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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

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