Our final comments have to do with the procurement of government – supported RD&D projects. We have made a case for research in the national laboratories, joint development, and industry-led demon­strations. There are good technical and policy reasons for these recom­mendations, but to be successful we need to minimize what government does worst—R&D procurement. This […]

Many gove^rnment programs experience significant changes in direction or emphasis with every change of administration, especially when a different political party occupies the White House. But changes also occur even when the same party succeeds to executive power but under a new president. Of all the gove^rnment-sponsored R&D programs, those dealing with energy seemed to […]

What is the proper role of gove^rnment in energy RD&D? Let us focus primarily on the RD&D process as a whole, classic R&D and demon­stration, recognizing at the outset that there is probably no simple answer to the question, and that the DOE renewable energy program, which served as our background, was somewhat atypical. Where […]

The U. S. gove^rnment mounted a multifaceted response to the oil embargo and the oil price increases of 1973 that included massive pro­grams for alternative fuel supplies as well as accelerated RD&D and commercialization of renewable energy sources. The projections of the day were based on both erroneous assessments of the accessible reserves of oil […]

The energy sector represents a small, but critical, fraction of the U. S. economy. In 1973 we saw the impact that even a small shortfall in the energy supply could have on the economy and the quality of life of the nation. The United States and most of the developed world have enjoyed many decades […]

Charles A. Bankston, Donald A. Beattie, and Frederick H. Morse As promised in chapter 1, we have ended this volume with our obser­vations and lessons learned during the course of our energy program experience. Readers of the other volumes will find specific lessons learned relating to the various technical aspects of solar heat technologies, and […]

Volume 10 cites, as organizational support activities, programs that involved the utilities, state and local governments, international coopera­tion, and labor, law, or environmental issues. Surprisingly, the environ­mental issues received little attention in the early development of the solar heat technologies program. Most of the emphasis was on energy conser­vation and security. Today the linkage between […]

Incentive programs were considered necessary to accelerate the adoption of solar energy technologies that were in the national interest. Without incentives, it was felt, conversion would be delayed too long and become more costly and even dangerous to energy security. Incentives might be needed to develop a sustainable market, but should not be necessary to […]