32 jobs restored at energy lab

Move comes 2 days before Bush slated to visit NREL facility

Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 20, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

Thirty-two high-paying jobs that were terminated earlier this month at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are being restored two days before President Bush arrives to tout alternative energy.

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard's office said late Sunday that the 32 jobs that had been cut are being restored, effective immediately.

He said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman told him Sunday that those laid off were being called back to work. Allard, R-Colo., said the rehires were made possible by shifting unused funding from other Department of Energy accounts.

"I am pleased that my efforts to persuade the Department of Energy to find a way to restore those jobs have paid off," Allard said. "This is the best news we've had in a long time."

Bush is scheduled to tour the lab and see firsthand the kind of technologies NREL is developing to boost energy production from the sun and wind, and from plant and animal waste. The president vowed to break the nation's "addiction to oil," often from unstable countries, in last month's State of the Union address.

Renee Azerbegi, past president and a board member of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society, said the timing of Sunday's announcement about restoring the 32 positions "all sounds very political."

"I think it has a lot to do with Bush's image," she said. "I don't think they want Bush to visit NREL knowing a lot of people there are unhappy with him."

NREL employs scientists, academics and researchers - and often collaborates with the private sector - to find alternatives to oil that are affordable yet dependable sources of energy.

"The president's visit sends a powerful message to the lab that its work on these technologies is a very important component of the administration's energy research and development policy," said Bob Noun, NREL's deputy associate director.

Noun concedes that the lab, owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, suffered a huge setback this year. Congress cut $28 million from its fiscal 2006 budget.

In all, Congress cut the Department of Energy's budget for all renewable energy programs by more than 35 percent this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

In addition to the 32 layoffs earlier this month, NREL had to terminate contracts and subcontracts with private companies.

For example, NREL collaborates with the three Detroit carmakers to develop hydrogen fuel cells to run cars. It also has announced a joint project with chemicals giant DuPont to develop a large-scale bio-refinery.

NREL officials declined to reveal which programs were cut, and it wasn't clear late Sunday if Allard's announcement would have any impact on those contracts.

Bush has drawn criticism from some for not doing enough for the lab even as he touts the administration's focus on renewable energy.

NREL's Noun said he expects a more positive budget picture in the years ahead.

According to estimates that include money NREL possibly could receive from Bush's Advanced Energy Initiatives program, the lab would get $170 million in fiscal 2007, compared with $157 million this year. The lab typically earns an additional $5 million to $15 million each year from other sources, including government agencies and technical consulting fees.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory

• Mission: Develop renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies and practices; advance related science and engineering; transfer knowledge and innovations to address the nation's energy and environmental goals.

• History: NREL was established as the Solar Energy Research Institute in 1974 and opened its doors in Golden in 1977. SERI became NREL in 1991 when President George H.W. Bush designated it a national laboratory.

• Current staff: 930 employees and 170 contractors.

• Layoffs and buyouts: 32 in 2006; 230 in 1996; 500 in 1981.

Featured

• 2008 Voter’s Guide

  

  Use our Ballot Builder tool to compare your viewpoints to the candidates.

• A Dozen on Denver

  

  Sandra Dallas wrote 'Lennie's tavern' for our ongoing fiction series. Check it out!

• Rocky Multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on today's events.

• Bronco Dean's rant

  

  Listen to Bronco Dean's totally biased pregame rant about the Broncos-Jaguars game.

• Presidential Elections

  

  See how Colorado counties have voted through the years.

• County election profiles

  

  A look at how residents in each Colorado county may vote.

• A dream fulfilled

  

  A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production

• Latest from Dove Valley

  

  Click for more broncos videos.

• Sam Adams' Open Mic

  

  No. 44 means a lot to Floyd Little