DOE Industry Partnership for Next-Generation Auto Technologies
Groundbreaking Nevada Solar Project Gets Loan Guarantee
1800 EV Chargers Installed Under the Recovery Act
New Wind Turbine Testing Center in Massachusetts
DOE's Los Alamos Labs Unlocking the Power of Algae Oil
World's Largest Medical Center Among the Most Energy Efficient
USDA Program Provides More Flex-Fuel Pump Options
DOE Industry Partnership for Next-Generation Auto Technologies
On May 19, DOE announced U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability), a partnership with industry to speed development of advanced cars and light trucks.
In addition to technology development, U.S. DRIVE will address the infrastructure necessary to support their widespread use. Formerly known as the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, U.S. DRIVE brings together top technical experts from DOE, its national labs, and industry partners to identify critical R&D needs. As part of that effort, the initiative will develop technical targets and strategic roadmaps, and will evaluate R&D progress on a broad range of advanced vehicle and energy infrastructure technologies.
Partners include: the US Council for Automotive Research (the collaborative research company for Chrysler, Ford and GM), BP America, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Shell, DTE Energy, Southern California Edison, the Electric Power Research Institute and Tesla Motors.
The partners will work together on technologies such as batteries and electric-drive components, advanced combustion engines, lightweight materials, and fuel cells and hydrogen technologies. See the DOE press release and the Vehicle Technologies Program's U.S. DRIVE Web page.
Groundbreaking Nevada Solar Project Gets Loan Guarantee
DOE announced on May 19 its offer of a conditional commitment for a $737 million loan guarantee to support a 110 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) tower facility in Nevada.
The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, sponsored by SolarReserve LLC, will be the first of its kind in the US and the tallest molten salt tower in the world. It is located on 2,250 acres leased from the U.S. Dept of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management. The company estimates the project will create 600 solar jobs during construction and 45 operations jobs.
The project includes a 640-foot tall solar structure and a molten salt-based collection and storage system. The tower stands in the center of 17,500 tracking mirrors (called heliostats) that focus concentrated sunlight on a receiver which sits on top of the tower. Within the receiver, the sunlight heats molten salt which then flows into a thermal storage tank where it is stored, and eventually pumped to a steam generator.
The molten salt storage system allows the sun's thermal energy to be stored for up to 10 hours, permitting steady, uninterrupted power during peak electricity demand, despite cloud cover, and even at night.
The Crescent Dunes facility is expected to produce about 500,000 megawatt hours annually while avoiding nearly 290,000 tons of carbon pollution a year. Power from the project will be sold to Nevada Power Company and it will help the utility meet its Renewable Energy Standard (RES) goals for Nevada as well as its evening load requirements. See the DOE press release and the DOE Loan Programs Office website.
1800 EV Chargers Installed Thanks to Recovery Act
DOE reported on May 13 that over 1,800 electric vehicle (EV) chargers have been installed using Recovery Act funds. Since 2009, DOE has invested over $5 billion in grants and loans to spur the growth of the U.S. EV and advanced battery manufacturing industry.
