SVMG Energy Committee Members:
We will be discussing the following at our next committee meeting, this
Wednesday.  The Hewlett Foundation announced today a $10 million energy
initiative designed to add a new dimension to regional and national energy
policy issues. The Foundation?s energy initiative will focus on energy
supply and conservation issues in California and the Intermountain West and
will support the development of comprehensive, balanced and practical
national energy policy options. By sponsoring research and analysis of
contemporary energy issues, the Foundation?s objective is to enable a wide
spectrum of research institutions and organizations to bring new ideas and
analysis into the energy debate.  We are aiming to determine the role of
SVMG in this regard and hope to gain insight from you at our committee
meeting.  Thank you for your thoughtful analysis.
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From: Hewlett Foundation
[mailto:R-3-62870-2628886-2-254-US2-A0B8DB44@xmr3.com]
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2001 6:08 AM
To: cguardino@svmg.org
Subject: Hewlett Foundation Launches New Energy Initiative

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jay Ziegler

Monday, August 6, 2001

Burson-Marsteller
916.341.1000




Hewlett Foundation Launches New Energy Initiative

Project Seeks to Find Solutions and Common Ground in Addressing California,
Rocky Mountain and National Energy Issues

Extends Foundation?s Public Policy Agenda which Includes Recent Sponsorship
of National Commission on Federal Election Reform

The Hewlett Foundation today announced a $10 million energy initiative
designed to add a new dimension to regional and national energy policy
issues. The Foundation?s energy initiative will focus on energy supply and
conservation issues in California and the Intermountain West and support the
development of comprehensive, balanced and practical national energy policy
options. By sponsoring research and analysis of contemporary energy issues,
the Foundation?s objective is to enable a wide spectrum of research
institutions and organizations to bring new ideas and analysis into the
energy debate.

"The Hewlett Foundation Board is very excited to sponsor a comprehensive
look at the energy resource challenges facing the United States," said
Walter B. Hewlett, Chairman of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Board of Directors. "Too often, critical public policy questions such as the
energy debate are polarized before the discussion begins. This project is
designed to fill a number of information gaps in the debate and seek to
establish a ?center ground? of ideas that respond to the need for a sensible
long-term energy policy in the United States."

Over the next two years, the Foundation?s energy initiative will help
develop energy policy options by sponsoring new environmental research,
economic and policy analysis, and experimental conservation projects. The
scope of programs envisioned under this initiative will address both energy
supply and conservation challenges and apply practical cost-benefit analysis
at the intersection of energy economics and environmental science. The
Foundation will include diverse stakeholders such as the energy industry,
environmental groups and other NGOs, academic institutions and "think
tanks," state and federal policymakers, and consumers in this process.

"For too long there has been too much noise and not enough thoughtful
discussion about the difficult choices that policymakers must confront in
solving America?s energy problems," said U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein
(D-California). "I applaud the Hewlett Foundation for its effort in
sponsoring important research and in providing an important new venue to
address these complicated issues in a non-partisan framework."

 "The Hewlett Foundation has a strong reputation for undertaking important
public policy work," said U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado).
"It is my hope that this project leads to some creative solutions to our
energy supply and conservation challenges. I look forward to watching this
effort evolve into an important source of information in the energy policy
debate in the near future."

Recently, the Hewlett Foundation was a leading sponsor of the bipartisan
National Commission on Federal Election Reform. On Tuesday, July 31, the
Commission published a comprehensive series of policy recommendations to
improve voter registration and election practices across the nation.

"The Hewlett Foundation takes pride in supporting bipartisan or
multi-partisan approaches to controversial public policy issues," said Paul
Brest, President of the Hewlett Foundation. "In the political arena,
controversial issues tend to push interest groups into conventional
alignments. The energy initiative is designed to inform this polarized
debate with reliable data and sound analysis. We hope to generate new ideas
that challenge the conventional dichotomy between energy and conservation.
This project does not end at research. Rather, we intend to provide a forum
for diverse points of view to assemble and address America?s energy policy
challenges."

The Hewlett Foundation has begun selecting academic institutions, other
foundations, think tanks, trade groups, and other participants to define the
specific scope of various project elements. The Foundation will not
entertain unsolicited proposals for this project. As the project advances,
scientific reports, analysis, and other information will be disseminated to
regional and national policymakers and interest groups. Additionally,
project updates and additional energy-related information will be posted on
a website: www.hewlettenergy.org

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