In March, DOI will identify wind areas off the North Atlantic states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and launch expedited environmental reviews for those areas. A similar process will follow for the South Atlantic region, namely North Carolina, this spring.
DOI's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) will prepare regional environmental assessments to evaluate the effects of leasing and site assessment activities; BOEMRE could offer leases in these Mid-Atlantic areas as soon as the end of 2011 or early 2012. See the DOE press release, the complete National Offshore Wind Strategy , a fact sheet on the national offshore wind strategy, and the BOEMRE website.
President Announces Better Buildings Initiative
Following his State of the Union call for advancing clean energy, President Obama proposed new efforts to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings.
His "Better Buildings Initiative" aims to make commercial buildings 20% more efficient over the next decade, while reducing energy bills by about $40 billion at today's prices.
Through a series of incentives, the plan will encourage private-sector investment to upgrade all types of buildings ranging from offices and schools to universities and hospitals. In 2010, commercial buildings consumed roughly 20% of all energy in the U.S. economy.
The President's budget, subject to Congressional approval, proposes:
- tax incentives for building retrofits using a generous tax credit rather than the current deduction;
- financing opportunities for commercial retrofits. The Small Business Administration will encourage lenders to take advantage of recently increased loan size limits to promote energy efficiency retrofit loans for small businesses;
- a DOE pilot program would guarantee loans for energy efficiency upgrades at hospitals, schools, and commercial buildings.
- "Race to Green" for state and municipal governments that streamline regulations and attract private investment for retrofit projects. Competitive grants would be available to states and local governments that streamline standards;
- a Better Buildings Challenge to spur CEOs and university presidents to make their organizations leaders in saving energy;
- training for the next generation of commercial building technology workers through a Building Construction Technology Extension Partnership modeled on the successful Manufacturing Extension Partnership at the Department of Commerce,
- workforce training in areas such as energy auditing and building operations.
The Better Buildings Initiative is meant to complement programs already launched for government and residential buildings, including $20 billion in funding for building energy efficiency in the Recovery Act. See the White House press release.
DOE's SunShot Seeks Cost-Competitive Solar Energy by 2020
DOE's SunShot Initiative aims to reduce the total costs of solar PV systems by 75% before the end of the decade, making them cost-competitive with conventional energy without subsidies.
The SunShot program evokes the legacy of President Kennedy's 1960s "moon shot" goal, which laid out a plan to regain the country's lead in the space race and land a man on the moon.
PV systems could be broadly deployed across the US when the cost of utility-scale installations are reduced to $1 a watt (roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour).
