Cablegate: Dept of Energy's Bradley Barton and Dan Arvizu Bring A

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001540

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR GREG MANUEL AND MATT MCMANUS
DOE FOR GARY WARD, ALEXANDER KARSNER, BRAD BARTON, AND DAN ARVIZU
(NREL)
USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/JANDERSEN/ADRISCOLL/MWAR D
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USCS/OIO/WH/RD/DRAMBO
USDA/FAS FOR ADMINISTRATOR YOST

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TRGY ENRG EAGR ETTC EPET PREL BR
SUBJECT: DEPT OF ENERGY'S BRADLEY BARTON AND DAN ARVIZU BRING A
TECHNICAL FOCUS TO U.S.-BRAZIL BIOFUELS PARTNERSHIP

REF: BRASILIA 0905

1. (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET
DISTRIBUTION.

2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Department of Energy's Bradley Barton, Director
of the Office of Commercialization and Deployment, and Dan Arvizu,
Director of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), led
panels on renewable energy at the first U.S.-Brazil Innovation
Summit. In a visit to Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy,
suggestions were made for next steps in the bilateral biofuels
partnership. END SUMMARY.

BRASILIA MEETINGS HIGHLIGHT ONGOING PROJECTS, PROSPECTS FOR
COLLABORATION

3. (SBU) Barton's activities in Brasilia included his excellent
presentation on the shaping of the ecosystem for innovation and
competitiveness, and participating in the opening panel of the
U.S.-Brazil Innovation Summit; attending a high-level meeting at
Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy; and leading a panel
discussion on the promotion of bilateral collaboration in science
and technology education, and numerous press interviews.

4. (SBU) At the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Acting Minister
Nelson Hubner was clearly impressed and surprised by the scope of
financial resources being directed toward the DOE's research
programs on renewable energy, particularly the construction of six
full-scale biorefineries in the Midwest, all focused on different
technologies, with US$1.2 billion in funding from a mixture of
government and private sector entities. It was clear from Hubner's
comments that he wants a more aggressive collaboration with the U.S.
than currently exists. The MME staff seemed well-prepared and
offered several astute suggestions for future activities. Hubner
noted that although the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology
was providing the primary financing for Brazilian scientists
scheduled to visit U.S. energy research labs in August, MME was
keenly involved. Hubner suggested that upon the return of the
scientists, both sides should develop a series of bilateral
workshops, a suggestion similar to the one made by DOE A/S for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner during an
earlier visit to Brazil (see Reftel).

5. (SBU) The recent accusations from primarily European nations
that increased production of biofuels in Brazil may come at the
expense of food production was definitely on the Brazilians' minds.
Hubner suggested that the United States and Brazil organize a joint
media campaign to rebut these charges. NREL Director, Dan Arvizu,
who accompanied Barton on the visit, explained that DOE is strictly
focused on ethanol from cellulosic and other biomass that do not
compete with food. He agreed that the fuel vs. food issue should be
the topic of future consultations.

6. (SBU) Arvizu's discussion of current bilateral research on the
value, benefits and impacts of biofuels on the environment was
greeted with a positive response. Arvizu explained that in the
first phase, the life cycle studies being funded by a DOE grant will
be done only in the United States and Brazil. Later, other
countries will be included. Current studies focus on land use,
water use and reductions in emissions. Hubner stated that the
completion of this life cycle study of biofuels was a high bilateral
priority. This meeting was also attended by the Embassy Science
Counselor.

7. (SBU) NREL Director Arvizu participated in the Innovation Summit

BRASILIA 00001540 002 OF 002

panel focused on sustainability. He highlighted the ways the USG,
through NREL, was leading a highly successful, government-private
sector partnership in the search for renewable energy.

8. (SBU) On the margins of the Summit, Barton met with Joao
Jornada, President of INMETRO, the Brazilian standards and
measurements entity working with the U.S. National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish standards for ethanol
production.

PUBLIC OUTREACH

9. (SBU) At a breakfast meeting organized by the U.S. Embassy
Public Affairs Office, Barton,Arvizu, and Greg Manuel, Special
Advisor to Secretary Rice and International Energy Coordinator,
joined representatives from MIT, the University of California,
Chartwell Education (which promotes international education, Drexel
University, and Cooper Union College in meeting with CAPES, a
Brazilian government organization that funds mobility of scholars
for research. Both sides agreed an exchange of scholars would be
useful. CAPES agreed to work with the Embassy Public Affairs
section to propose a project that would send Brazilian scholars to
the U.S. to look at universities doing research in alternative
energy.

10. (SBU) In a media interview, with the Estado do Sao Paulo,
Arvizu explained U.S. objectives in biofuels research, emphasizing
that the DOE government/private sector partnership focuses on
ethanol from cellulosic and other biomass that does not compete with
food. In his interview with VALOR Economico, Barton explained that
the tariff on Brazilian ethanol imported into the United States was
designed to avoid having the USG subsidize foreign ethanol
production, but that only the U.S. Congress can determine how long
it will last.

11. (U) Septel reports on the July 13 biofuels roundtable hosted by
U.S. Ambassador Clifford Sobel in Rio de Janeiro, at which Barton
and Arvizu participated together with key representatives from
Brazil's public, private, and academic sectors.

SOBEL

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