| It is comforting to know that there are minds at the | | | | Energy Frontier Research Centers that are solely |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology thinking up | | | | funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through |
| ways to commercialize many new renewable energy | | | | stimulus funds. |
| technological developments for the solar, hydrogen, | | | | Of their many energy research projects, developing |
| and energy storage. | | | | energy storage technologies may be one of the |
| The 2010 MIT Energy Conference was an open | | | | most important to the energy industry. Large scale |
| house to all of the energy research projects being | | | | or utility scale energy storage systems must be |
| conducted by both faculty and students of the | | | | commercialized in order to ensure our nation's energy |
| institute. The main goal of the research according to | | | | security. Only 2.5% of America's energy grid capacity |
| MIT's Energy Initiative director, Ernest Moniz, is to | | | | can be stored compared to Europe's 10% and |
| work with the renewable energy and power | | | | Japan's 15% storage capacities. This could be a |
| industries to commercialize groundbreaking | | | | foreshadowing of further energy troubles for the U.S. |
| technologies. He noted that their energy technology | | | | if the proper technology is not developed. Energy |
| ideas cannot be commercialized in a garage like you | | | | storage is vital for incorporating solar and wind |
| can with Internet Technology (IT). | | | | energy into the grid which are renewable but |
| Exactly 20% of MIT's faculty is involved in some | | | | intermittent energy sources. |
| form of energy research. Energy is a big business at | | | | The 2010 MIT Energy Conference is a bright spot in |
| MIT. The 2010 MIT Energy Conference was not just | | | | the timeline toward our country's energy |
| some science fair. MIT has been very involved in the | | | | independence and security. We can also be sure that |
| energy sector having already formed companies in | | | | there are other academic institutions, companies and |
| the industry. The most notable of which is 1366 | | | | organizations that are putting forth the same level of |
| Technologies. | | | | effort in bringing the best possible ideas on energy to |
| MIT is also home to one of the 40 nationwide | | | | fruition. |