Editor’s Note: As part of the wind energy funding that was announced on April 29, DOE has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that offers $24 million in Recovery Act funds for the development of consortia between universities and industry. The consortia will focus on critical wind energy challenges. The FOA and can be found by searching the public opportunities at FedConnect for reference number DE-FOA-0000090.
DOE Offers $467.6 Million for Geothermal & Solar Projects
President Obama announced last week that DOE is offering $467.6 million from the ARRA to support geothermal and solar projects. The funds include $350 million for geothermal projects in four areas: geothermal resource assessments; innovative exploration techniques; demonstration projects; and research, development, and demonstrations of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technology.
EGS technology involves using such techniques as pumping high-pressure water into areas of high-temperature rock located deep underground, using the water pressure to create new or enhanced geothermal reservoirs.
The geothermal resource assessment is a nationwide effort to classify geothermal resources based on the development potential of each location, with all data fed into a new National Geothermal Data System. The demonstration projects will draw on unconventional geothermal energy resources, including low-temperature resources, geopressured resources (underground brines at high temperatures and pressures), and hot fluids from oil and gas wells.
For all but the EGS work, see the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on grants.gov, or search the public opportunities on FedConnect for reference number DE-FOA-0000109. Applications for that FOA are due by July 22. For the EGS work, see the FOAs for research and development and demonstrations on the DOE e-Center Web site, or search FedConnect for reference numbers DE-FOA-0000075 and DE-FOA-0000092. Applications for EGS research and development projects are due on July 17, while applications for EGS demonstrations are due on July 30.
DOE is also offering $117.6 million in Recovery Act funds for solar technologies, including $51.5 million to develop advanced photovoltaic (PV) technologies, such as solar cells and modules; $25.6 million for R&D to support concentrating solar power (CSP); and $40.5 million to address non-technical barriers to solar energy deployment, including market barriers, cumbersome grid connection requirements, and a lack of trained installers.
About $17 million of the solar funding is available only to DOE national laboratories. President Obama announced the new funding in Las Vegas, at Nellis Air Force Base, the site of the largest solar PV installation in the Western Hemisphere.
See the president’s announcement, the DOE press release, and the solar energy solicitations on grants.gov, which are divided into high-penetration solar PV deployment, solar market transformation, and the funds for DOE national laboratories. These solicitations can also be found by searching FedConnect for DE-FOA-0000085, DE-FOA-0000078, and DE-FOA-0000087, respectively. Applications are due by July 30 for the two main solicitations, while the due date for the national laboratory funding is July 15. As part of the funding, DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is also soliciting letters of interest for PV Technology Incubators, with a due date of July 13. See the NREL solicitation (PDF 380 KB).
DOE Offers $50 Million in Recovery Act Funds for Geothermal Heat Pumps
DOE announced on Tuesday that it will offer nearly $50 million in funds from ARRA to accelerate the deployment of geothermal heat pumps (GHPs).
GHPs use the ground underneath or surrounding a building as either a source or sink for energy, drawing heat from the ground during the winter heating season and rejecting heat into the ground during the summer cooling season. Also referred to as ground-source heat pumps, GHPs generally achieve higher efficiencies than air-source heat pumps, because the ground maintains a relatively stable temperature throughout the year, even during heat waves and extreme cold snaps. They can provide space heating and cooling and water heating for residential and commercial buildings. GHPs can substantially reduce the electricity demand for buildings, providing building owners and residents with lower utility bills and reduced maintenance costs. To learn more, see the GHP page on the Web site for DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Program.
To accelerate deployment of GHPs, DOE will offer funding for cost-shared technology demonstration projects that provide a minimum of 50 tons of heating and cooling capacity. Ideally, the projects will use technologies that can be deployed in various geological conditions and climate zones and in either residential communities or commercial buildings. The selected projects will incorporate innovative business and financing strategies and will focus on technological improvements that will speed the adoption of GHPs for buildings throughout the country.
To help achieve that goal, DOE will also offer funding for life-cycle cost tools that will help evaluate the feasibility of using GHPs. The tools will be used to analyze the costs and benefits of various systems and installation techniques over their entire operating lifetime. DOE will also fund the creation of a national certification and accreditation program for the GHP industry. See the DOE press release.
