DOE: $467.6M for Geothermal, Solar Projects
DOE: $50M in ARRA Funds for Geothermal Heat Pumps
DOE: $256M for Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing and IT
Restructured GM to Build a New Small Car in US
Vermont Passes Feed-In Tariff & other Clean Energy Measures
Utilities with the Most Solar Power are Still Adding the Most
Global CO2 Emissions to Increase 39% by 2030
Editor's Note: As part of the wind energy funding that was announced on April 29, DOE has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that offers $24 million in Recovery Act funds for the development of consortia between universities and industry. The consortia will focus on critical wind energy challenges. The FOA and can be found by searching the public opportunities at FedConnect for reference number DE-FOA-0000090.
DOE Offers $467.6 Million for Geothermal & Solar Projects
President Obama announced last week that DOE is offering $467.6 million from the ARRA to support geothermal and solar projects. The funds include $350 million for geothermal projects in four areas: geothermal resource assessments; innovative exploration techniques; demonstration projects; and research, development, and demonstrations of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technology.
EGS technology involves using such techniques as pumping high-pressure water into areas of high-temperature rock located deep underground, using the water pressure to create new or enhanced geothermal reservoirs.
The geothermal resource assessment is a nationwide effort to classify geothermal resources based on the development potential of each location, with all data fed into a new National Geothermal Data System. The demonstration projects will draw on unconventional geothermal energy resources, including low-temperature resources, geopressured resources (underground brines at high temperatures and pressures), and hot fluids from oil and gas wells.
For all but the EGS work, see the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on grants.gov, or search the public opportunities on FedConnect for reference number DE-FOA-0000109. Applications for that FOA are due by July 22. For the EGS work, see the FOAs for research and development and demonstrations on the DOE e-Center Web site, or search FedConnect for reference numbers DE-FOA-0000075 and DE-FOA-0000092. Applications for EGS research and development projects are due on July 17, while applications for EGS demonstrations are due on July 30.
DOE is also offering $117.6 million in Recovery Act funds for solar technologies, including $51.5 million to develop advanced photovoltaic (PV) technologies, such as solar cells and modules; $25.6 million for R&D to support concentrating solar power (CSP); and $40.5 million to address non-technical barriers to solar energy deployment, including market barriers, cumbersome grid connection requirements, and a lack of trained installers.
About $17 million of the solar funding is available only to DOE national laboratories. President Obama announced the new funding in Las Vegas, at Nellis Air Force Base, the site of the largest solar PV installation in the Western Hemisphere.
See the president's announcement, the DOE press release, and the solar energy solicitations on grants.gov, which are divided into high-penetration solar PV deployment, solar market transformation, and the funds for DOE national laboratories. These solicitations can also be found by searching FedConnect for DE-FOA-0000085, DE-FOA-0000078, and DE-FOA-0000087, respectively. Applications are due by July 30 for the two main solicitations, while the due date for the national laboratory funding is July 15. As part of the funding, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is also soliciting letters of interest for PV Technology Incubators, with a due date of July 13. See the NREL solicitation (PDF 380 KB).
DOE Offers $50 Million in Recovery Act Funds for Geothermal Heat Pumps
DOE announced on Tuesday that it will offer nearly $50 million in funds from ARRA to accelerate the deployment of geothermal heat pumps (GHPs).
GHPs use the ground underneath or surrounding a building as either a source or sink for energy, drawing heat from the ground during the winter heating season and rejecting heat into the ground during the summer cooling season. Also referred to as ground-source heat pumps, GHPs generally achieve higher efficiencies than air-source heat pumps, because the ground maintains a relatively stable temperature throughout the year, even during heat waves and extreme cold snaps. They can provide space heating and cooling and water heating for residential and commercial buildings. GHPs can substantially reduce the electricity demand for buildings, providing building owners and residents with lower utility bills and reduced maintenance costs. To learn more, see the GHP page on the Web site for DOE's Geothermal Technologies Program.
