putting up obstacles. In some cases, like in California, distributed generation is being stymied by State agencies at he behest of IOUs who are fighting to protect their monopoly privilege.,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - Physicist
6moIf it actually reduce CO2 emission in global scale. Does it?