Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:July 13, 2006

News and Events

• DOE Provides $96.4 Million for Home Weatherization
• DOE Releases Plan to Advance Cellulosic Ethanol
• New York Offers $20 Million for Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant
• Missouri Requires 10 Percent Ethanol in Most Gasoline Sold
• New Science and Technology Facility Opens at NREL
• NREL Offsets All Its Energy Use with Renewable Energy Credits

Energy Connections

• Two New Nuclear Plants Slated for Texas Gulf Coast

News and Events

DOE Provides $96.4 Million for Home Weatherization

DOE announced last week that it will award $96.4 million in weatherization program grants to 19 states for energy efficiency improvements in low-income households. These 19 states begin their weatherization year in the summer; in April, $140.3 million in weatherization grants were announced for the remaining 31 states. Every state will receive weatherization grants this year, as well as the District of Columbia, the Navajo Nation, and the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona. The total funding for fiscal year 2006 is $243 million, which will provide weatherization to approximately 96,560 homes. See the DOE press release.

DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program performs energy audits to identify the most cost-effective measures for each home. The energy-saving measures can include adding insulation, reducing air infiltration, servicing heating and cooling systems, and providing health and safety diagnostic services. Weatherization can reduce an average home’s energy costs by $358 annually and can lead to more jobs, more affordable housing, higher property values, reduced fire risks, and lower owner and renter turnover. See the Weatherization Assistance Program Web site.

DOE Releases Plan to Advance Cellulosic Ethanol

DOE released last week its new research agenda for developing cellulosic ethanol into a practical alternative to gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol is a renewable, carbon-neutral transportation fuel produced from the fibrous, inedible parts of plant matter. The roadmap identifies the research required for overcoming challenges to the large-scale production of the cellulosic ethanol, but it also details recent advances in biotechnology that have made the production of cellulosic ethanol cost effective. The goal is to use these advances to jump-start a new industry whose products can fuel many of today’s vehicles and can be transported, stored, and distributed with only modest modifications to the existing infrastructure. See the research agenda on the DOE Office of Science Web site.

“Biofuels represent a tremendous opportunity to move our nation toward a reduced dependence on imported oil,” said Alexander Karsner, DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “We fully intend to use all of our resources and talent to support the President’s goal of breaking our addiction to oil, while also enhancing our energy security.” See the DOE press release, and for more information about biofuels, see the DOE Biomass Program Web site.

New York Offers $20 Million for Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant

New York Governor George E. Pataki announced in mid-June that the state is offering $20 million in grants to develop and construct a pilot plant that produces ethanol from cellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass, willow, wood chips, and pulp and paper mill wastes. The New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are jointly administering the state’s Request for Proposals (RFP). Applicants must demonstrate that they are able to build a pilot facility and to use the knowledge derived from the operation of the pilot plant to develop a commercial-scale facility. Up to four awards will be made, ranging from $5 million to $20 million. Proposals are due on September 20th. See the governor’s press release and the RFP.

NYSERDA is currently offering more than $17 million for a variety of clean energy projects. In mid-June, NYSERDA released Program Opportunity Notice (PON) 1042, which offers $8.5 million for the development of clean, small power sources that could be located in a home or business. In addition to such “distributed generation” (DG) products, the PON offers funds for feasibility or technology transfer studies relating to DG products, for energy storage demonstrations, and for environmental impact assessment studies and mitigation techniques for renewable energy technologies. Through PON 1043, NYSERDA is offering an additional $7.5 million for feasibility studies, technology transfer studies, and demonstration projects for DG projects that produce both heat and power. Proposals for both PONs are due on August 22nd. See PON 1042 and PON 1043.

Other funding opportunities available from NYSERDA incl
ude PON 792, which provides incentives of up to $100,000 for wind turbine installations. Up to $2.5 million is available through the PON, and last week the application deadline was extended to September 30th. In addition, PON 1041 offers $750,000 for the development of innovative products and systems for buildings. Proposals are due on September 26th. See PON 792 and PON 1041 and the full list of funding opportunities on the NYSERDA Web site.

Missouri Requires 10 Percent Ethanol in Most Gasoline Sold

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed legislation last week requiring most gasoline sold in Missouri to contain 10 percent ethanol by 2008. Missouri currently has three ethanol plants producing 115 million gallons of ethanol per year, with a fourth plant under construction. The state anticipates further growth that will produce more than enough fuel to meet the new standard. Despite the benefits of ethanol, the Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard Act includes two caveats: first, it removes the requirement when ethanol is more expensive than gasoline, and second, it exempts premium grade fuels from the standard. See the governor’s press release.

