The Ford School's Catie Hausman has established principles for a transition of policy focus to clean energy research and development (R&D). In an essay for The Brookings Institution Hausman outlines her thoughts on clean energy R&D policy, highlighting four key policy levers necessary for a move toward clean energy. Hausman notes that to achieve effective investment in clean energy R&D we must spend triple the federal support for energy R&D; prioritize clean energy, with a secondary focus on energy security; allow for risk-taking in project selection, and expect (and learn from) some project failures; and, draw on the expertise of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and the national laboratories.
Hausman argues that taking this policy approach to expand clean energy R&D will "jump-start innovation, correct market failures, enhance energy security, and enable a more cost-effective transition to a climate-responsible economy." She urges for a high-risk, high-reward method to clean energy innovation investments. Additionally, Hausman touches on the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and how focusing on the four proposed pillars of clean energy R&D will complement and accelerate the IRA's method of benefitting the planet through low-cost transition to clean energy.
Overall, Hausman assures that with critical investments in clean energy R&D, economic growth and well-being will follow.
You can read the whole essay here.
