Energy Secretary Chu Approves Loan Guarantee to Record Hill Wind Project

U.S. Energy Secretary Chu has announced the Department of Energy’s $102 million loan guarantee to Record Hill Wind, LLC has been approved. The loan, to be given in combination with an investment by the Yale University Endowment, will support the Record Hill wind project – a 50.6 megawatt wind power plant near the town of Roxbury, Maine. The new project will not only supply green energy to thousands of residents but will fund 200 construction jobs. “This innovative project creates jobs in Maine while boosting domestic wind generation in order to achieve the Administration’s goal of doubling clean energy produced in America by 2035,” said Secretary Chu. “Clean energy is a major driver of American competitiveness, and investments like these are essential to secure our position as global leader.” The Record Hill project will use 22 turbines and new transmission lines to connect with the local power utility. Innovative Turbine Load Control (TLC) technology will be used to install the turbines, which involves a system that will reduce wear on the turbines, preserve the lifetime of turbine components, as well as reduce operation and management costs.

Secretary Chu Announces Landmark Investment to Develop Advanced Vehicles-

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced more than $170 million to fund the development and deployment of advanced vehicle technologies. The cash will aid 40 projects in 15 states and will work to enhance fuel efficiency in next gen vehicles. Projects include better fuels and lubricants, longer-lasting and cheaper EV batteries and components, more efficient engine technologies, lighter weight materials, and more. President Obama announced fuel efficiency standards boost for light cars and trucks, as well as a new standard for work trucks, buses and other heavy duty vehicles. The administration promises that the new standards will save American businesses who own and operate these commercial vehicles roughly $50 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of the program. “The Department of Energy is investing in new advanced technologies that will significantly improve vehicle fuel economy, save consumers money, and create skilled jobs for Americans,” said Secretary Chu. “Investments in the next generation of autos will strengthen our economy and lead to a more fuel-efficient, clean energy future.”

Exploring the Different Options for EV Owners with Today’s Seemingly Weak Infrastructure-

With EVs increasing in popularity thanks to steadily rising gas prices, businesses are flocking to cash in on the budding electric revolution. While many gas stations are installing Level 3 (440V) express charge stations to allow consumers a quick “stop and go” experience, Level 2 (240V) stations seem to be more common in shopping malls and public centers since people tend to spend more time parked in one location. SAE J1772-compatible Level 2 charging stations are the most widely used, seeing that the technology serves a wide variety of EV/plug-in hybrid models available today – like the Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, and Tesla Roadster, to name a few. Level 3 stations only take about 30 minutes to reach a full charge, while Level 2 takes up to roughly 8 hours if the battery is fully drained.

For longer trips along routes where the EV charging infrastructure has not yet been established, there are companies like U.S.-based Better Place that offer consumers the option of exchanging their old battery out for a new, fully-charged one. For those still worried that purchasing an electric car isn’t feasible with today’s insufficient charging options, rest assured that the U.S. government is working to handle that by offering Recovery Act funds to companies looking to develop such an infrastructure. ECOtality, for one, has been given over $230 million toward the installation of their Blink Level 2 stations in 16 cities throughout the U.S. AeroVironment is yet another company currently in the works with Oregon’s Department of Transportation (DOT) to install an undisclosed amount of Level 3 chargers between the California/Oregon state border and the Willamette Valley off the I-5 freeway. Ultimately, AeroVironment will develop charging stations along the busiest areas of the I-5 corridor running from San Diego to Northern Washington. The way things are progressing (despite obvious opposition), it seems like only a matter of time until EVs become the standard mode of transportation in America.

DOE Issues Conditional Loan to “Direct Wafer” Solar Development Project-

The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, has announced a conditional loan guarantee of $150 million to 1366 Technologies, Inc., that is in development of a multicrystalline wafer manufacturing project. This breakthrough process, called Direct Wafer, could potentially slash manufacturing costs of silicon wafers by 50 percent — significantly reducing the price of solar power. The project will create 70 permanent jobs and 50 seasonal construction jobs. “This project is a game-changer that could dramatically lower the cost of photovoltaic solar cells. It is exactly the kind of innovation that puts America at the forefront of the global clean energy race,” said Secretary Chu. “As global demand for solar cells increases, this kind of technology will help the U.S. increase its market share and be more competitive with other countries such as China, which currently accounts for 60 percent of the world supply of multicrystalline wafers.”

