Event
Physics Colloquium
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
4:00 p.m.
Room 1410, John S. Toll Physics Building
Prof. Victor M. Yakovenko
301-405-5946
yakovenk@physics.umd.edu
http://www.umdphysics.umd.edu/events/physicscolloquia.html
Sam Baldwin, DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
"Energy Challenges: What Role for Efficiency and Renewables?"
Abstract
The U.S. and the world face tremendous economic, environmental, and security challenges due to our current patterns of energy supply and use. The scale of change needed is enormous; the time available for change is short. What role can energy efficiency and renewable energy serve in helping meet these challenges? Energy efficiency improvements have cut the U.S. energy intensity in half in the last 40 years; how much more opportunity remains? For renewables, many have expressed concern that resources such as biomass and hydropower are limited, geothermal is either limited (hydrothermal) or hard to tap, and solar and wind are variable, arguing that these factors sharply limit the ability of renewables to supply a significant share of electricity. How much of our power could renewables supply? What would be the electric system operational challenges due to the variability of wind and solar? What would be the cost of transitioning to a power system that relies substantially on renewables? These issues and more will be presented, particularly with respect to dramatic changes now beginning in the electricity sector.
Biography
Sam Baldwin is a PhD. Physicist (University of Maryland, College Park, 1980) and currently serves as the Chief Science Officer for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. In previous positions he has served with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), Princeton University, the Sahelian Anti-Drought Committee (CILSS) in West Africa, the U.S. Senate, and elsewhere. He is the author or coauthor of 9 books and monographs at OSTP, OTA, DOE, and elsewhere, and more than 30 papers and technical reports on energy technology and policy, physics, and other issues. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007.
Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.
