EIA Projects Faster Clean Energy Growth with Recovery Act Funds
Despite the challenges presented by the current global recession, the stimulus provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is expected to spur energy efficiency gains and greater long-term growth in renewable energy than previously expected, according to DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The EIA released its Annual Energy Outlook in March, but that publication reflected the situation in November 2008, before the full effects of the recession were clear and before the passage of the ARRA. Last week, the EIA updated the publication to include an energy outlook without the stimulus of the ARRA and an outlook that accounts for the ARRA.
The biggest near-term impact of the ARRA is a jump in renewable power generation (excluding hydropower), exceeding 300 billion kilowatt-hours by 2012, compared to falling well short of 200 billion kilowatt-hours without the ARRA.
The ARRA is projected to more than double the production of wind power in 2012, increasing wind generation from roughly 53 billion kilowatt-hours in 2008 to a projected 201 billion kilowatt-hours in 2012, while the no-stimulus case projects wind generation to only grow to 86 billion kilowatt-hours by 2012.
Compared to the no-stimulus case, the ARRA is projected to increased installed wind power capacity by 67% by 2030, while also increasing geothermal power capacity by 16% and biomass power capacity by 18%. The ARRA also provides a huge boost for small wind turbines installed at commercial sites, causing a five-fold increase by 2016, which results in 120 megawatts of installed wind capacity. In addition, a 15% increase in commercial solar power installations results in 121 megawatts by 2011.
The ARRA also directs a large amount of funding toward energy efficiency improvements in homes, on military bases, and throughout the federal government. The benefits of that investment are most obvious in household heating and cooling: by 2030, energy consumption for household heating drops by 1.7%, while energy consumption for household cooling drops by 3.4%. Between now and 2030, the annual household energy costs, excluding transportation, are projected to average $64 per year lower than without the ARRA. Total annual residential and commercial energy bills are projected to be $21 billion lower by 2030. The ARRA also achieves a short-term advantage for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in emissions that are 1.3% lower in 2013 than the no-stimulus case. See the EIA update (PDF 298 KB).
EPA: Greenhouse Gases Pose a Threat to Public Health and Welfare
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed finding last week, concluding that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare. The finding opens greenhouse gas emissions to regulation under the Clean Air Act, although the Obama Administration has indicated a preference for comprehensive legislation to address climate change and to create the framework for a clean energy economy.
The proposed finding identified six major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Carbon dioxide is the dominant greenhouse gas emitted in the U.S., and it is primarily emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels. Efforts to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide will largely involve reducing the emissions from fossil fuel use, either by minimizing energy use through energy efficiency; switching to cleaner energy sources, such as renewable energy; or capturing and sequestering the carbon dioxide emissions.
The EPA’s "endangerment finding" focuses on the impact of climate change rather than on specific regulatory proposals. It finds that climate change may lead to higher levels of ground-level ozone, which is harmful to human health, and that it could lead to increased drought, heavier downpours and flooding, more intense storms, more frequent and intense heat waves and wildfires, greater sea level rise, and harm to water resources, agriculture, wildlife, and ecosystems.
Although the endangerment finding does not include any proposed regulations, it does specifically call out automobiles as a source of greenhouse gases. The proposed endangerment finding is in response to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. It will be open to public comment for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. See the EPA press release and the Web page for the proposed finding.
Meanwhile, President Obama was in Mexico and at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad last week, and he took two major steps to advance the response to climate change among the nations of North and South America.
In Mexico City, President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderan established the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Framework on Clean Energy and Climate Change, which establishes a mechanism for political and technical cooperation and information exchange related to the development of clean energy economies. The bilateral framework will focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, green jobs, low-carbon energy technology development and capacity building, forestry and land use, and market mechanisms, as well as means of adapting to climate change. The framework will also focus on border issues.
At the Summit of the Americas, President Obama invited countries in the Americas to participate in the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, which is a voluntary and flexible framework for advancing energy security and combating climate change. See the White House press releases on the bilateral framework and the Summit of the Americas.
Obama Administration Charts a Course for High-Speed Rail
President Obama released a strategic plan last week that outlines his vision for developing high-speed rail in the U.S. The plan draws on $13 billion in federal investment as a down payment on a world-class passenger rail system consisting of 10 high-speed rail corridors.
The initial federal investment would consist of $8 billion in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), plus $1 billion per year for the next five years as requested in the federal budget. The high-speed rail corridors run along the East Coast and most of the West Coast and form networks in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, with each corridor extending 100-600 miles. Today’s intercity passenger rail services consume one-third less energy per passenger-mile than cars. Building high-speed rail lines on all the federally designated corridors could cut U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 6 billion pounds per year.
To develop the plan, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will initially offer ARRA grants to projects that are ready to roll, with environmental reviews and preliminary engineering work already completed. Those initial projects will be followed with more comprehensive programs and cooperative agreements to develop entire phases or geographic sections of the high-speed rail corridors.
And over the next five years or more, non-ARRA federal appropriations will go toward cooperative agreements for planning the activities and projects needed to fully develop the high-speed rail network. Developing a comprehensive high-speed rail network will require a long-term commitment at both the federal and state levels. See the White House press release and see the strategic plan on the FRA’s High-Speed Rail Web page.
