Lamar Smith: “I first want to thank the gentleman from California, Energy Subcommittee Vice Chairman Knight, for yielding me time on…”

“I first want to thank the gentleman from California, Energy Subcommittee Vice Chairman Knight, for yielding me time on H.R. 5638, the Solar Fuels Innovation Act. This legislation provides necessary statutory authority and direction to the Department of Energy's groundbreaking solar fuels research program. I appreciate Vice Chairman Knight developing and introducing this legislation, which is the product of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee's hearings, oversight, and stakeholder outreach. Research to create fuels from the Sun, also known as artificial photosynthesis and photosynthesis replication, relies heavily on the study of advanced chemistry and materials science. By prioritizing these areas of fundamental physical science, researchers at our national labs and universities across the country can develop processes that take energy from sunlight and create a range of chemical fuels. This basic research could provide the scientific and technical underpinnings for the private sector to develop solar fuel systems that eliminate the problem of the intermittency of direct solar energy and make it a reliable power source for chemical fuels production. H.R. 5638 authorizes the Secretary of Energy to carry out a targeted basic research initiative on photochemistry, electrochemistry, biochemistry, and the materials science necessary to develop the complex systems to convert sunlight into usable and storable fuels. H.R.…”