New Science and Technology Facility Opens at NREL

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman cut the ribbon last week to officially open the new Science & Technology Facility (S&TF) at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. The 71,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is designed to help accelerate the development and commercialization of promising new energy technologies, particularly in solar, hydrogen, and building-related energy technologies. The facility has space for 75 full-time researchers and features an 11,500-square-foot Process Development and Integration Laboratory, which will allow NREL and industry researchers to work together to develop new manufacturing processes. This cooperative research will help reduce the time it takes to move new technologies from the laboratory bench to commercial manufacturing.

The S&TF is a model for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and is designed to be NREL’s first building to meet the Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council. The design incorporates features such as daylighting and advanced heating, ventilation, and cooling systems that are expected to reduce energy use by 41 percent, compared to similar new federal buildings. See the DOE press release and the NREL Web site’s feature story on the facility.

It’s no coincidence that NREL researchers are also involved in Labs for the 21st Century, also called Labs21, a voluntary partnership to improve the environmental performance of U.S. laboratories. According to Labs21, the typical laboratory uses far more energy and water per square foot than the typical office building. The primary guiding principle of the Labs21 program is that improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of a laboratory requires examining the entire facility from a “whole building” perspective. Labs21 is sponsored by DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories. Want to learn more? Labs21 will hold its annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, from October 17th through the 19th. See the Labs21 Web site.

NREL Offsets All Its Energy Use with Renewable Energy Credits

DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is not only a leading developer of renewable energy, but also a leading user of the technology. NREL’s on-site power production from wind turbines and solar power systems contributes 138,000 kilowatt-hours to the laboratory’s power needs, but the laboratory has gone far beyond that. NREL announced in late June that it has purchased enough renewable energy credits to offset not only the total energy use of its buildings, but also all the energy used by NREL vehicles, employee commuting, air travel, and other energy consumed in the operation of the laboratory. By doing so, NREL exceeded its five-year goal as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders Partnership, having cut overall greenhouse gas emissions more than 10 percent since 2000.

NREL was the first federal pilot partner in the Climate Leaders Partnership. It is one of only seven original members to establish initial target reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and one of only five to meet its goals in 2005. Offsetting all its energy use is noteworthy for an institution of NREL’s size and scope. NREL encompasses 618 acres on several sites, with 665,000 square feet of laboratory and office space that house more than 1,100 researchers and support staff. See the NREL press release and the Climate Leaders Partnership Web site.

Energy Connections

Two New Nuclear Plants Slated for Texas Gulf Coast

NRG Energy, Inc. announced in late June that it plans to build two new nuclear plants at the site of its South Texas Project nuclear facility. The facility is located on the Gulf Coast near Wadsworth, Texas, about 90 miles southwest of Houston. The two plants will have a combined capacity of 2,700 megawatts and will use Advanced Boiling Water Reactor technology developed by General Electric Corporation. Construction of the two plants is expected to cost $5.2 billion and is expected within the next ten years. NRG filed a letter of intent with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 19th, stating its intention to construct the two plants. See the June 21st press release on the NRG Energy Web site.

NRG is the first company to announce that it will build a new nuclear plant, although a number of utilities are considering nuclear plants in other states. In April, the Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) notified the NRC of its intent to submit a license application in 2009 for a new nuclea
r power plant in Florida. The utility has not picked a site or technology and does not expect to decide whether or not to build the plant for several years. In March, Duke Power announced that it selected a site in Cherokee County, South Carolina, as the potential site for a new nuclear plant. The utility is also considering two other sites located in North and South Carolina. And in February, Santee Cooper and the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) selected the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station near Jenkinsville, South Carolina, as a potential site for a new nuclear plant. As noted in this newsletter in February, plans are also underway to submit licenses for two other potential new nuclear plants in North Carolina and Georgia. See the press releases from FPL, Duke Power, and SCE&G, and the story from the February 1st edition of this newsletter.

While no utilities are building a new nuclear plant yet, one utility has been rebuilding an old one. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has been upgrading its Browns Ferry Unit 1 nuclear plant, which was shutdown in 1985. The utility received a new operating license for the Alabama plant in May and plans to restart the reactor in May 2007. See the TVA press release.

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