Investment Marks Leap in Clean Fuel Development for America-

The Obama Administration has long been pushing the use of renewable fuels and in an effort to further discourage sole use of oil for transport, the DOE has been authorized to grant up to $36 million for companies which manufacture bio-based products. It will be funding six small-scale projects in California, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. “Projects such as these are helping us to diversify our energy portfolio and decrease our dependence on foreign oil,” said Secretary Chu. “Together with our partners, the Department is working hard to expand the clean energy economy, creating jobs in America and providing sustainable replacements for the fuels and products now provided primarily by petroleum.” The following projects were chosen:

• General Atomics (up to $2.0 million, San Diego, California): The proposed project aims to reduce energy, capital, and operational cost for algal fermentation processes. This will increase production of algal oils, which can be further refined into advanced biofuels.
• Genomatica, Inc. (up to $5.0 million, San Diego, California): This project will deliver an engineered organism and optimized fermentation process to enable the conversion of cellulosic sugars to the valuable industrial chemical, 1,4-butanediol (BDO). Such technology will enhance the commercial profitability of integrated biorefineries by enabling co-production of high-volume fuels and the higher-margin commodity chemical, BDO.
• Michigan Biotechnology Institute (up to $4.3 million, Lansing, Michigan): The project will focus on improvements to a pretreatment process, which provides a stable, conversion-ready intermediate of consistent quality at a cost and in a format compatible with long-term storage and ease of transfer between multiple modes of transportation.
• HCL CleanTech, Inc. (up to $9.0 million, Oxford, North Carolina): This project will develop and demonstrate process improvements for pretreatment, conversion to sugars, and subsequent conversion of those sugars to fuels. The complete integrated process will use concentrated hydrochloric acid hydrolysis to convert pre-extracted biomass feedstocks including wood waste into fermentable sugars, and then further convert the sugars into diesel products.
• Texas Engineering Experiment Station (up to $2.3 million, College Station, Texas): The focus of this project will be on developing a novel pretreatment for cellulosic biomass feedstocks using a combination of chemical and mechanical processing. Once the cellulosic feedstock has been pretreated it can be converted into biofuels, including hydrocarbons.
• Virent (up to $13.4 million, Madison, Wisconsin): The overarching objective of this project is to develop a fully integrated process that can efficiently and cost effectively convert a cellulosic biomass feedstock, such as corn stover, to a mix of hydrocarbons ideally suited for blending into jet fuel.

While this may be a significant leap in the effort to suppress America’s reliance on foreign oil imports, there is still much to be considered when using food crops (like corn) for fuel. Large scale production, for example, would heavily increase the costs of such produce and may, in fact, cause widespread famine throughout the globe.

Recovery Act Investment by DOE Intends to “Modernize Grid”-

In an effort to strengthen the U.S. energy grid infrastructure, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu has announced the installation of more than five million “smart” meters throughout the nation. These meters will give utility companies more in-depth glance at electricity usage in their service areas and customers will also be able to track their energy consumption real-time in order to help them make more informed decisions about their energy usage. “To compete in the global economy, we need a modern electricity grid,” said Secretary Chu. “An upgraded electricity grid will give consumers choices and promote energy savings, increase energy efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy resources.” Roughly 90 percent of all meters installed are in Florida, California, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Nevada. Projects include:

• Florida Power & Light Company (Miami, FL) is deploying an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), distribution automation technologies, new electricity pricing programs, and advanced monitoring equipment for the transmission system. The goal is to increase reliability, reduce energy losses, and reduce operations and maintenance costs. As of April 30, 1.8 million smart meters have been installed. DOE award: $200 million in Recovery Act funding.
• CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric’s (Houston, TX) project involves deployment of a fully integrated advanced metering system and Web portal access to over 2.2 million customers and installation of advanced monitoring and distribution automation equipment. The goal is to reduce peak loads, overall electricity use, and operations and maintenance costs while increasing distribution system reliability. As of April 30, 1.3 million smart meters have been installed. DOE award: $200 million in Recovery Act funding.

DOE has also announced its plan to offer a data map which will allow consumers to contribute information about the data on their electricity use that their utility company provides them. DOE energy infrastructure projects will help consumers better understand their energy use and opportunities to save money through energy efficiency improvements. The government agency is working with utilities, consumer groups, state and local officials, other stakeholders and the public to design the website which will launch sometime this fall. For more information about the Department’s smart grid activities visit the Smart Grid Website.

