Testimony by Kelly Sims Gallagher Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, March 17, 2011

Library File: 

gallagher_testimony_3-17-11.pdf

Chairman Bingaman, Senator Murkowski, and other members of the Committee, thank you very much for inviting me to testify before you today on the topic of global investment trends in clean energy technologies1, and the impact of domestic policies on that investment. I am Kelly Sims Gallagher, a professor of energy and environmental policy at The Fletcher School, at Tufts University. I direct our program on Energy, Climate, and Innovation, and concurrently serve as a Senior Research Associate at the Belfer Center in the Harvard Kennedy School. I served as a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Public Policy and Management last summer where I conducted research on global energy commercialization, with emphasis on the role of China.

The United States is undoubtedly a leader in clean energy innovation in many dimensions. Other countries like Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Japan have also become leaders in clean and efficient energy technologies and industries. New contenders, most notably China, have recently emerged as well.

In order for the United States to remain competitive in clean energy, it must strengthen its energy innovation system, and ensure its firms are not operating at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace. As my testimony will reveal, U.S. strategies, policies, and investments for clean energy innovation are significantly different from the efforts of many of our major competitors in clean energy technologies, and I believe we could do better.

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