DOE: $1.45B Loan Guarantee to Abengoa Solar
Abound Solar Gets $400M Loan Guarantee
DOE, DOI to Spur Offshore Renewable Energy Projects
USDA: $4.2M in Woody Biomass Projects
Progressive Automotive X Prize Narrows Field
IEA: Energy Tech Revolution is Underway
DOE Offers $1.45 Billion Loan Guarantee to Abengoa Solar
DOE has offered of a conditional commitment for a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to Abengoa Solar to finance the construction and start-up of a concentrating solar power (CSP) generating facility in Solana, Arizona.
President Obama announced the offer on July 3. The 250 MW plant will the first six-hour thermal energy storage system in the US. The plant, located 70 miles south of Phoenix, will supply electricity for about 70,000 homes through a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Arizona Public Service Company.
Abengoa estimates the Solana project will employ 1,600 workers during construction and will create more than 80 skilled permanent jobs. Additionally, two assembly factories will be constructed on site, and a mirror manufacturing facility will be sited just outside Phoenix in Surprise, Arizona to supply the 900,000-plus mirrors.
The Solana project brings the total amount of CSP supported by DOE to nearly 650 MW. See press releases from DOE and Abengoa, the president's video announcement, the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Web site, and the Solar Energy Technologies Program Web site.
Solar Panel Manufacturer Gets $400 Million DOE Conditional Loan Guarantee
Also on July 3, President Obama announced a $400 million conditional loan guarantee to Abound Solar Manufacturing for the assembly of state-of-the-art thin-film, cadmium-telluride solar panels.
This is the first time the technology is being commercially deployed. Facilities in Longmont, Colorado, and Tipton, Indiana will create about 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent solar jobs. The Indiana factory is a new, unused factory originally constructed for a Chrysler auto parts supplier.
Using proprietary manufacturing technology developed jointly by DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab, Colorado State University, and the National Science Foundation, Abound will produce PV panels made from thin films of cadmium-telluride deposited onto glass panels. The technology reduces overall product costs while increasing film quality, device efficiency and stability.
When the facilities reach full capacity in 2013, they'll support up to 840 MW of solar electricity a year.
DOE has now issued conditional commitments for loan guarantees to support 13 clean energy projects through the Recovery Act. See the DOE press release, the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Web site, and the president's weekly video address with the announcement.
DOE and DOI to Spur Offshore Renewable Energy Projects
DOE and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 29 that will strengthen the working relationship between the two agencies regarding future development of commercial renewable offshore energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
They will use the agreement to spur development of offshore wind and water resources. The MOU states that within 30 days of its signing, an interagency working group will develop an action plan for offshore wind energy and marine and hydrokinetic energy. The action plan will also address siting and permitting, resource assessment, technical standards, data exchange, and public engagement.
