Researchers are also working with genetic engineering to help find new sources of biofuels. One promising development is testing the use of tobacco as a biofuel feedstock. Recently, researchers from the Biotechnology Foundation Labs at Thomas Jefferson University identified a way to increase the oil in tobacco plant leaves, making them a better potential source for biofuel production. According to researchers, some of these modified plants can yield 20 times more oil than unaltered tobacco, which could make them worthwhile for biofuels.
In another novel approach, a team at UCLA has genetically modified a strain of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, to consume CO2 and produce the liquid fuel isobutanol, which holds potential as a gasoline alternative. The reaction is powered directly from sunlight through photosynthesis. See the press releases from Thomas Jefferson University and UCLA.
Other projects use microbes and enzymes to help extract biofuels from biomass. A collaboration led by DOE's Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has developed a microbe that can produce an advanced biofuel directly from biomass. Researchers from JEBI and biofuels developer LS9 engineered a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria to produce biodiesel fuel, alcohols, and waxes directly from simple sugars. Their new strain of E. coli also produces hemicellulases, enzymes that are able to ferment hemicellulose, the complex sugars that are a major constituent of cellulosic biomass. JBEI is led by DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
Along these lines, Novozymes recently launched what it says is the first commercially viable enzymes for biofuel production from agricultural waste. Its Cellic CTec2 enzymes could enable the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol at a price below $2 per gallon for the initial commercial-scale plants scheduled to be operational in 2011. Novozymes received $29.3 million in DOE grants to pursue biofuel research. See the press releases from LBNL and Novozymes.
U.S. Utilities Spent $5.3 Billion on Energy Efficiency Programs in 2009
U.S. utilities increased spending on energy efficiency programs by 43% in 2009, according to a report from the nonprofit Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), which represents energy efficiency program administrators from across the US and Canada. Spending reached $5.3 billion, including $4.4 billion for electric energy efficiency programs and $930 million for natural gas programs.
Utility energy efficiency programs also expanded geographically, and are now offered in 46 states, up from 37 states in 2008. Spending grew the fastest in the Southeast and South Central states, increasing 76% to $800 million in 2009.
Programs focus a majority of their spending on commercial and industrial facilities, while natural gas programs are skewed more toward residential customers. See pages 20-22 (PDF pages 11-12) of the CEE annual report (PDF 1.1 MB).
Even in the absence of new carbon reduction policies, the US will achieve a 2% drop in GHG emissions by 2030 through residential and industrial efficiency gains, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
But once those simpler options are used up, the cost for further cuts will rise more steeply than previously thought. To achieve the Obama Administration's goal of a 17% cut by 2020 would require more fundamental changes to the power and transport sectors, but costs can still be held to less than $1 per day per U.S. household, they say. See the Bloomberg New Energy Finance press release (
PDF 88 KB) and report (
PDF 1.2 MB).
