Solar Energy ‘Zones’ Mapped Out in the Western U.S.-

The Obama Administration recently announced its new ‘roadmap’ for large-scale solar projects, opening 285,000 acres of desert in the western United States and 20 million acres of the Mojave for solar development. The solar ‘map’ will distinguish the inadequate areas unfit for large projects and establish the better spots which have already passed environmental specifications and thus will guarantee a faster permitting process. Altogether, there are 17 solar energy ‘zones’ mapped out in six western states that were determined to be accessible since their environmental surroundings were not in jeopardy and no cultural sites were located on or around the areas. Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industry Association, comments on the administration’s policy, “While we are still reviewing all of the details in this proposal, there are some significant areas of concern, siting flexibility and access to transmission are key to the financing and development of utility-scale solar power plants. Both aspects must be reflected in the final” project.

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.

GSA Swaps Federal Fleet for Advanced Technology Cars-

The Government Services Administration (GSA), a department that purchases cars for federal bureaus to lease, recently announced that all the new cars bought in 2011 consume 21 percent less fuel than the vehicles that were replaced. On average, the MPG for the new fleet has jumped from 19.1 in 2010 to 23.4 this year. This step toward more enhanced environmental conservation on part of the GSA is mainly thanks to an executive order signed by President Obama in 2009, which required that all U.S. government fleet vehicles be at least 30 percent more fuel efficient by the year 2020. The administration has swapped out 35,000 fleet vehicles thus far and 22,000 of those use advanced technology (fuel cell, E85, EV, and hybrid). By 2015, it is mandated that all federal fleet vehicles must use advanced technology. The new cars are estimated to save 2.4 million gallons of fuel and $9 million taxpayer dollars every year.

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.