DOE to Offer $256 Million for Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing and IT
DOE announced on Monday that it plans to offer $256 million from ARRA to support energy efficiency improvements in manufacturing and information technology (IT) industries. The funds include $156 million for deployment and demonstration projects for that can help manufacturers operate more efficiently, including new energy-efficient industrial equipment, waste energy recovery systems, combined heat and power systems, and district energy systems.
Waste energy recovery systems could reduce U.S. energy demand by 17,000 MW, while combined heat and power systems and district energy systems can operate at efficiencies of 80% or more. Conventional heat and power production facilities operate at efficiencies of only 45%, which means that 55% of the energy used by the facilities is lost through cooling towers and smokestacks, and only 45% is converted into a useful energy source.
The funds also include $50 million to support R &D and demonstration projects for advanced industrial materials, including nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing. Another $50 million will help reduce energy use for microprocessors and servers that support the information and communication technology industries. The funds will go toward R&D and demonstration projects that improve the energy efficiency of these services, including projects that address the power and cooling systems that help keep such services running. See the DOE press release, and visit the DOE e-Center Web site for the notices of intent to issue the Funding Opportunity Announcements for industrial energy efficiency and energy efficiency at information and communication facilities.
Restructured GM to Build a New Small Car in the United States
General Motors declared bankruptcy on Monday, and as part of the company’s restructuring, it plans to revive one of its idled U.S. factories to produce a future small car. It will add to a group of small, fuel-efficient vehicles the company is planning to roll out in the near future, including the Chevrolet Cruze and Chevy Volt. The retooled plant will be capable of building 160,000 cars annually, including both small and compact vehicles, but GM has not yet decided which of its manufacturing plants will be retooled. See the GM press release.
The plans for reviving the plant were among the few positive outcomes included in the restructuring announcement, as the company plans to close assembly plants in Wilmington, Delaware, and Pontiac, Michigan, by the end of this year, while idling assembly plants in Orion, Michigan, and Spring Hill, Tennessee (the closure of two other manufacturing plants in Michigan and New York was previously announced). GM will also close three parts distribution centers, located in Florida, Massachusetts, and Ohio, by the end of this year. By the end of 2010, GM plans to close six additional manufacturing plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia, and idle a stamping plant in Pontiac, Michigan, while a stamping plant in Indianapolis, Indiana, will be closed in late 2011. See the GM press releases on the restructuring and the plant closures.
GM will focus primarily on its four core brands-Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC-while selling, discontinuing, or scaling back its other brands. On Tuesday, GM announced plans to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese company, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd. The Sichuan-based company intends to expand the Hummer dealer network worldwide, particularly into China. The Hummer H2 led the 2009 list of "meanest vehicles for the environment," which is part of the annual "Green Book" produced by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. See the GM press release.
The White House characterized the GM restructuring as a shift toward a new leaner, greener GM, which will aim to break even with annual sales of 10 million cars. GM previously had to sell more than 16 million vehicles per year to break even. President Obama declared the restructuring "will mark the end of an old GM, and the beginning of a new GM; a new GM that can produce the high-quality, safe, and fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow; that can lead America towards an energy independent future; and that is once more a symbol of America’s success." See the president’s remarks and the White House fact sheet on the restructuring.
Vermont Passes a Feed-In Tariff, Plus Other Clean Energy Measures
Vermont legislators passed House Bill 446, the Vermont Energy Act of 2009, which will allow owners of small renewable energy facilities to sign long-term contracts to sell power produced by their facilities. The approach, commonly referred to as a "feed-in tariff," is meant to encourage individuals and businesses to install their own grid-connected renewable energy system.
The long-term contracts provided by such feed-in tariffs can make renewable energy systems a profitable investment, and the guaranteed income can help attract financing for such systems. The Vermont Energy Act will apply to renewable energy systems commissioned on or after September 30, 2009, that are up to 2.2 MW. It allows for power purchase contracts of 10-20 years for most renewable energy projects, and up to 25 years for solar energy projects. The act sets a statewide limit of 50 MW for such contracts, but that limit also includes any new, similar-sized renewable power facilities built by the state’s utilities.
