The 10 countries-Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK-committed to work together to identify and overcome the regulatory, legal, market, planning, and technical issues involved in creating a North Sea grid.
The ISLES project (Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study), is assessing the possibility of connecting Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland in an Irish Sea and Atlantic coast grid. The new MOU calls for, among other things, an assessment of technical considerations through 2030 to be delivered by June 2011. Scotland's Energy Minister Jim Mather hailed the EU initiative because it will draw upon the ISLES work in overcoming challenges of a sub-sea grid. See the Scottish government press release and the MOU .
Biomass Cogeneration Plant Under Construction in Oregon
Iberdrola Renewables has begun construction of a 26.8 MW Lakeview Biomass Cogeneration Plant in Lakeview, Oregon. The project should begin power production for 18,000 homes by the fall of 2012.
Located about 90 miles east of Iberdrola's Klamath Cogeneration Plant, the Lakeview project will be combined a heat and power (cogeneration) facility. The plant will be entirely air-cooled, reducing water use more than 80% compared to conventional water-cooling. Fuel will come from logging and sawmill residues. See the Iberdrola press release.
Other biomass projects are being scrapped, however. In November, FirstEnergy Corp. cancelled plans to repower two units at its R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, Ohio, citing falling electricity prices as the basis for the decision. The R.E. Burger Plant units were included as part of a 2005 federal consent settlement with the EPA and others in a lawsuit aimed at reducing pollution. Plans had called for it to become one of the largest US biomass facilities by 2012.
Xcel Energy has halted plans for a biomass gasification project in Wisconsin because of a significant increase in estimated costs and regulatory uncertainty at the state and federal levels. The project would have converted the power plant's remaining unit that uses coal to one that uses biomass via gasification. See the FirstEnergy press release and the Xcel press release.
Chevrolet to Invest $40 Million in U.S. Clean Energy Projects
Chevrolet announced it would invest $40 million in various clean energy projects throughout the US during the next 3-5 years. The company's goal is to eliminate 8 million metric tons of carbon emissions, equal to the electricity consumed by nearly 1 million homes. The initiative will focus on projects that promote energy savings, renewable energy, and responsible use of natural resources.
Chevy will consider projects such as smart energy sensors and solar panels for schools and other community-based facilities, wind farms and solar projects, and capturing methane from landfills. Chevy will invest through third-party organizations such as Bonneville Environmental Foundation. To define project criteria and the program's investment portfolio, Chevy's parent company General Motors has engaged environmental experts, NGOs, and academics through the Climate Neutral Business Network consultants. See the Chevy press release and its carbon reduction Web site.
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EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
