Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:August 16, 2006

News and Events

• DOE and USDA Award $5.7 Million for Biofuels Research
• Keynote Speakers Announced for National Renewable Energy Conference
• USDA Awards $9 Million in Grants and Loan Guarantees for Clean Energy
• California Utility to buy 500 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power
• U.S. Wind Power Capacity Hits 10 Gigawatts
• New York State Aims to Convert its Hybrid Fleet to Plug-Ins

Site News

• DOE Launches Web Site and Solicitation for Loan Guarantee Program

Energy Connections

• DOE to Fund Studies of Hydrogen Production from Nuclear Power

News and Events

DOE and USDA Award $5.7 Million for Biofuels Research

DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week that they have awarded nine grants totaling $5.7 million for research in biofuels. The research will focus on genomics that will allow woody plant tissues such as alfalfa, sorghum, wheat, and other grasses to be grown in large quantities to produce renewable fuels, including ethanol. DOE granted $3.9 million to six projects, and USDA has granted $1.8 million to three projects, all of which will be supported for up to three years. The awardees include six universities in Indiana, Texas, Wisconsin, New York, North Carolina, Kansas, and Georgia; two non-profit research organizations in Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.; and DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. See the DOE press release.

DOE and the USDA also announced last week 12 new people who will serve on the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The committee advises the agencies on strategic planning, the development of requests for proposals under the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, and the review and evaluation of funding proposals. The 30-member committee also works to encourage collaboration among government, industry, and growers. The twelve new members hail from Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. See the DOE press release and the Biomass Research and Development Initiative Web site.

Keynote Speakers Announced for National Renewable Energy Conference

DOE and the USDA are jointly hosting a national renewable energy conference in October. The conference, entitled “Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance,” will take place October 10th to 12th at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Last week, the agencies announced the keynote speakers for the conference, including Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman; Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns; Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures (which invests in clean energy and biorefineries) and a previous co-founder of Sun Microsystems; Robert W. Lane of Deere & Company, which is investing in wind power; Patricia A. Woertz of Archer Daniels Midland Company, which is heavily involved in biofuels production; and James R. Woolsey, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Woolsey is a co-chairman of the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), which has published a paper linking U.S. petroleum dependence to national security threats. See the DOE press release, the conference Web site, and the CPD paper (PDF 800 KB).

USDA Awards $9 Million in Grants and Loan Guarantees for Clean Energy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week that it will award $9 million in grants and loan guarantees for 12 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Iowa, Kansas, and Oregon. The funds will support three renewable energy installations in Iowa: a 2-megawatt wind turbine, a biodiesel production facility, and an anaerobic digester to convert manure into a gaseous fuel. The USDA funds will also support a biomass-fueled combined heat and power system at Rough & Ready Lumber in Cave Junction, Oregon, a project that was coincidentally mentioned in last week’s newsletter. Additional grants and loans will go toward more efficient grain dryers at three Iowa facilities and energy efficiency improvements for two businesses in Kansas and one in Oregon. See the USDA press release, the recipients list (PDF 21 KB), the USDA Rural Development Web site, and the story from last week’s newsletter.

The USDA also released an analysis of its renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, prepared by USDA economists. The report notes that the USDA spent $1.4 billion on energy-related programs over the past five years and expects to spend another $272 million this year. More than half a billion dollars have d
irectly subsidized biofuels production, although that program is slated to end this year. The USDA Rural Development program has supported 650 energy projects, including 168 energy efficiency projects, 132 biofuel projects, 130 wind power projects, 92 anaerobic digesters, and a variety of other renewable energy projects. The report examines a variety of policy options for future consideration, including a higher Renewable Fuels Standard, extended renewable energy tax credits, a production subsidy for cellulosic ethanol, and an expanded research program. See the USDA press release and the executive summary (PDF 156 KB) and full text (PDF 235 KB) of the report.

California Utility to buy 500 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced last week its contract with Luz II, LLC to purchase at least 500 megawatts (MW) of solar energy starting in 2010. The original Luz firm was a pioneer of solar energy development, building nine solar electric generating systems in southern California between 1984 and 1990. Those solar plants continue to generate power by using trough-shaped mirrors to focus the sun’s energy onto a tube through which a fluid is pumped. Luz II is led by the original management team for Luz, but employs a propriety new hybrid design that runs off both solar energy and natural gas. Luz II claims that the new technology is more efficient than Luz’s solar troughs and is significantly less expensive to build and operate. PG&E provides electricity and natural gas to 15 million people in north and central California, from Eureka in the north to Bakersfield in the south. See the PG&E press release.

If the PG&E news sounds familiar, that may be because the utility is following the lead of its southern California neighbors. Last year, both Southern California Edison (SCE) and the San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E) announced similar contracts to buy large amounts (500 MW and 300 MW, respectively) of solar thermal power from Stirling Energy Systems, which uses Stirling solar dish technology. Earlier this year, construction began on a 64-MW solar trough system in Nevada and a 1-MW solar trough system was completed in Arizona. See the stories from previous issues of this newsletter on the SCE and SDG&E contracts and the systems in Nevada and Arizona.

