DOE: $104M for Efficiency-Related Facilities at National Labs
DOE: $45M for Wind Turbine Test Facility in South Carolina
DOE: $18M for Small Businesses Focused on Clean Energy
DOE: $620M for Smart Grid, Energy Storage Projects
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DOE Awards $104M for Efficiency-Related Facilities at National Labs
On November 18, DOE announced its selection of eight energy efficiency test facilities to be built at seven of its national labs with the help of $104.7 million in ARRA funds.
The facilities will support the development and improvement of energy efficiency technologies of strategic national interest. Specifically, the funding will go toward reducing production costs of carbon fiber manufacturing by reducing vehicle weight; improving efficiency and lowering costs for car batteries; and exploring advanced technologies for net-zero-energy buildings. The effort will leverage the combined intellectual and technical resources of DOE's national labs. The eight national labs are in California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Fuel efficient, advanced vehicles will benefit from both the carbon fiber and battery projects. Carbon fiber composites are extremely strong and lightweight and have the potential to increase fuel economy by drastically reducing the weight of vehicles. Though frequently employed in race cars and high-performance "supercars," carbon fiber composites are currently too expensive for more affordable vehicles. To address that problem, the new Carbon Fiber Technology Center at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee will investigate novel manufacturing processes and alternative feedstocks to lower carbon fiber costs from the current $10-$20 per pound to under $5 per pound.
For vehicle batteries, Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois will construct three battery R&D facilities: one for fabricating prototype battery cells, one for scaling up production of battery-related materials, and one for analyzing batteries after they've been subjected to performance tests. In addition, the Idaho National Lab will establish a High Energy Battery Test Facility, New Mexico's Sandia National Lab will enhance its Battery Abuse Testing Lab, which subjects batteries to conditions such as overcharging, deep discharge, short circuits, fire, and heat. And to help keep batteries from being exposed to excessive heat, Colorado's National Renewable Energy Lab will establish the Battery Thermal and Life Test Facility, which will enable researchers to develop lower cost, more robust thermal management systems and battery designs.
Net-zero-energy buildings technologies will be furthered by three projects. Oak Ridge National Lab will develop the Integrated Net-Zero Energy Buildings Research Lab, which will include a research platform for commercial buildings; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California will build and operate the National User Facility for Net-Zero Energy Buildings Research, which will allow for integrated testing of building technologies; and the National Energy Technology Lab will build a 35,000-square-foot Performance Verification Laboratory to perform nearly 17,000 verifications tests per year on a broad range of residential and commercial appliances. See the DOE press release.
DOE Awards $45M for Wind Turbine Test Facility in South Carolina
On November 23, DOE announced the selection of Clemson University to receive up to $45 million in ARRA funds for a wind energy test facility that will enhance the performance, durability, and reliability of utility-scale wind turbines. To be located near Charleston, South Carolina, the Large Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing facility will enable the U.S. to expand development and testing of large-scale wind turbine drive-train systems.
