Entry Date:
September 20, 2011

Accelerating U.S. Energy Innovation

Principal Investigator Richard Lester


Meeting the three interconnected challenges of global climate change, worldwide energy supply insecurity, and rapidly expanding global energy demand will require the adoption of innovative technologies for energy supply and use on a very large scale. These challenges will be approached differently by different nations. In the United States neither the financial resources committed thus far nor the institutional capabilities for innovation appear adequate to the needs. This project is taking an integrated approach to the design of the nation's energy innovation system, encompassing the entire complex of incentives, regulations, markets, and public and private institutions within which the development, demonstration, early adoption, and diffusion of new energy technologies takes place. The purpose of the project is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this system and to recommend ways to improve its performance.