Advanced biofuels produced from these projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by a minimum of 50%, as determined by the US EPA. Projects must also integrate all three technical areas addressed by the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, namely feedstocks development, biofuels and biobased products development, and biofuels development analysis. Pre-applications are due on June 7. See the DOE press release and the funding opportunity announcement on Grants.gov and FedConnect.
DOE released a new video that showcases how cellulosic biofuel technologies can help decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur growth in the domestic biofuels industry, and provide new revenue opportunities to farmers in many rural areas of the country. Shot at a harvesting equipment demonstration in Emmetsburg, Iowa, the video highlights a new way of producing ethanol from the cellulose fibers in corn cobs, not from the corn kernels. The technology generates a new opportunity for farmers to harvest and sell the cobs they would normally leave in the field. To date, DOE has committed more than $1 billion to 27 cost-shared biorefinery projects. See the video on YouTube.
DOE Awards $13 million for Industrial Energy Efficiency Grand Challenge
DOE has selected 48 U.S. research and development projects for Industrial Energy Efficiency Grand Challenge grants totaling $13 million in 14 states. The funds, matched by more than $5 million in private resources, will support development of transformational industrial processes and technologies that can significantly reduce GHG emissions throughout the industrial sector.
The initiative is important to overall energy efficiency, because U.S. industry accounts for more than 30% of energy use nationwide and is responsible for 27% of US carbon emissions.
DOE is providing cost-shared funding for research and development studies in four main areas: next generation manufacturing concepts to reduce energy intensity or GHG emissions of industrial systems by a minimum of 25%; energy-intensive processes such as reactions and separations, high-temperature processing, waste heat minimization and recovery, and sustainable manufacturing; advanced materials, with a focus on thermal- and degradation-resistant materials and materials for energy systems; and transformational technologies offering not only carbon intensity reductions, but also absolute carbon reductions.
While many of the projects relate to industries in general, some are specifically geared toward the paper, glass, cement, steel, aluminum, magnesium, metal casting, petroleum, chemical, and polymer industries. Two projects also involve the manufacturing of photovoltaic materials and materials for solid state lighting. See the DOE press release, the list of awardees (PDF 76 KB), and the Industrial Technologies Program Web site.
EIA Examines Impacts of Alternate Future Scenarios on Energy Trends
How will various scenarios for future economic growth and energy policies affect projected U.S. energy use in 2035? That's a question DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) attempts to tackle in its May 11 release of the full Annual Energy Outlook 2010.
In December 2009, EIA released its reference case projections for 2035, sometimes referred to as the "business-as-usual" case; the new release includes 38 alternative cases that examine the sensitivity of those projections to various assumptions about future economic growth, oil prices, and policies.
