A 127 kW rooftop photovoltaic system - the largest roof - integrated federal system in the nation - now generates electricity directly from the sun for the Marina Processing and Distribution Center.

Although California's energy crisis has subsided, energy research remains a significant concern for the state. With significant budget cuts to consider, deciding how best to spend funding on research and development is an important process, and the California Energy Commission (CEC) has turned to CCST for advice.

CCST has been advising the state on energy related issues for several years. In 1998, the CEC asked CCST to nominate a 12-member independent review panel (IRP) to evaluate the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, which funds research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects that focus on renewable forms of energy, alternative methods of generating energy, and energy efficiency. Following the completion of this two-year review process in 2001, the CEC then asked CCST to provide a nonpartisan analysis of the electricity crisis that hit California in 2000.

Senate Bill 1038 (Sher) required the CEC to convene a new IRP to review and critique the PIER program. Because the two reports produced by CCST as part of the first PIER review have provided effective guidance to PIER program management for the last two years, the CEC contracted with CCST to conduct the second IRP process and produce a new set of reports in 2004 and 2005.

To effectively evaluate the program, PIER management, the CEC and CCST agreed that the new IRP team should be comprised of several members from the first IRP, with the addition of new members. The panel, which was assembled in May 2003, includes six members who participated in the first IRP, and seven who are CCST Council members or Fellows. Representatives are included from academe, industry, government, and the non-government organization sectors, with expertise in energy and environmental RD&D, economics, public health issues and governmental policies.

The IRP has a broad mandate to look for innovative solutions and provide an in-depth evaluation and set of recommendations for improving the PIER program. One of the principal goals of the new IRP will be to evaluate the extent to which the recommendations of the previous review have been implemented. Issues to be addressed will include:

• Whether the CEC has transformed PIER into a high-quality research program, or if the Legislature should consider developing a PIER organization outside the CEC
• Whether the CEC has been providing the Governor and Legislature with accurate and timely forecasts of energy trends, needs, and resources to use in formulating state policy
• Whether the CEC has kept the California congressional delegation informed of federal funding needs for energy RD&D projects, and expanded partnerships and collaborations with other research centers

CCST PIER Independent Review Panel Members Carl J. Weinberg, Principal, Weinberg Associates*† (Chair) Linda R. Cohen, Professor of Economics, University of California, Irvine*† (Vice-Chair) Robert P. “Chris” Caren, Founder & Member of the Board of Directors, Litex, Inc.† T. Kenneth Fowler, Professor Emeritus, Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley*† Harold M. “Hub” Hubbard, Energy Consultant Alan C. Lloyd, California Air Resources Board Chairman Johnetta MacCalla, CEO, Automated Switching and Controls, Inc.† William J. McLean, Director, Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories - California Peter Miller, Senior Scientist, National Resources Defense Council, Inc.* Maxine L. Savitz, Retired General Manager for Technology Partnerships, Honeywell, Inc.† Arnold M. Sowell, Jr., Deputy Secretary of Policy & Planning, State & Consumer Services Agency Jan Sharpless, Former Commissioner, California Energy Commission Esteban Soriano, Vice Chancellor, University Advancement, University of California, Merced* James L. Sweeney, Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University*† Irvin L. “Jack” White, Former Executive Director, Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institute * = Prior PIER panel member † = Associated with CCST