Department of Energy Collaborates with Industry Experts to Accelerate Advanced Green Technologies-

Steven Chu of the Department of Energy has announced a collaboration with industry experts to speed up the development of technologically advanced green vehicles, dubbed U.S. DRIVE. Formerly called the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, U.S. DRIVE – Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability – will bring leading tech experts from the DOE, the national laboratories, and industry partners together to develop strategic goals and evaluate a wide variety of advanced vehicle and energy infrastructure technologies. “Government-industry partnerships like U.S. DRIVE can quicken the pace at which affordable, fuel-efficient vehicles reach and succeed in the commercial market,” said U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “By bringing together the best and brightest in government and the automobile, electric utility, and fuels industries, we can develop promising, innovative technologies that move rapidly from the lab into cars on the road, along with the infrastructure to support them.”

The full list of U.S. DRIVE partners include:

·Electric utility industry – DTE Energy, Southern California Edison, and the Electric Power Research Institute

U.S. DRIVE partners promise to collaborate on an in-depth analysis of advanced automotive and energy infrastructure technologies, including but not limited to battery and electric drive components, fuel cells, hydrogen technologies, advanced combustion engines and more efficient materials. A DOE press release states, “Not only will the efforts under the partnership contribute to reducing our nation’s dependence on oil, they will also lower carbon pollution and help to secure U.S. leadership globally in the development of innovative, clean energy technologies for the transportation sector.” While I’m not entirely sure as to what role big oil and gas companies could possibly play in an endeavor toward conserving resources, it will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Department of Energy Press Release-

As part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu have announced a total of $47 million to fund eight research and development projects that will support the production of biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products from a variety of biomass sources. These investments in clean, sustainable transportation fuels will help reduce U.S. oil imports, support economic development in rural America, create clean energy jobs for U.S. workers, and protect American families and businesses from future spikes in gas prices.

The advanced biofuels produced through these projects are also expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent compared to fossil fuels. “The projects selected today will help produce affordable, renewable biofuels right here in the U.S. to power our cars and trucks,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “President Obama set a bold national goal to reduce America’s oil imports by one-third in a little more than a decade. By developing and commercializing advanced biofuels, we will create new economic opportunities for rural communities, provide consumers with new options to fuel their vehicles, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.” The projects are funded through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative and will help increase the availability of alternative renewable fuels and biobased products to diversify the nation’s energy resources. Funding is provided through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and DOE’s Biomass Program. Each award was made through a competitive selection process. Grant recipients are required to contribute a minimum of 20 percent of matching funds for research and development projects and 50 percent of matching funds for demonstration projects. Awardees must pursue projects that integrate science and engineering research in three areas: feedstocks development, biofuels and biobased products development, and biofuels development analysis.

The following projects have been selected for awards:

-U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Mont., $5,309,320. This project will develop an integrated approach to investigate biomass feedstock production, logistics, conversion, distribution and end use centered on using advanced conversion technologies at existing forest industry facilities.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

DOE’s Biomass Program works with industry, academia, and national laboratory partners on a balanced portfolio of research in biomass feedstocks and conversion technologies. For more information on DOE’s Biomass Program, please visit the Biomass Program website.

Survey Highlights Top 12 Green Products in Information Technology-


Computerworld has released a “green IT” survey this year, with the intention of spotlighting the most innovative products that have revolutionized the green IT industry today. The survey was sent to the IT community through several different avenues, including e-mail broadcasts, social media and newsletters. Computerworld selected the top 12 Green IT users and top 12 Green IT vendors based on a weighting scheme. The top 12 green IT products are as follows:

-IT efficiency/Energy-efficient server hardware, people’s picks: Dell Poweredge servers and HP/Fujitsu Primergy BX900 blade servers. Andy Lawrence, a survey respondent and eco-efficient IT research director at the 451 Group, says that real efficiency gains in computer technology requires planning and management of server workloads, “then they’ll save considerable amounts of energy immediately and be able to justify the investment in new hardware.” An HP blade customer says the product “reduces power consumption from between $550 and $2,000 per year per server.” While a Dell Poweredge customer says “enhanced power management capabilities built into Dell 11th generation servers allow for more granular control of devices, maximizing power consumption savings.”

