Chu's Green Energy Agenda

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Fueled by the revenue from AT&T's phone monopoly, it was filled with some of America's brightest scientists, who were also given the financial support to pursue almost anything they wanted. The collective ethos held that virtually no problem in science and technology was too tough to be solved by the sheer power of the human brain. Hence Chu's technology optimism.

There's also a darker lesson from Bell Labs, however. The economic conditions that allowed such great industrial labs to flourish are now history. Chu understands the implications very well. He played a big role in writing an influential report from the National Academy of Sciences, Rising Above the Gathering Storm. The dire prediction: Unless the federal government boosts funding for basic research and science education, filling huge gaps left by the demise of the powerhouse industrial labs, the pace of innovation in the U.S. will stall and the nation's competitiveness will take a nosedive.

One of the beneficiaries of Chu's focus on new biofuels is Jay Keasling (BusinessWeek, 1/15/09), a director of the Lawrence Berkeley Lab and chief executive of the Joint Bioenergy Institute. Keasling's research has led to start two companies, Amyris and LS9, which are engineering microbes to make a range of fuels, from bio-jet fuel to bio-diesel.

Hardly a Monopoly

Now Chu is bringing those passions to a wider stage. Can he succeed in the high-stakes world of Washington, where the best intentions can founder on the rocks of politics and reality? Keasling feels confident about Chu's prospects. "He's a strong personality," Keasling says. "He'll do whatever he can to make sure that important issues around renewable energy stay in the forefront."

One of the big challenges is that, despite its name, the Energy Dept. doesn't hold sway over much of the nation's energy policy. Much of its resources go to managing the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal. Oil and gas leasing is handled by the Minerals Management Service (for offshore resources) and the Bureau of Land Management (for issues on land). Both are part of the Interior Dept. If Washington does manage to put limits on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which could have a huge effect on energy choices by putting a price on those emissions, the rules would be administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. Tackling the fuel economy of automobiles is the jurisdiction of the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, within the Transportation Dept. As head of the Energy Dept., Chu won't have direct responsibility for any of these crucial areas.

Chu can take some immediate steps. No fewer than 25 appliance efficiency standards are overdue from the Energy Dept.—they were delayed or blocked by the Bush Administration. "They will cover everything from fluorescent tube lights to home refrigerators and clothes washers to residential central A/Cs," explains Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. "The potential energy savings impact is huge. We figure, if set at strong levels, the savings would reach about 165 billion kilowatt hours per year by 2030. That's about enough to power all the homes in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois combined. Utility bills would be cut by $16 billion per year."

Beyond Physics

Chu can also redirect the department's research budget and give boosts to renewable energy. Beyond that, though, his success will depend on working well with others, especially Carol Browner, President Obama's climate and energy czar. Somerville, for one, believes Chu has what it takes. "He won't be intimidated by anyone else in the room. But he's also gracious and courteous to people," he says. That combination could enable Chu to carve out a powerful niche within the Administration.

It also helps that Chu has grasped a range of scientific disciplines. His Nobel Prize was for work in basic physics. He figured out a way to trap atoms with lasers at very cold temperatures, allowing an unprecedented look at their properties. The work has also led to the creation of new states of matter, with potential applications in computing and cryptography. Yet Chu quickly branched out from physics. He discovered that the same basic techniques could enable scientists to grab hold of, and study, individual molecules of DNA. That, in turn, led him into microbiology. And that, combined with his drive to create new low-carbon fuels, led to using microbes to turn plant material into new fuels.

There are high hopes for Chu. One of the conditions he insisted on before taking the job was being able to put his own smart people into key slots at the department. If anyone can whip the unwieldy Energy Dept. into shape, it could be the Nobel Laureate and his team. Not bad for a guy who once didn't even see himself as the most accomplished member of his own family.

Carey is a senior correspondent for BusinessWeek in Washington.