DOE Offers $1.45 Billion Loan Guarantee to Abengoa Solar
DOE has offered of a conditional commitment for a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to Abengoa Solar to finance the construction and start-up of a concentrating solar power (CSP) generating facility in Solana, Arizona.
President Obama announced the offer on July 3. The 250 MW plant will the first six-hour thermal energy storage system in the US. The plant, located 70 miles south of Phoenix, will supply electricity for about 70,000 homes through a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Arizona Public Service Company.
Abengoa estimates the Solana project will employ 1,600 workers during construction and will create more than 80 skilled permanent jobs. Additionally, two assembly factories will be constructed on site, and a mirror manufacturing facility will be sited just outside Phoenix in Surprise, Arizona to supply the 900,000-plus mirrors.
The Solana project brings the total amount of CSP supported by DOE to nearly 650 MW. See press releases from DOE and Abengoa, the president’s video announcement, the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Web site, and the Solar Energy Technologies Program Web site.
Solar Panel Manufacturer Gets $400 Million DOE Conditional Loan Guarantee
Also on July 3, President Obama announced a $400 million conditional loan guarantee to Abound Solar Manufacturing for the assembly of state-of-the-art thin-film, cadmium-telluride solar panels.
This is the first time the technology is being commercially deployed. Facilities in Longmont, Colorado, and Tipton, Indiana will create about 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent solar jobs. The Indiana factory is a new, unused factory originally constructed for a Chrysler auto parts supplier.
Using proprietary manufacturing technology developed jointly by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab, Colorado State University, and the National Science Foundation, Abound will produce PV panels made from thin films of cadmium-telluride deposited onto glass panels. The technology reduces overall product costs while increasing film quality, device efficiency and stability.
When the facilities reach full capacity in 2013, they’ll support up to 840 MW of solar electricity a year.
DOE has now issued conditional commitments for loan guarantees to support 13 clean energy projects through the Recovery Act. See the DOE press release, the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Web site, and the president’s weekly video address with the announcement.
DOE and DOI to Spur Offshore Renewable Energy Projects
DOE and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 29 that will strengthen the working relationship between the two agencies regarding future development of commercial renewable offshore energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
They will use the agreement to spur development of offshore wind and water resources. The MOU states that within 30 days of its signing, an interagency working group will develop an action plan for offshore wind energy and marine and hydrokinetic energy. The action plan will also address siting and permitting, resource assessment, technical standards, data exchange, and public engagement.
The interagency pact will aid development of such domestic energy resources by allowing them to pursue priority leasing and efficient regulatory processes for sites with commercial-scale offshore potential.
According to DOE’s 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report, offshore wind alone could produce 54 GW of electricity by 2030. See the DOI press release, the full text of the MOU (PDF 1.22 MB), and the Wind and Water Power Program Web site.
USDA Awards $4.2 Million in Woody Biomass Utilization Projects
Just in time for the wildfire season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded more than $4.2 million in grants on June 24 in six states to small businesses and community groups developing innovative renewable energy projects using biomass from hazardous fuel reduction projects on National Forest land.
Of 185 applicants, 13 from Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Oregon were selected to receive the USDA funds. Grant recipients are required to provide at least 20% of the total project cost, bringing non-federal matching funds to over $9 million.
Woody biomass includes small-diameter and low-value wood residue such as tree limbs, tops, needles, and bark that are often byproducts of forest management activities. Enterprising uses of such biomass can help offset expensive thinning operations and enhance growth forest ecosystems.
In Arizona, for example, Cooley Forest Products will purchase a mobile canter saw, which squares or shapes logs, allowing them to process small logs at a forest landing, thereby reducing transportation costs. West Range Reclamation in Colorado will purchase a delimber/debarker, enabling them to efficiently process beetle-killed trees. The U.S. Forest Service began the woody biomass utilization grant program in 2005. In early June, the USDA released a report detailing how biofuels can help meet the Renewable Fuel Standard, a provision of the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005. See the USDA press release, an article on the USDA biofuels report from the June 30 edition of the EERE Network News, and the Woody Biomass Utilization Web site.
Progressive Automotive X Prize Selects 12 Teams
Only 15 vehicles from 12 teams remain in the running for the Progressive Automotive X Prize, a competition that offers a $10 million prize for vehicles that achieve super fuel efficiency.
Established automakers, start-ups, universities, inventors, and even a high school entered the Knockout Qualifying Stage, the second stage of the months-long event. By the time the knockout round ended June 29 on Michigan International Speedway (MIS), 11 vehicles representing nine teams failed to meet the standards and were eliminated. The remaining cars, two in the mainstream class and 13 in an alternative class, will advance to the final stage, which is scheduled for July 19-30 at MIS in Brooklyn, Michigan.
In the knockout stage, competing vehicles had to successfully repeat the technical inspections and on-track safety tests they completed during the first stage in May. For this second round, the machines and their drivers also had to complete emissions, efficiency, and range events in which they had to achieve at least two-thirds the energy equivalent of 100 miles per gallon of gasoline (100 MPGe), the minimum target for the final prize. Cars also had to run a minimum of 134 miles for mainstream class and 67 miles for the alternative class. Achieving 100 MPGe is the final goal.
Two cars now remain in the mainstream class, both Edison2 Very Light Cars with internal combustion engines. Other remaining teams include Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest automaker; established electric vehicle companies like Aptera and ZAP; and upstart Western Washington University. The field has narrowed considerably since last fall, when 43 teams with 53 vehicles began pursuit of the Holy Grail of vehicle efficiency. See the X Prize press release, the team standings Web site, and the Edison2 Web site.
IEA Report: Energy Technology Revolution is Now Underway
A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds early indications that an energy technology revolution is now underway. Released on July 1, Energy Technology Perspectives 2010, reports that global investment in renewable power generation reached an all-time high of $112 billion in 2008, then remained broadly stable in 2009 despite the economic downturn.
The report notes that many major automakers are adding electrified vehicles to their fleets, and that with the purchase incentives available in many countries, more than 5 million EVs could be on the road in the next decade. Developed countries have also accelerated their energy efficiency gains, while funding for low-carbon energy research increased by one-third between 2005 and 2008.
The IEA report concludes, however, that if the necessary policy support for this "energy revolution" remains lacking, fossil fuels will continue to provide most of the world’s energy needs, leading to a near doubling of energy-related carbon emissions by 2050. To change this trajectory, energy efficiency, the most important "fuel" of the future, must be emphasized.
In addition to rapidly expanding renewable energy to provide half the world’s electricity by 2050, the report also calls for expanding other nuclear, carbon capture and other low-carbon energy sources.
The shift would cost $45 trillion more than the baseline scenario over the next 40 years, but the spending would have positive returns on investment, along with other economic, social, and environmental benefits. See the IEA press release, the Energy Technology Perspectives Web site, and the executive summary of the report (PDF 2.2 MB).
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EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
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