-Server visualization software, people’s picks: VMware ESX and VMware vSphere. Server visualization offers businesses a reduction in infrastructure by combining many virtual servers onto less physical ones. Customers say that “by aggressively virtualizing on Dell’s power-efficient blades using VMware technology, we have been able to radically increase the OS density of our data centers within the same power footprint. This has allowed us to completely avoid building a new data center at a savings of about $250 million,” and “virtual servers have contributed to a savings of 3 million kWh in 2009, and it is anticipated that they will save an additional 2.5 million to 3 million kWh in 2010, for a total two-year estimated avoidance of up to 6 million kWh.”

-Server power management, people’s picks: IBM Active Energy Manager. With this innovative management system, IT professionals can monitor energy requirements, cut power consumption and operate servers in power-saving mode. According to Lawrence, “In an ideal situation, you’d be able to read the utilization of all servers in a pool and move workloads off to a fewer number of servers, then turn some off – all in an automated fashion… That’d take on the waste problem more directly and dramatically than has been the case in the data center hitherto.” A server power management system user says, “This software measures, monitors and manages the energy components built into IBM systems, enabling a cross-platform management solution. It extends the scope of energy management to include facility providers to enable a more complete view of energy consumption within the data center. It’s part of our campus’ standard portfolio toolset for ensuring optimal efficiency of IT assets.”

-Storage consolidation, tiering and virtualization, people’s picks: Compellent Storage Center; EMC Symmetrix DMX and VMax arrays; Hitachi Data Systems Universal Storage Platform V; NetApp Data Ontap, FlexVol, shared storage. The need to store more data for extended amounts of time is growing in many industries. This energy-efficient technology can reduce energy consumption by combining massive portions of a database on a pair of mirrored and protected solid-state disks, while the smaller portion can be placed on traditional fast disks. According to customers, these products “consumed 8X less capacity by using thin provisioning and reduced data center space requirements” and allowed “the IT department to keep track of storage usage and run the systems more efficiently.”

-Desktop power management, people’s picks: 1E NightWatchman, Microsoft Windows 7, ScriptLogic Desktop Authority, Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite, Verdiem Surveyor. This integrated power management software automatically shifts monitors and computers into low power modes, like sleep or hibernation, when idle or during off-hours. By using this software, corporations can slash electricity in half, saving $25 to $75 per PC annually, according to the federal government’s Energy Star program. Desktop power management consumers say they “save about $2 million annually in power costs while significantly decreasing the carbon footprint of our desktop operations”, and “the average energy cost for all of [our] desktop computers per workday with no power management is about $2,090.88. The company is saving almost 50% of its daily energy costs and consumption by utilizing the power management feature.”

-Flat-screen monitors, people’s picks: Dell Professional P2311H, IBM Lenovo ThinkVision 23-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor. According to customers, “Since 2008, we have been replacing CRT monitors with [IBM ThinkVision] flat-screen monitors, which provide better energy-efficiency, fewer materials used in manufacturing, less toxic components (e.g., CRT tubes contain toxic metals) and lower weight (reduces energy consumed in distribution).”

-Data center infrastructure/Blanking Panels, people’s picks: APC Airflow Management Blanking Panels, Upsite Technologies KoldLok Grommets. According to participant Bob Doherty, founder and CEO of OMS in Your Data Center, “If you don’t put a computer in one of your rack slots, and leave an opening, that means hot air from the back of the rack can infiltrate the front of the rack. A blanking panel will block it; you can even stick a piece of masking tape there and accomplish the same thing – not that that’s really recommended – but you want to stop that airflow,” he says, adding, “if you let hot air infiltrate the front of the rack, that’s counterproductive to everything we’re trying to do in the data center.” One customer said, “KoldLok has helped IT in its efforts to increase server cooling efficiency. In addition to utilizing blanking panels in all production server racks to decrease hot air blow-back, we have also modified perforated tile placement to better direct airflow to create hot and cold locations to maximize the cooling efficiency of CRAC [computer room air conditioner] units and installed KoldLok around open floor areas.” Another participant said, “These panels made a dramatic change in lowering the air temperature at the inlet side of servers. They were inexpensive and easy to implement.”

-Energy-efficient cooling, people’s picks: Liebert Glycool CRAC units, Liebert XDV Vertical Top Cooling Module. A customer of the efficient cooling system says, “Being in the Northeast, these cooling units draw the cold outside air during the winter months, reducing the need for compressors to run to cool heated indoor air. This reduces electrical use and saves on wear and tear to the compressors.”

