Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:May 31, 2006

New Wind Plants Planned for California, Colorado, Iowa, and Oregon

A recent wave of large wind turbine orders and project announcements spanning four states suggests that wind power will continue growing strong at least through 2007. PPM Energy had previously announced orders for 500 megawatts (MW) of General Electric wind turbines over the next two years, but last week it announced another 857 MW of wind turbines on order from four major suppliers, also for the next two years. The company revealed where some of those GE wind turbines are destined: to a 100-MW wind plant near Arlington, Oregon, and a 75-MW wind plant near Lamar, Colorado. The Leaning Juniper Wind Project should start producing power for Oregon by year’s end, while the Twin Buttes Wind Power Project in Colorado will be completed in 2007. PPM Energy recently completed one of its projects, the 150-MW Elk River Wind Project in central Kansas, which is now the state’s largest wind plant. See the PPM Energy press releases.

An Oregon utility plans to follow PPM Energy’s lead in that state, while other utilities aim to deliver new wind power to California and Iowa. In Oregon, Portland General Electric (PGE) is proposing to buy the development rights to the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm near the state’s northern border. PGE plans to erect between 350 and 450 MW of wind turbines at the site, starting with 126 MW that could be installed by the end of next year. The Oregon Public Utility Commission is currently reviewing PGE’s proposal to buy the plans from developer Orion Energy, LLC. In California, San Diego Gas and Electric Company earned approval from the state last week to purchase 205.5 MW of wind power from enXco. The wind power developer will build a new facility in the Tehachapi area of southern California, with power delivery to begin in 2008. And in Iowa, MidAmerican Energy plans to add 545 megawatts of wind power, possibly by the end of 2007, including a 99-MW project in west central Iowa. See the press releases from Orion Energy, enXco, and MidAmerican Energy.

All this news should provide plenty of optimism at the wind industry’s annual meeting, the WINDPOWER 2006 Conference and Exhibition, which runs from June 4th to the 7th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. See the conference Web site.

Northeastern States Offering Funds for Renewable Energy Projects

The northeastern states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania continue to demonstrate their strong financial support for renewable energy, collectively offering more than $13 million in funds in recent weeks. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) is offering up to $2 million in grants for renewable energy projects that are at least 10 kilowatts in size and located at commercial, industrial, institutional, or public facilities. The grants could go toward either feasibility studies or design and construction. Applications are due on August 17th.

The New York State Energy Research and Development (NYSERDA) is offering $1.3 million for solar photovoltaic projects on municipal buildings, and proposals are due on August 15th. NYSERDA currently has a wide range of energy-related funding opportunities. And Pennsylvania is offering $10 million for clean energy projects through two programs: the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and the Energy Harvest Grant Program. Proposals for both programs are due on July 14th. See the MTC and NYSERDA notices, the full list of NYSERDA funding opportunities, and the press release from Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell.

The situation is somewhat different in Connecticut, where the state’s utilities are trying to establish long-term power purchase agreements for at least 100 megawatts (MW) of renewable power by July 2008. The state requires the renewable power providers to have received funding from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), so the CCEF is currently offering grants of at least $50,000 for renewable energy projects located in the state that are from 1 to 30 MW in size. In this round of funding, the CCEF aims to develop contracts for 81 to 85 MW of renewable power. Proposals are due by July 17th. See the CCEF request for proposals.

This latest round of funding is indicative of a larger trend in state support for renewable energy projects, according to a new report from DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the Clean Energy States Alliance. Since 1998, state clean energy funds have committed nearly $400 million to 234 utility-scale renewable energy projects totaling 2,249 MW of capacity, according to the report. Of the 2,249 MW of new renewable capacity currently supported, 1,116 MW have been built to date, leaving 1,133 MW still in the development pipeline. See the report on the LBNL Web site.

