03 May Open Letter on ARPA-E in Energy and Environment
BPC Action thanks appropriators, including Sens. Lamar Alexander and Dianne Feinstein and Reps. Mike Rogers and Marcy Kaptur, for their continued support of programs critical to advancing the next generation of domestic energy technologies.
As Congress quickly pivots to Fiscal Year 2018, BPC Action joined over 120 other organizations in support of Advanced Research Program Agency -Energy (ARPA-E) in this open letter to Sens. Alexander and Feinstein and Reps. Rogers and Kaptur.
Unique among government programs, ARPA-E has attracted nearly $2 billion in private sector funding and 56 projects have resulted in new companies. This transformative program within the Department of Energy funds high risk, early-stage research projects. For each project, there are milestones that if not met can result in the loss of funding, ensuring effective use of limited federal resources.
In its most recent report, the American Energy Innovation Council noted “ARPA-E’s highly effective approach—a focus on “game-changing” technologies, strict performance metrics and an ability to jettison projects that do not meet milestones—has been central to growing, bipartisan support for the agency.“
If you have questions or wish to discuss this subject further please contact Michele Nellenbach at mnellenbach@bpcaction.org.
Senator Lamar Alexander
Chairman
Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Ranking Member
Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Representative Mike Simpson
Chairman
House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
2084 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Representative Marcy Kaptur
Ranking Member
House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
2186 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Feinstein, Chairman Simpson, and Ranking Member Kaptur:
The undersigned organizations, companies and institutions write today to express our strong support for continued funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) in the FY 2018 budget and in subsequent funding cycles.
As you know, ARPA-E has been a highly innovative and effective program, successfully conducting critical research necessary to ensure the nation’s future energy security and as such, enjoys strong bi- partisan support. Modeled after the highly successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), ARPA-E supports “high-risk, high-reward” research which has the potential to drastically alter how we make and use energy in the future. ARPA-E finds innovative technologies and gives them the critical push to get to the point where industry can take over investment. ARPA-E is helping to foster groundbreaking technological innovations, including energy storage, advanced nuclear, and carbon capture and sequestration. The enthusiasm for ARPA-E’s vision and nimble culture was evidenced in its eighth annual Energy Innovation Summit convening over 2,000 attendees including entrepreneurs, state and federal government officials, state and federal agencies, and investors.
As both the Subcommittees on Energy and Water Development of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approach markup and consider funding for the FY 2018 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill, we urge you to support our nation’s energy security and competitiveness through this transformational agency and to fund ARPA-E consistent with levels approved in both the House and Senate for fiscal year 2017 of at least $325 million.
The importance of U.S. leadership in energy technologies to our economic and energy security makes ARPA-E a tremendous competitive advantage for our nation. Stable and sustained funding is necessary to ensure this successful program continues to spearhead America’s energy research.
Sincerely,
Achates Power
Advanced Energy Economy
Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Allied Metal Company
Alveo Energy, Inc.
Ambri Inc.
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Chemical Society
American Geophysical Union
American Society of Agronomy
ASME
Aspen Aerogels, Inc.
Association of American Universities
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Bettergy Corp.
Birch Tree Capital
Blue Current
BlueWave Solar
BPC Action
Brayton Energy
California Clean Energy Fund
Case Western Reserve University
Center for Carbon Removal
Chimera Bioengineering
Citrine
Clean Energy Trust
Clean Energy Venture Group
Cleantech Open Northeast
Colorado State University
Congruent Ventures
Crop Science Society of America
DBL Partners
Dioxide Materials
DNV GL
Duke University
Econpolicy
Energy
Energy Innovation LLC
Entrepreneur in Life Sciences
FireFlower Alternative Energy
FirstFuel Software
Gas Technology Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gnosys, Inc.
Greentown Labs
Handy Law, LLC
Swift Coat, Inc.
TechNe
The Optical Society
The Texas A&M University System
The University of Texas at Austin
Third Way
TL Biolabs
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, San Diego
University of California System
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
Yield10 Bioscience Inc.
Harvard University
Independence Solar
Industrial Microbes
Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers – USA (IEEE-USA)
Invizyne Technologies, Inc
Kent State University
KPCB
Lightsmith Group
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)
Michigan Technological University
NAATBatt International
National Venture Capital Association
New Hampshire Clean Tech Council
New Hampshire Sustainable EnergyAssociation (NHSEA)
New York Battery and Energy StorageTechnology Consortium
Newport Solar
Newton Energy Group LLC
North Carolina State University
Northeast Clean Energy Council
Onboard Dynamics, Inc.
Oregon BEST
Oregon State University
Otherlab
Penn State University
Phinix,LLC
Pinnacle Engines
Plant Sensory Systems
Pneubotics
PolyPlus Battery Company
Powerhouse
Prelude Ventures
PRIME Coalition Inc
Prospect Silicon Valley
ProsumerGrid, Inc.
Robert Bosch LLC
SAFCell
Sila Nanotechnologies Inc.
SixPoint Materials, Inc.
SLIPS Technologies Inc.
Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern, LLP
Soil Science Society of America
Southwest Research Institute
Spruce Capital Partners
Starfire Energy
Stony Brook University
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Delaware
University of Georgia
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland
University of Pennsylvania
University of Rochester
University of Tennessee
University of Vermont
University of Washington
Urban Future Lab/ ACRE Incubator
Vanderbilt University
Volute, Inc.
Senators McConnell, Schumer, Cochran and Leahy
Representatives Ryan, Pelosi, Frelinghuysen and Lowey
Senator Mitch McConnell
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Senator Chuck Schumer
Senate Minority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Thad Cochran
Chairman
Senate Committee on Appropriations
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Patrick Leahy
Vice Chairman
Senate Committee on Appropriations
437 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Representative Paul Ryan
Speaker of the House
1233 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Representative Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
233 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen
Chairman
House Committee on Appropriations
2306 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Representative Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
House Committee on Appropriation
2365 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515<
Bipartisan Policy Center Action
1225 Eye Street NW – Suite 1000 – Washington, D.C. 20005 – (202) 204-2400
bpcaction.org
