Hewlett Foundation Launches New Energy Initiative

ARCHIVED 2002–2016: Originally distributed via the eWire press wire service. Preserved as historical record.

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE |

Conservation & Wildlife

Corporate Responsibility

Science & Technology

Syndication Partners

**************************************************************************

E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE

**************************************************************************

For Immediate Release

Hewlett Foundation Launches New Energy Initiative

Project Seeks to Find Solutions and Common Ground in Addressing California, Rocky Mountain and National Energy Issues

Extends Foundation's Public Policy Agenda Which Includes Recent Sponsorship of National Commission On Federal Election Reform

CALIFORNIA, MENLO PARK, Aug. 6 -/E-Wire/-- The Hewlett Foundation today announced a $10 million energy initiative designed to add a new dimension to regional and national energy policy issues. The Foundation's energy initiative will focus on energy supply and conservation issues in California and the Intermountain West and support the development of comprehensive, balanced and practical national energy policy options. By sponsoring research and analysis of contemporary energy issues, the Foundation's objective is to enable a wide spectrum of research institutions and organizations to bring new ideas and analysis into the energy debate.

"The Hewlett Foundation Board is very excited to sponsor a comprehensive look at the energy resource challenges facing the United States,' said Walter B. Hewlett, chairman of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Board of Directors. "Too often, critical public policy questions such as the energy debate are polarized before the discussion begins. This project is designed to fill a number of information gaps in the debate and seek to establish a "center ground' of ideas that respond to the need for a sensible long-term energy policy in the United States.'

Over the next two years, the Foundation's energy initiative will help develop energy policy options by sponsoring new environmental research, economic and policy analysis, and experimental conservation projects. The scope of programs envisioned under this initiative will address both energy supply and conservation challenges and apply practical cost-benefit analysis at the intersection of energy economics and environmental science. The Foundation will include diverse stakeholders such as the energy industry, environmental groups and other NGOs, academic institutions and "think tanks,' state and federal policymakers, and consumers in this process.

"For too long there has been too much noise and not enough thoughtful discussion about the difficult choices that policymakers must confront in solving America's energy problems,' said U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California). "I applaud the Hewlett Foundation for its effort in sponsoring important research and in providing an important new venue to address these complicated issues in a non-partisan framework.'

"The Hewlett Foundation has a strong reputation for undertaking important public policy work,' said U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado). "It is my hope that this project leads to some creative solutions to our energy supply and conservation challenges. I look forward to watching this effort evolve into an important source of information in the energy policy debate in the near future.'

Recently, the Hewlett Foundation was a leading sponsor of the bipartisan National Commission on Federal Election Reform. On Tuesday, July 31, the Commission published a comprehensive series of policy recommendations to improve voter registration and election practices across the nation.

"The Hewlett Foundation takes pride in supporting bipartisan or multi-partisan approaches to controversial public policy issues,' said Paul Brest, president of the Hewlett Foundation. "In the political arena, controversial issues tend to push interest groups into conventional alignments. The energy initiative is designed to inform this polarized debate with reliable data and sound analysis. We hope to generate new ideas that challenge the conventional dichotomy between energy and conservation. This project does not end at research. Rather, we intend to provide a forum for diverse points of view to assemble and address America's energy policy challenges.'

The Hewlett Foundation has begun selecting academic institutions, other foundations, think tanks, trade groups, and other participants to define the specific scope of various project elements. The Foundation will not entertain unsolicited proposals for this project. As the project advances, scientific reports, analysis, and other information will be disseminated to regional and national policymakers and interest groups. Additionally, project updates and additional energy-related information will be posted on a website: www.hewlettenergy.org.

The Hewlett Foundation

http:// www.hewlettenergy.org

**************************************************************************

To Transmit Your News Over E-Wire, visit http://www.ewire.com or

call 1-[REDACTED-PHONE]. E-Wire Is Broadcast To Millions Of Readers Worldwide

**************************************************************************