Center for Clean Energy Innovation
Innovation to make energy both clean and competitive must be a central goal of climate and energy policy. ITIF’s Center for Clean Energy Innovation exists to elevate this imperative in the policy debate in the United States and around the world. We conduct research, provide nonpartisan analysis, generate policy proposals, and convene members of the analytical and policymaking communities with this mission firmly in focus. (Read more about the Center.)
- Spotlight: Building the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI)—The Center was instrumental in developing the congressionally chartered nonprofit foundation that was included in the 2022 CHIPS Plus Science bill to assist DOE and advance its mission, and we are continuing to support FESI’s ramp-up.
- Spotlight: Expanding DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations—Congress authorized and funded a new DOE office in 2021 to pursue large-scale energy demonstration projects. The Center has an ongoing stream of analytical and outreach work seeking to expand that portfolio of projects and improve their management. (See past editions of our “OCED Observatory Newsletter.”)
- Spotlight: Tracking funding pathways for RD&D at the U.S. Department of Energy over time and across programs and subprograms. See the interactive data visualization.
- Make a tax-exempt donation to support the program—as The New York Times and Vox have recommended as one the most effective ways to fight climate change based on evidence-based analysis.
Featured Publications
Why Wind and Solar Need Natural Gas: A Realistic Approach to Variability
Wind and solar power will replace consistently dispatchable electricity from fossil fuels with variable and more unpredictable clean energy. Seasonal shifts and annual variations cannot be handled with batteries or other proposed storage solutions like hydrogen. Natural gas will have to bridge the gap for many decades.
Events
November 19, 2024
How Can Decarbonization Boost U.S. Industrial Competitiveness?
Watch now for expert panel discussion exploring how the United States can take advantage of opportunities to develop cleaner industries that are more globally competitive.
March 21, 2024
The Crucial Role of Early-Stage University Research in Clean Energy Innovation
Please join ITIF for an expert panel discussion about a new report examining the role of federal funding for clean energy research conducted by colleges and universities.
July 25, 2023
A Realist Climate Policy: Driving Clean Tech to Price/Performance Parity
Watch now for the release event for the important new report and panel discussion on why P3 must be the new lens governments that governments must use to decide which clean energy technologies to support and how to support them.
July 20, 2023
Reimagining Energy Permitting for the 21st Century
Watch now for the Capitol Hill briefing event featuring keynote remarks by Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) followed by an expert panel discussion on ways Congress can reduce barriers to digital energy solutions, increase new energy infrastructure technologies, and modernize our entire energy infrastructure.
May 30, 2023
Further Energizing Innovation: Assessing the Federal Energy RD&D Budget for FY24 and Beyond
Watch the Center for Clean Energy Innovation’s release event covering their annual report on the federal energy RD&D budget; discussion by expert panel covering how the funding aligns with these key priorities.
Nonresident Senior Fellow
ITIF Center for Clean Energy Innovation and Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability
Read BioMore From the Center
November 13, 2024|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
It’s Global Warming, Not American Warming
Even if it were possible to radically slash U.S. emissions with today’s technologies, it still would do little to curb global warming because the United States accounts for just 13.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. It’s time to recognize that the climate crisis can only be solved with innovation.
November 5, 2024|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
Solar and Wind Won’t Replace Natural Gas for Decades: They Will Depend on It.
Solar and wind are rapidly replacing coal, and many expect it will simply replace natural gas as well. But that’s a mistake: In fact, solar and wind for decades to come will depend on gas to fill variability gaps when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.
October 18, 2024|Testimonies & Filings
Letter in Support of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024
This bipartisan bill is a welcome effort to use government policy not to force change, but to enable change, through the widespread development of the clean energy technologies we need to drive costs down to meet the price and the performance levels of dirty energy.
May 10, 2024|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
New DOE Foundation Should Think Big
Establishing the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI) was a vital initial step, but its value will depend on what happens next.
March 13, 2024|Reports & Briefings
How Federal Funding for Basic Research Spurs Clean Energy Discoveries the World Needs: Eight Case Studies
We need new breakthroughs in clean energy technology to address climate change. Recent discoveries in areas such as nuclear fusion and biofuels illustrate how government investment in early-stage research is a critical part of the process.
March 6, 2024|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
Let’s Be Realistic About Green Hydrogen
Like any new technology, green hydrogen must meet three related challenges: production, distribution and adoption. But it faces far higher-than-advertised hurdles at every stage.
February 12, 2024|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
The Blue Hydrogen Bubble Must Burst
In order for blue hydrogen to decarbonize hard-to-reach sectors like aviation, heavy trucks, shipping, steel, and cement, blue hydrogen must slash costs and effectively capture and either store or use the carbon that’s generated.