-Physical infrastructure management, people’s picks: APC InfraStruXure Central, APC NetBotz Rack Monitor 550, Schneider Electric PowerLogic. Real-time data is provided through a physical infrastructure scheme, which allows an easier monitoring of power, cooling and environmental systems. Customers say, “These devices allow real-time monitoring of the temperature and humidity levels throughout the data centers. With the ability to set operating parameters on the devices, we have tied the sensors into our trouble-ticket system and can receive instant notification of any abnormal readings. Likewise based on the real-time readings we are able to make ‘set point’ adjustments to our HVAC units to perform at optimum levels” and “It’s ensuring our environment is continuously optimized for high-quality services at minimal costs for power and cooling.”

-Green enterprise/Telepresence, Video Collaboration & Videoconferencing, people’s picks: Cisco Tandberg Movi and TelePresence video collaboration systems, HP SkyRoom video collaboration software, LifeSize videoconferencing systems. One customer says, “Minimizing the environmental impact by reducing employee travel.” Another comments, “Saving participants in a customer meeting $100,000 in travel costs while also reducing emissions by an equivalent of more than 62 metric tons of carbon dioxide.”

-E-waste & IT asset recycling, people’s picks: Allied Computer Brokers, Converge, Intechra Group, Redemtech. “For me, electronic waste is the litmus test of how green an enterprise’s green IT program really is,” says Simon Mingay, a Gartner research vice president. “Unfortunately, whilst anything to do with energy-efficiency has become cool and sexy over last couple of years, electronic waste – like pretty much all waste – is the uninteresting, unsexy, dirty end of the equation that nobody wants to get at. But it’s a huge problem, a substantial and material environmental impact of IT,” he says. “Often we find organizations have done a huge amount on energy-efficiency and relatively little on electronic waste, in which case what they’ve got is a partial environmental program or in fact strictly just an efficiency program.” In the longrun, its probably going to cost more money than save, but it will help to find a local recycler. Consumers involved in IT recycling programs say that “the Converge service has provided a global solution for recycling and remarketing our e-waste compliantly and reducing our overall environmental impact.”

-Going paperless, people’s picks: CSC Enterprise Print Solutions, EMC Documentum, HP Secure Print Advantage, Notable Solutions AutoStore, Xerox Enterprise Print Services and SMARTdocument Travel. Paperless advocates say, “Fewer unclaimed print jobs being generated has resulted in reduced paper usage. Through December 2009, the company’s paper usage has decreased by approximately 21%. This equates to saving 200 trees, 58,421 gallons of water, 14,665 kWh of electricity, and 215 pounds of air pollution.”

For the full story, visit ComputerWorld.com

DOE & NREL Recommendations for Large Buildings & Hospitals to Save Energy-

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently published two reports which offer valuable recommendations toward cutting energy consumption by as much as 50 percent in large offices and hospitals. Technical Support Document: Strategies for 50% Energy Savings in Large Office Buildings reports that a 50 percent energy savings can be achieved in both low-rise and high-rise office buildings in an extensive range of U.S. climates. Research was performed in 16 cities that represented different climate zones, such as hot and humid, hot and dry, marine, cold and humid, and cold and dry. In order to reach the 50 percent energy-savings target, researchers simply reduced lighting power density in office spaces and utilized occupancy sensors throughout infrequently occupied spaces; installed high-efficiency boilers, chillers, air distribution units, and service water heating equipment; and reduced plug loads by purchasing high-efficiency electronic equipment which shut off when not in use. Large Hospital 50% Energy Savings: Technical Support Document reports the technical research conducted and the resulting design instructions that will help large hospitals reap energy savings of at least 50 percent above the standard. As with large office buildings, the report found that 50 percent energy savings can be achieved in large hospitals spanning all eight U.S. climate zones. Energy savings range from 50.6% to 61.3%, with the smallest savings in humid climates and extremely cold climates. In addition to both reports, the DOE has released documents in the following categories of commercial buildings:

50% Energy Savings:

• General Merchandise
• Highway Lodging
• Medium Box Retail
• Medium Office

30% Energy Savings:

• Highway Lodging
• K–12 Schools
• Small Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
• Small Office
• Small Retail
• Small Warehouse

For more information on both reports, please visit www.nrel.gov/.