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The House Science and Technology Committee today voted to approve two research and development bills introduced and sponsored by Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-21). The Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2009, and a bill that would create a natural gas turbine research, development and demonstration program would both leverage public investment and private research to maximize energy efficiency and bring new technologies to the market.

“Both of these bills are aimed at the same targets: To create energy savings though better design and efficiency, and to promote U.S. technology leadership,” said Rep. Tonko. “Efficiency is our most abundant natural resource. We should be drilling and mining efficiency like Texas drills for oil and West Virginia mines coal. Making smart investments in these technologies will help bring these advances to market in a way that will help wean us off imported fossil fuels and spur job retention and creation.”

The Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2009 (H.R. 3165), creates a research and development program that will look to improve every aspect of wind turbines, from the use of larger, lighter and more affordable blade materials to improvements in gearbox reliability, to reducing manufacturing costs. The goal is to then bring these advances to market to increase the use and output of wind energy installations. The bill would provide $200 million per year for the program, from 2010 to 2014, and is supported by the American Wind Energy Association.

H.R. 3029 would establish a program to improve the efficiency of natural gas turbines which are used in combined cycle power generation systems. The bill would allocate $65 million per year from 2011 to 2014 for a competitive grant program to raise the efficiency of natural gas power plant turbines to 65%. Currently, the most efficient turbines operate at 60% efficiency. A one percentage point improvement in efficiency applied to existing turbines would reduce CO2 emissions by 4.4 million tons per year and provide fuel savings of more than $1 billion per year. GE Energy, based in Schenectady, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of natural gas turbines and would be eligible to take part in the program.

Both grant programs would be administered by the Department of Energy and now await action before the full House of Representatives.

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