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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: May 7, 2008

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DOE Helps Greensburg, Kansas, Rebuild as a Wind-Powered City

DOE's work with the city of Greensburg, Kansas, over the past year is bearing fruit, as the city is now rebuilding with a new emphasis on energy efficient buildings and renewable energy, particularly wind energy. Greensburg was devastated by a tornado on May 4, 2007, after which the city announced its plans to rebuild as a model of sustainability.

When Greensburg contacted DOE for assistance, the agency sent a team of experts from its National Renewable Energy Laboratory to conduct studies; develop renewable energy and energy efficient business strategies; and assemble financing and ownership options to produce or procure renewable energy technologies. DOE opened an office in Greensburg and helped the city develop and pass a resolution that all large city buildings achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest green building rating available under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Greensburg is the first city in the United States to pass such a strict green building requirement.

DOE has invested $1.25 million in its assistance to Greensburg, helping the city to design energy efficient buildings and power the entire town with renewable energy. As Kansas has the third-highest potential of any state for wind energy, Greensburg has decided to develop a 3-4-megawatt wind energy system, which is expected to produce enough energy over the course of a year to equal the city's electricity needs. While the community will still be connected to the electrical grid, the system will also include backup emergency generators that run on biodiesel. During the current fiscal year, DOE will provide Greensburg with a minimum of $500,000 in additional funding for energy efficient buildings and wind generation technical support. See the DOE press release, the City of Greensburg Web site, and the Greensburg GreenTown Web site.

DOE Offers $60 Million for Concentrating Solar Power Research

DOE announced last week that it will provide up to $60 million for concentrating solar power (CSP) projects that focus on advanced thermal energy storage or heat transfer fluids. The DOE funding will go toward both new research and development projects and demonstrations of technologies already under development. DOE anticipates that 10 to 25 industries or academic institutions will be selected to receive this funding, which will be distributed over the next 5 years. With a mandatory private industry cost share of 20% for research and development, and a 50% cost share for demonstrations, more than $75 million could be invested in these projects. Applications are due by July 10. See the DOE press release and the full solicitation on Grants.gov.

CSP systems collect thermal energy by absorbing and concentrating energy from the sun. Today's largest systems employ either arrays of parabolic mirrors, which focus the sun's heat on an absorber tube carrying a heat transfer fluid, or "heliostats," which are flat mirrors that focus the sun's heat on a thermal absorber mounted to the top of a "power tower," through which a heat transfer fluid is pumped. The parabolic mirrors can also be replaced with linear Fresnel reflectors. In all those cases, the thermal energy captured by the heat transfer fluid is used as a heat source for a boiler, which generates steam to drive a turbine. Dish-shaped mirrors generally focus the sun's heat on a heat engine, but they can also employ a thermal absorber through which a heat transfer fluid is pumped.

Heat transfer fluids with the capacity to store a lot of thermal energy can be combined with thermal energy storage systems to allow such CSP systems to continue operating after the sun has set, helping to meet peak power demands on hot summer evenings. Thermal energy storage also helps CSP plants to operate continuously on partly cloudy days. Because of these advantages, inexpensive thermal energy storage is considered a key technology for making CSP systems cost-competitive by 2020. For more information about CSP, see EERE's Solar Energy Technology Program.

DOE Offers $7.5 Million for Advanced Water Power Technologies

DOE announced on Monday that it will make up to $7.5 million available to U.S. industries and universities to support the research and development of advanced water power systems, including systems that draw on free-flowing water; ocean waves, tides, or currents; and other water-based resources. Technologies that generate power from free-flowing water are often referred to as "hydrokinetic" technologies. Funding is available for industry-led projects involving in-water testing, development, and deployment of advanced water power technologies.

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