Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative Launched
California Approves $4B High-Speed Rail Line
10 EU Countries Sign for North Sea Offshore Grid
Oregon Biomass Cogen Plant under Construction
Chevy Invests $40M in U.S. Clean Energy Projects
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Export Initiative Launched
DOE joined seven other U.S. government agencies on December 7 in launching the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative, a coordinated effort to promote exports of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
In 2009, the US exported roughly $2 billion of manufactured renewable energy goods, which will be used as a benchmark for progress. The Department of Commerce and DOE co-chair the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Working Group on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for the federal agencies participating in the initiative.
DOE is investing in market research and discovery that can help focus U.S. government resources for trade promotion. For example, DOE will identify U.S. manufactured energy efficiency products likely to be competitive in global markets, and in collaboration with U.S. trade associations, DOE will consider creating guides for foreign buyers that list technologies and services available from U.S. providers.
The initiative, which will involve 23 agencies over the next five years, is the first US federally coordinated effort to support renewable energy and energy efficiency exports. The concept was developed through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Working Group on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, which includes representatives from the Departments of State and Agriculture, as well as the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the Office of the US Trade Representative. See the DOE press release and the initiative Web site.
California Approves Start of $4 Billion High-Speed Rail Line
The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board voted on December 2 to begin construction in the Central Valley of a new high-speed rail corridor linking Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The decision to begin the 65-mile stretch follows a mandate from the Federal Railroad Administration that all federal funding awarded to the project so far must be dedicated to a single leg of the project in the Central Valley. This initial segment will use $4.15 billion of the available $4.3 billion to build two new stations, acquire rights-of-way, construct viaducts, prepare the site, grade the course of the new line, restore vegetation, build rail bridges, realign roadways, and relocate existing railways and utilities. No construction can begin until the authority completes environmental reviews. The federal deadline for completing reviews is September 2011; construction is expected to begin in 2012 and finish in 2017.
On January 28, President Obama and Vice President Biden announced the U.S. Department of Transportation was awarding $8 billion in Recovery Act funds to 31 states to develop the nation's first high-speed rail service. California is seeking to build a passenger line with trains running up to 220 miles per hour. See the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board press release and coverage of the presidential announcement in EERE Network News.
10 EU Countries Sign Up for North Sea Offshore Grid
10 European Union (EU) nations signed a MOU on December 3 to develop an offshore energy grid linking wind energy sources in the North Sea. The grid, targeted to begin operating by 2020, would allow countries to share electricity among the British Isles and mainland Europe.