Hydrogen Fueling Stations Now Operating or Planned in 15 States

More than 50 hydrogen fueling stations are now operating or planned in 15 states and the District of Columbia, according to the National Hydrogen Association (NHA). The NHA has created a new online database of hydrogen fueling stations, which lists 32 operational fueling stations and 19 on the drawing boards. Of the operating stations, 21 are private and 9 are available to the public, and nearly all are stationary. The private facilities generally se
rve transit agencies or public or private fleets; most of the planned facilities will be private. California is a strong leader among the states, with 16 hydrogen fueling stations in operation and another 12 planned. The other states with hydrogen fueling stations either planned or operating are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. See the NHA Hydrogen Fueling Stations online database.

California is planning to extend its lead, as the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) is offering $3.75 million to help establish three publicly available hydrogen fueling stations. The stations must start operating by the end of 2007 and continue operating at least through 2009. Bids are due on Friday. Meanwhile, DOE fulfilled its promise to release requests for proposals for basic research for the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative by the end of April. The DOE solicitations were posted on the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences Web site on April 20th, and responses are due by July 6th. See the DOE solicitations and the ARB solicitation on the California State Contracts Register Web site.

Ethanol Industry Reaches Milestone of 100 Operating Plants

It may be no more meaningful than watching your odometer roll over to a nice even number, but the ethanol industry couldn’t help noting last week that the number of operating ethanol plants had reached 100. Frontier Ethanol, LLC, a subsidiary of The Broin Companies, earned the honor when it began operating a plant in Iowa that will produce 60 million gallons of ethanol per year. According to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the 100 plants can produce more than 4.7 billion gallons of ethanol fuel each year. The RFA says another 33 plants are under construction, while 8 are being expanded, to yield an additional 2 billion gallons in annual ethanol production. See the press release from Broin (PDF 64 KB) and the full list of plants on the RFA Web site. Download Adobe Reader.

Ethanol plants are also continuing to expand into new territory. Pacific Ethanol, Inc. has received all necessary permits to begin construction on a plant on the Columbia River in north central Oregon. Construction on the plant will begin soon and should be completed a year from now. See the Pacific Ethanol press release (PDF 39 KB).

DOE Offers $3.75 Million for Solid-State Lighting Research

DOE’s Solid State Lighting R&D (Research and Development) Program announced in mid-May that up to $3.75 million is available for research in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs). The funds will go toward selected research projects relating to LED materials and optics and OLED materials and architectures. Both LEDs and OLEDs are made from semiconductors, and such solid-state devices have the potential to revolutionize the lighting industry with new high-efficiency and durable products. While LEDs are point sources of light, OLEDs normally take the form of large luminous sheets of material. Proposals are due on June 27th. See the links to the funding announcements on the DOE Solid-State Lighting home page.

DOE also announced last week its selection of awardees from the program’s previous funding opportunity. Five companies were selected to develop LED and OLED products, including a white-light LED replacement for a 60-watt incandescent bulb that would be four times more efficient, producing 80 lumens of light per watt. Incandescent bulbs produce only about 20 lumens of light per watt. Another company is also aiming for the same efficiency level in a white-light LED, using multiple layers of thin films to build the device, while a third company is shooting for 96 lumens per watt from a white-light LED by using nanotechnology. Two companies are developing OLEDs, with one targeting 50 lumens per watt and the other trying to create a higher-efficiency, more standard lighting source by packing the OLED material into a cavity that will emit light from its opening. DOE funding recently led to a breakthrough for OLED devices, as a researcher from the University of Southern California (USC) used a fluorescent dye to build a white-light OLED that could be three times more efficient than incandescent light bulbs. See the DOE announcement and the USC press release.

Meanwhile, a number of companies are achieving commercial milestones in LEDs. The CAO Group, Inc. is offering a white-light LED that typically achieves 60 lumens per watt, while Permlight Products introduced last week a dimmable white-light LED fixture for recessed down lights that produces more than 40 lumens per watt. Adding to the competition is LED Lighting Fixtures, Inc., which announced yesterday that it achieved 80 lumens per watt of warm white light with an LED fixture for recessed down lights. The company plans to start manufacturing its light fixtures by the end of the year. See the press releases from the CAO Group, Permlight Products, and LED Lighting Fixtures (PDF 133 KB).

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