WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee hearing today on Improving Energy Efficiency Through Technology and Communications Innovation.

Witness List:

Panel I

The Honorable Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

Panel II

Mr. Dan Hesse, Chief Executive Officer, Sprint Nextel 

Mr. Adrian Tuck, Chief Executive Officer, Tendril Networks, Inc.

Ms. Lorie Wigle, General Manager, Eco-Technology Program Office, Intel Corporation

Ms. Kathrin Winkler, Chief Sustainability Officer, EMC2 Corporation

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“Technology and innovation hold immense possibilities to virtually redefine our energy efficiency and usage. In the battle for energy independence, we must harness these innovations to decrease our consumption, increase our efficiency, and find domestic solutions to our energy needs.”

Senator John F. Kerry, Chairman, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet

“In order to achieve our energy and environmental goals, we must fully leverage the commercially attractive energy efficiency opportunities that already exist while accelerating development and deployment of next-generation technologies. While the Nation’s energy use per dollar of gross domestic product has been cut in half since 1973 – and about 70 percent of that improvement has come from gains in energy efficiency – much more progress is needed . . . We are focused on the transformative power of technology and innovation to deliver economic and environmental benefits through improved energy efficiency in buildings and by enabling smarter use of energy by consumers.”

The Honorable Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

“Our country has been transformed by numerous periods of historic and evolutionary change – from the Industrial Revolution to the dot-com bubble and the Age of the Internet. Today, we are in the midst of a new “green” era. Today’s U.S. consumer and the members of this legislative body are sending a “call to action” to corporations to act in the best interests of our people and our planet. Sprint is proud to embrace this opportunity as we make environmental responsibility a cornerstone of our company.”

Mr. Dan Hesse, Chief Executive Officer, Sprint Nextel

“In our view, energy efficiency is best measured across at least two dimensions. On the one hand, we can and must focus on improving the throughput efficiency of the electric system and the buildings it serves, including programs to fund improvements in insulation, caulking and replacing appliances. On the other hand, we must also consider the real-time market and environmental information that can drive true transactional and behavior changes. The impacts of these changes can drive tangible energy efficiency and environmental benefits.”

Mr. Adrian Tuck, Chief Executive Officer, Tendril Networks, Inc.

“Successfully addressing the three challenges of climate change, energy security and economic growth will require attention to both the micro story (improving the energy efficiency of [information and communications technology (ICT)] devices) and the macro story (promoting the enabling energy efficiency role of ICT in other sectors). The ICT industry needs to continue to design and produce more energy efficient devices. And policy makers need to implement programs that address the full energy efficiency potential of deploying such devices and the ICT systems they enable.”

Ms. Lorie Wigle, General Manager, Eco-Technology Program Office, Intel Corporation

“Technology and best practices already exist and are in use today; they could have an even greater impact if we conquer the implementation barriers. While we need to continue to invest in innovation, we must also accelerate deployment, and strengthen the public-private partnership to provide both the incentives and the means for economy-wide energy efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions.”

Ms. Kathrin Winkler, Chief Sustainability Officer, EMC2 Corporation

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