Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: August 18, 2010

  • Global Clean Energy Investment Steady in Q2
  • California’s Ivanpah Solar Tower Project Moves Forward
  • DOE Loan Solicitation for Renewable Energy Manufacturing
  • DOE Designates National Marine Renewable Energy Center
  • U.S. CO2 Emissions to Increase 3.4% in 2010

  • Global Clean Energy Investment Steady in Q2

    Investments in clean energy technologies, companies, and projects held steady in the second quarter (Q2) of 2010, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

    $33.9 billion flowed into clean energy, led by a "continuing boom" in China and some upward movement from the US that helped offset a drop in European projects. Overall, Q2 investment fell 1.5% from Q1.

    $28.9 billion was in asset financing -with China getting $11.5 billion of that. Asset financing in the US rose from $3.5 billion in Q1 to $4.9 billion in Q2. While the public markets didn’t results, Tesla Motors’ IPO was an exception. Tesla’s June 28 IPO raised $184 million, net of commissions and expenses. Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts 2010 total new clean energy investments at $180-$200 billion. See the Bloomberg New Energy Finance press release and the Tesla press release.

    California’s Ivanpah Solar Project Moves Forward

    On August 12, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a power purchase agreement for the utility-scale Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System.

    CPUC granted a 20-year contract between Southern California Edison and Ivanpah operator BrightSource Energy, Inc. for 117 MW of planned production from the three-tower, concentrating solar power (CSP) complex in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California.

    The contract calls for electricity to begin flowing on September 30, 2013. The site’s three plants will feature the company’s proprietary solar tower technology, which employs thousands of flat mirrors to concentrate the sunlight on a central tower-mounted receiver. Water pumped to the receiver is boiled into steam, which drives a turbine to produce electricity. Solar towers capture a greater percentage of solar energy compared to other solar thermal technologies. Ultimately, the project is designed to generate approximately 400 MW of electricity, an output that would nearly double the existing generation capacity of CSP facilities in the US. See the CPUC ruling.

    Earlier in the month, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) on the project, to be sited on about 4,000 acres of public land in San Bernardino County. The agency wanted BrightSource to pair down the footprint by 12% to 3,564 acres to reduce impact on sensitive plant and animal species. In February, DOE gave conditional commitments of more than $1.37 billion in loan guarantees to BrightSource Energy for the project. See the BLM press release, the BLM Ivanpah Web site, the California Energy Commission recommendation (PDF 9.28 MB), and the EPA notice in the Federal Register.

    DOE Issues Loan Solicitation for Renewable Energy Manufacturing

    On August 12, DOE issued a new loan guarantee solicitation for renewable energy manufacturing projects including components for solar and wind. The solicitation covers manufacturing of commercial technology systems as well as wind turbine blades and solar PV equipment. Recovery Act funds will be used including up to $750 million to pay credit subsidy costs of loan guarantees.

    Applicants can use the newly launched, user-friendly online application portal. The solicitation consists of a two-step process with rolling deadlines. First Part I deadline: August 31, 2010; First Part II deadline: October 31, 2010. Final Part I applications are due November 30, 2010, and final Part II applications are due January 31, 2011. See the DOE press release and the Loan Guarantee Program Web site.

    Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center Launches

    DOE announced on August 3 that it’s awarded $250,000 to the Center for Ocean Energy Technology at Florida Atlantic University to launch the Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center.

    The center, which focuses on ocean energy research and development joins centers in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. The university’s location near the Florida Straits and Gulf Stream, and its proximity to the ocean, puts it in an ideal position to research renewable energy technologies capable of generating energy from ocean currents and ocean thermal energy.

    The research facility will collaborate with industry partners to investigate next-generation water power technologies. Researchers have already begun deploying ocean current observation systems to establish environmental baselines. The center will ultimately perform full-scale field testing of prototype devices. See the DOE Progress Alert, the Florida Atlantic University press release, and the DOE Wind and Water Power Program Web site.

    Meanwhile, Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) announced on August 4 that it signed an agreement with 11 federal and state agencies, and three non-government stakeholders, for a utility-scale wave power project in Reedsport, Oregon. A 1.5 MW wave energy station will be phased in, designed to provide electricity for 1000 homes. See the OPT press release.

    U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Emissions to Increase 3.4% in 2010

    Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are projected to increase by 3.4% in 2010 over the previous year, according to a report by DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

    EIA’s "Short-Term Energy Outlook" (STEO), released on August 10, projects carbon emissions from burning coal to increase by 6% due to increased coal use at electric power plants. Natural gas emissions are projected to increase 3.9% because of greater use in industrial and electric power sectors, while petroleum emissions are expected to increase by only about 1%.

    The STEO projects relatively low growth in all three fuels in 2011, leading to a projected growth in energy-related carbon emissions of 0.8%. Energy-related carbon emissions are the biggest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gases and are generally a good indicator of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions trends. See the STEO, the accompanying chart of projected energy-related carbon emissions, and the STEO archive.

    ++++

    EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

    (Visited 15 times, 1 visits today)

    Post Your Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *