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With energy prices for petroleum and natural gas still at historic highs, energy imports increasing as the highest single component of the US trade deficit, and in light of a recently-passed Energy Bill that lavishes most of the taxpayer dollars on conventional technologies in mature markets and with mature companies - the nation's preeminent research institution for renewable and alternative technology is significantly cutting staff.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado plans to lay off as many as 100 scientists and researchers, or 11 percent of its total staff, beginning early next month as it faces drastic cuts in its budget. The fiscal 2006 cuts, estimated at more than $20 million, or 10 percent of its $200 million budget in fiscal 2005, are the result of Congress earmarking or diverting a big chunk of federal funds toward other projects.
"The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the largest renewable energy research institution in the world", says, Scott Sklar, "While the President has withheld US participation in international climate change negotiations on the basis that our country can move forward through advances in technology - this is a 'direct slap in the face' of that position" stated Sklar.
He and other energy experts called on The White House and the US Congress to 'turn this situation' around immediately to retain the NREL research brain trust that this nation and the world needs.
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The Stella Group, Ltd. is a strategic marketing and policy firm for the clean distributed energy industries including advanced batteries and interconnection technologies, concentrated solar, and solar thermal energy efficiency, fuel cells, heat engines, hydrogen, microhydropower, modular biomass, photovoltaics. and small wind as well as pollution prevention applications.
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