DOE, Treasury Take Applications for Renewable Energy Project Payments
DOE: $30B in Loan Guarantees for Renewable Energy Projects
DOE: $11.8M for Solar Grid Integration Systems
DOE: $28M to National Labs for Bioenergy, Smart Grids
EPA Names Top 20 Organizations Using On-Site Renewable Energy
NASA Offers a $1.5M Prize for Fast, Fuel-Efficient Aircraft
Report: Next Decade will Determine America's Energy Future
DOE, Treasury Accept Applications for Renewable Energy Project Payments
DOE and the U.S. Department of the Treasury are now accepting applications from renewable energy project developers that wish to receive direct federal payments in lieu of tax credits. The direct-payment program is meant to address a lull in demand for federal tax credits, which has hampered the financing of renewable energy projects.
To help remedy this situation, DOE and the Treasury Department estimate they will distribute at least $3 billion in direct payments to about 5,000 facilities using biomass energy, solar energy, wind power, and other types of renewable energy. The funding for this effort is made available through the Recovery Act (ARRA).
The ARRA authorized the Treasury Department to make direct payments to companies that create and place in service renewable energy facilities beginning January 1, 2009. Previously, these companies could file for a tax credit to cover a portion of the renewable energy project's cost; under the new program, applicants forgo future tax credits in favor of an immediate reimbursement of a portion of the property expense.
DOE will assist the Treasury Department in implementing this program by reviewing the technical merits of the applications. The agencies expect many businesses to apply for the direct cash payment in lieu of the tax credit, providing an immediate stimulus to local economies. See the DOE press release, and to apply for the program, visit the program Web site.
DOE Offers $30 Billion in Loan Guarantees for Renewable Energy Projects
DOE announced last week that it will offer an estimated $30 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects. The actual value of the loan guarantees depends on the specific applications and market conditions, both of which determine how much funding is needed to subsidize the loan.
DOE's lending authority includes up to $8.5 billion in loan guarantees supported by 2009 annual appropriations, as well as $2 billion in loan subsidies from the ARRA, which can support billions in loans for renewable energy and electric power transmission projects. The Recovery Act also provides up to $500 million in loan subsidies to support loans for cutting-edge biofuel projects. See the DOE press release and the Web site for the DOE Loan Guarantee Program. As of Tuesday, the loan guarantee solicitations were not yet posted on the Web site.
DOE Awards $11.8 Million for Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems
DOE awarded $11.8 million last week to five projects designed to advance the next stage of development of solar energy grid integration systems (SEGIS). Located in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, and Oregon, the five projects are part of DOE's continuing work to help assure the nation's electrical grid reliability is maintained and improved as solar energy technologies reach cost competitiveness and are increasingly integrated with the grid. Of the total funds, some $5 million came from the ARRA.
Initiated in 2008, SEGIS is a partnership among DOE, Sandia National Laboratories, industry, utilities, and universities and emphasizes the development of complete systems for integrating solar power with the electrical grid. The selected projects focus on grid interconnections that work optimally with the full range of emerging solar modules, achieve reliability and resiliency, reduce costs, integrate controls for energy storage systems (such as batteries), and allow two-way "smart" communications between the solar power systems and the electric utilities.
Awardees include Apollo Solar, the Florida Solar Energy Center, Petra Solar, Princeton Power, and PVPowered. The projects ultimately seek to maintain or improve power quality and reliability, as well as return economic value, while increasing the integration of solar technologies into the U.S. electrical grid. See the DOE press release.