U.S. Wind Power Capacity Hits 10 Gigawatts

The wind energy industry hit a milestone on Monday, when U.S. wind power capacity reached 10,000 megawatts (MW), or 10 gigawatts. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), U.S. wind power is now generating enough electricity to serve more than 2.5 million homes. As noted by AWEA, the industry grew slowly at first, reaching 1,000 MW in 1985, and requiring more than a decade to reach 2,000 MW, in 1999. Since then, U.S. wind power has increased fivefold. In this year alone, AWEA expects 3,000 MW of wind power to be brought online. See the AWEA press release.

A number of recent reports have confirmed the value of wind power. A report from the Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG) found no issues with integrating wind power into electricity grids, provided the wind energy projects are designed and operated well. A study from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) examined the economic impacts of new wind, coal, and natural gas power plants in Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan, and found that wind power plants provided the greatest economic benefit to each state. Finally, a Frost & Sullivan report expects the quickly growing wind power industry to place tremendous pressure on the supply chain for wind turbines. The report expects the industry to outsource the production of non-essential turbine components and anticipates that both turbine manufacturers and wind power developers will secure long-term supply contracts to help reduce lead times and keep costs down. See the UWIG press release, the full UWIG report (PDF 123 KB), the NREL report (PDF 983 KB), and the Frost & Sullivan press release.

New York State Aims to Convert its Hybrid Fleet to Plug-Ins

A new $10 million effort in New York State is geared toward converting the state’s hybrid fleet?consisting mostly of Toyota Priuses and Ford Hybrid Escapes?into plug-in hybrids. The New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) released a solicitation on Monday that calls for multiple awards of up to $100,000 for the development of plug-in hybrid vehicle prototypes, which will then be subject to three months of testing. Builders of successful prototype vehicles may then apply for a second round of funding to convert the state’s fleet of hybrids into plug-in hybrids. NYSERDA estimates that the state owns between 500 and 600 hybrid cars and light trucks, and the winning bidders will need to present a viable plan to manufacture all?or a significant portion of?the plug-in conversion systems in New York State, or otherwise generate significant economic activity in the state. Proposals are due on September 18th. See NYSERDA’s Program Opportunity Notice 1088.

NYSERDA is also offering another $5 million to support the development and manufacturing of advanced vehicle components in New York State. This program will provide funding for new product development and for the siting or expansion of manufact
uring facilities to produce innovative on-road vehicle components or systems, with the goal of providing energy, environmental, and economic benefits in the state. NYSERDA is particularly interested in engine and drivetrain efficiency improvements; energy management and storage systems; emissions reductions or after-treatment systems; thermal management systems; auxiliary power systems; and intelligent vehicle technologies, and is also interested in technologies specifically aimed at motorcycles and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The funds will be awarded in two rounds: proposals for the first round are due on October 4th, and proposals for the second round are due on February 21st, 2007. See NYSERDA’s Program Opportunity Notice 1090.

Site News

DOE Launches Web Site and Solicitation for Loan Guarantee Program

DOE has launched a new Web site to support its $2 billion Loan Guarantee Program, which was announced last week. The site includes a solicitation that was released on Monday, calling for projects that support the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative. Specifically, the solicitation requests proposals relating to biomass, hydrogen, hydropower, solar, and wind energy; hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles; and industrial energy efficiency. Also included in the solicitation are projects related to the efficient and reliable delivery of electricity, pollution control equipment, carbon sequestration, and advanced coal technologies. DOE plans to select loan guarantee commitments totaling as much as $2 billion, but there’s a catch: since DOE does not expect to receive congressional appropriations to cover the costs of the loan guarantees, borrowers will likely have to pay the subsidy cost up front, when closing the loan. The pre-application due date is November 6th.

Although the current solicitation is aimed specifically at the Advanced Energy Initiative, future loan guarantee solicitations may be broader. The guidelines released on Monday spell out 10 categories of projects for loan guarantees: renewable energy systems; hydrogen fuel cells; production facilities for fuel-efficient vehicles; energy-efficient end-use technologies; advanced nuclear energy facilities; advanced fossil energy systems; efficient electrical generation, transmission, and distribution; carbon capture and sequestration; pollution control systems; and refineries. See the Loan Guarantee Program Web site and download the solicitation (PDF 238 KB) and the guidelines (PDF 90 KB).

Energy Connections

DOE to Fund Studies of Hydrogen Production from Nuclear Power

Could a future “hydrogen economy” be fueled with nuclear power? That’s the question that two industry teams will investigate with the help of about $1.4 million in DOE funds. Hydrogen has many advantages because it burns cleanly and could allow our vehicles to run without producing any pollution, but ultimately hydrogen is just an energy carrier: it needs to be produced from some other form of energy. While renewable energy may be the cleanest and most sustainable source of hydrogen, it would have to compete with other energy sources, including natural gas, coal, and nuclear power.

DOE announced on Monday that industrial teams led by Electric Transportation Applications and GE Global Research will investigate ways to produce hydrogen from nuclear energy. Electric Transportation Applications will study the feasibility of producing hydrogen at today’s nuclear plants using commercially available hydrogen production technology, while GE Global Research will study the use of a low cost alkaline electrolyzer developed by GE. Electrolyzers apply a current to water to split it into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen. See the DOE press release.

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