DOE to Award $41.9 Million in Recovery Act Funds for Fuel Cells
DOE announced last week the award of $41.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for 13 projects to deploy fuel cells and help build a consumer base for U.S. fuel cell manufacturers. The funding will support the immediate deployment of nearly 1,000 fuel cell systems for emergency backup power and material handling applications (such as forklifts) that have emerged as key early markets in which fuel cells can compete with conventional power technologies. Additional systems will be used to accelerate the demonstration of stationary fuel cells for combined heat and power in the larger residential and commercial markets. Approximately $72.4 million in cost-shared funding will come from industry participants, for a total of nearly $114.3 million.
The increase in manufacturing volume in key early markets will bring costs down and encourage the growth of a domestic supplier base. These efforts will also accelerate the commercialization and deployment of fuel cells and will create jobs in fuel cell manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and support services. A variety of technologies will be developed and deployed, including polymer electrolyte, solid oxide, and direct-methanol fuel cells. For a full list of projects and awardees, see the DOE press release.
DOE to Award $10 Million for Plug-in Hybrid Electric School Buses
DOE announced last week the selection of Navistar Corporation for a cost-shared award of up to $10 million to develop, test, and deploy plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) school buses. The project aims to deploy 60 vehicles for a three-year period in school bus fleets across the nation. The vehicles will be capable of running in either electric-only or hybrid modes and will be recharged from a standard electrical outlet. Because electricity will be their primary fuel, they will consume less petroleum than standard vehicles.
To develop the PHEV school bus, Navistar will examine a range of hybrid architectures and evaluate advanced energy storage devices, with the goal of developing a vehicle with a 40-mile electric range. Travel beyond the 40-mile range will be facilitated by a clean diesel engine capable of running on renewable fuels. The DOE funding will cover up to half of the project’s cost and will be provided over three years, subject to annual appropriations. See the DOE press release.
DOE to Invest Nearly $4 Billion in Smart Grid Technologies
DOE issued a Notice of Intent and a draft Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) last week that will lay the groundwork for providing nearly $4 billion in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds to support smart grid projects.
The Notice of Intent was issued for DOE’s Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, which will provide grants of $500,000 to $20 million for smart grid technology deployments and grants of $100,000 to $5 million for the deployment of grid monitoring devices. The program will provide matching grants of up to 50% of the project cost, and the total funding for the program is $3.375 billion. In addition, the draft FOA paves the way toward an offer of $615 million to support demonstrations of regional smart grids, utility-scale energy storage systems, and grid monitoring devices. The Notice of Intent and the draft FOA (found by searching the public opportunities on FedConnect for reference number DE-FOA-0000036) are open to public comment through May 6.
Vice President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the DOE program during a visit to Jefferson City, Missouri. Secretary Locke also announced that he will co-chair a smart grid meeting with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu in Washington, D.C., in early May. The meeting will bring together industry and government leaders to begin a critical discussion about developing industry-wide standards for smart grid technologies. Industry leaders at this meeting are expected to pledge to harmonize industry standards and to commit to a timetable to reach a standards agreement. Additional meetings on May 19-20 will be used to make further progress on a standards agreement. See the DOE press release.
NREL: Utility Green Power Sales Increased 20% in 2008
More than 850 utilities across the U.S. now offer their customers a voluntary choice to buy "green power" generated from renewable energy sources, according to DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL’s annual assessment of leading utility green power programs found a 20% increase in green power sales in 2008, with total annual sales exceeding 5 billion kilowatt-hours. More than 600,000 utility customers are now participating in such green power programs, which are supporting roughly 5,000 megawatts of new renewable power capacity throughout the country.
NREL’s annual ranking of utility green power programs shows relatively minor changes, with Austin Energy still leading the nation for total green power sales. In 2008, the Texas utility sold nearly 724 million kilowatt-hours of renewable power generated from wind energy and landfill gas, a 25% increase in sales relative to 2007. Public Service Company of New Mexico made the top-ten list for total sales for the first time, landing in seventh place. Xcel Energy, which operates in eight states, still has the largest number of participants, but it lost nearly 4,000 participants in 2008, while second-placed Portland General Electric (PGE) gained nearly 8,000 participants, landing the relatively small Oregon utility within 2,313 customers of the first-place spot. PGE increased its customer participation rate to 9.7% of all customers, increasing its rank in that category from fourth to third.
While most utilities charge a premium for buying green power, some utilities set a fixed price for their green power program, and that fixed price can actually save money for customers if the utility ends up paying higher fuel prices for their standard power supply. That was this case this year for two Oklahoma-based utilities-OG&E Electric Services and Edmond Electric – both of which saved their green power customers about a penny per kilowatt-hour on their electric bills. That savings is probably a main reason why Edmond Electric also leads the nation for its green power sales as a percentage of its total retail electricity sales; the utility’s green power sales equal 6.4% of its total sales. See the NREL press release and the current and previous top-ten lists of utility green power programs on the Green Power Network, a part of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site.
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Kevin Eber is the Editor of EREE Network News, a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
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