For now, the act sets standard rates of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for a power plant fueled with methane from a landfill or agricultural operation, such as an anaerobic digester; 20 cents per kWh for wind turbines of 15 kilowatts or less; 30 cents per kWh for solar power; and the state’s average residential rate for biomass power plants not fueled with methane, wind power projects larger than 15 kilowatts, and hydropower facilities.
However, the act allows the Vermont Public Service Board to adjust these "standard offer" rates, with the intent of allowing a rate of return on equity not less than the highest rate of return approved for investor-owned utilities in Vermont. The rates must also providing sufficient incentive for the rapid deployment of such small renewable power facilities, but not an excessive incentive. If any of the rates seem way out of line with these goals, the board can set interim rates at its discretion before September 15. And whether it does that or not, the board must go through a formal process of setting its own rates by January 15, 2010, and it must repeat the process every two years. See the history and text (PDF 162 KB) of the Vermont Energy Act.
The Vermont Energy Act also has a number of other notable features. First, the state’s utilities are no longer required to offer voluntary renewable energy programs to their customers. The state previously required utilities to establish such "green power" or "green pricing" programs by July 1. Second, the act extends the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund to include geothermal energy devices. Third, the act encourages appropriate wind power development on state-owned lands. Fourth, the act does not allow covenants, deeds, or other binding agreements to prohibit the installation of solar collectors, clotheslines, or other renewable energy devices. Fifth, it allows municipalities to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Sixth, the act directs clean energy development funds to two "Vermont village green" renewable pilot projects, tentatively located in Montpelier and Randolph. The pilot projects will offer district heating to local homes and businesses, using a centralized heating system fueled with renewable energy. And last but not least, the act requires that the state’s building energy codes comply with the 2009 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code.
Report: Utilities with the Most Solar Power are Still Adding the Most
Although the use of solar power is gaining a more diverse following among U.S. electric utilities, the utilities that installed the most solar power in the past continue to lead the nation in installing new solar power capacity. That’s the conclusion of the latest solar rankings of utilities, which was released last week by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA).
The organization’s "2008 Top Ten Utility Solar Integration Rankings" report draws on survey reports from 92 U.S. utilities, but the 10 utilities that installed the most solar power accounted for 88% of all the new solar power capacity. That’s actually an improvement in diversity, as the top 10 utilities previously accounted for 97% of the new solar capacity.
California utilities lead the pack, with the PG&E installing 84.9 MW of solar capacity in 2008, while Southern California Edison (SCE) has the most cumulative installed capacity, at 441.4 MW. SCE leads mainly because of its large concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in the Mojave Desert. Looking only at customer-located systems, PG&E holds the lead with 219.1 MW.
SEPA notes that the growth in solar capacity in 2008 came almost entirely from thousands of customer-located projects, as opposed to central power plants, but the organization sees a growing role for centralized plants in the future. One example of that new trend is NV Energy’s third-place position for cumulative solar power, thanks to its launch of the 64-MW "Nevada Solar One" CSP project in 2007. See the SEPA press release (PDF 70 KB) and report (PDF 1.0 MB).
EIA: Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Projected to Increase 39% by 2030
In the absence of specific policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the world’s energy use is expected to increase by 44% between 2006-2030, causing a 39% increase in global CO2 emissions, according to DOE’s EIA.
The EIA’s "International Energy Outlook 2009," released last week, finds that much of the increase in CO2 emissions will occur in developing nations, especially in Asia. The EIA reference case projects oil prices climbing to $130 per barrel by 2030, causing biofuels to become increasing competitive, but also opening the door to less environmentally friendly options, such as oil sands, extra-heavy oil, and facilities to convert coal and natural gas into liquid fuels.
On the bright side, the EIA report expects renewable energy to be the fastest-growing source of electricity over the next 21 years, with an average renewable power growth of 2.9% per year. Most of that growth will come from wind power and hydropower, according to the EIA. But with global electricity demand growing steadily, renewable power is only projected to increase its share of the world’s electricity market from 19% in 2006 to 21% in 2030. Over the same time period, the EIA expects coal power to increase its global share from 41% to 43%. See the EIA press release and report.
++++
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).
Loading...