Largest Solar Project Approved for U.S. Public Lands
Wind Could Provide 20% of World's Electricity by 2030
EPA, DOT Seek First U.S. Truck Fuel Efficiency Standards
USDA Readies Expanded Biofuels Initiatives, Including FAA Jet Fuel Project
$5 Million Boost for Ocean Renewable Energy Research
Green Power Leadership Awards Announced
U.S. Grid to Feature Diverse Energy Sources, Slow Demand Growth
Interior Dept Approves Largest Solar Project on U.S. Public Lands
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved on October 25 the largest solar project ever to be built on U.S. public lands.
When completed, the Blythe Solar Power Project, the world's largest concentrating solar facility, will produce up to 1000 MW of solar, enough to power 300,000 - 750,000 homes. The installation will cover 7025 acres of public lands eight miles west of Blythe in Riverside County, California. The developers, Palo Verde Solar I, a subsidiary of Solar Millennium, LLC, expect it to create 1,066 solar jobs at the peak of construction and 295 permanent jobs.
A 230-kilovolt transmission line will be constructed to connect the power to the grid. The Bureau of Land Management will offer Solar Millennium a right-of-way grant to use the public lands for 30 years if all rents and other conditions are met. BLM requires that Solar Millennium provides funding for alternative habitat for desert tortoise, western burrowing owl, bighorn sheep and Mojave fringe-toed lizard habitat to mitigate the project's environmental impacts. Solar Millenniumis eligible for a $1.9 billion conditional loan guarantee from DOE through the Recovery Act. See the DOI press release, a project fact sheet , and the DOE Concentrating Solar Power Web site.
Wind Could Provide 20% of World's Electricity by 2030
A study by the Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace International concludes that wind could meet 12% of global power demand by 2020, and up to 22% by 2030.
The "Global Wind Energy Outlook 2010" (GWEO 2010), released October 12, shows the 1,000 GW of wind capacity projected to be installed by 2020 would prevent emissions of as much as 1.5 billion tons of CO2 every year. By 2030, the world would be spared 34 billion tons of CO2 with 2,300 GW of wind capacity.
According to GWEO 2010, wind energy is also becoming an important contributor to economic development, now providing more than 600,000 wind jobs in direct and indirect employment. By 2030, the authors project the industry to employ over 3 million people.
The report forecasts an increase of up to ten times the current installed capacity in China by 2020, up from just 25 GW at the end of 2009. Wind energy is now deployed in over 75 countries around the world. See the press release from the Global Wind Energy Council and the full report .
EPA, DOT Seek First U.S. Truck Fuel Efficiency Standards
The U.S. EPA and Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on October 25 the first U.S. standards to reduce carbon emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses, beginning with the model year 2014.
The standards are projected to reduce emissions by about 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program's first five years. The heavy-duty sector, from the largest pickups to 18-wheelers, emits about 20% of U.S. transportation emissions, according to the EPA.
EPA and DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are proposing new standards for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors (the semi trucks that typically pull trailers), heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles.
