DOE to Guarantee $2 Billion in Loans for Clean Energy Projects
DOE announced new guidelines on Monday for $2 billion in loan guarantees that will support clean energy projects. The loan guarantees will help reduce the financial risks of advanced energy projects that avoid, reduce, or sequester the emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. In announcing the loan guarantees, Energy Secretary Bodman specifically referred to cellulosic ethanol, solar, and wind energy projects. The first round of loan guarantee applications will be governed by the upcoming solicitation, which will inform DOE’s development of permanent regulations. Within the next few weeks, DOE will propose draft regulations to govern future rounds of loan guarantees. See the DOE press release.
The announcement was part of a series of events around the country to mark the first anniversary of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which was signed by President Bush on August 8th, 2005. EPAct is the first comprehensive energy legislation that has been signed into law in over a decade. Since EPAct was signed, construction has begun on 27 new ethanol plants and more than 400 E85 pumps have been installed, offering a renewable fuel containing 85 percent ethanol and just 15 percent petroleum to consumers and fleets with flexible-fuel vehicles. In addition, the use of wind and solar energy has increased, and 15 appliance efficiency standards have been implemented. The bill also offers tax credits to both businesses and consumers, and includes credits for energy efficiency improvements homes and buildings and for the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles. See the DOE press release, DOE’s “What the Energy Bill Means to You,” and a related press release from the Renewable Fuels Association.
DOE Offers $250 Million for Two Bioenergy Research Centers
DOE announced last week that it will award a total of $250 million to establish and operate two new Bioenergy Research Centers. The centers will work to accelerate basic research in cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, with an eye toward meeting the requirements set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). Universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms are eligible to compete for an award. The deadline for proposals is February 1st, 2007, and the awards will be based on evaluation by scientific peer review and announced in the summer of 2007. The centers are expected to begin work in 2008 and be fully operational by 2009.
The centers will focus on reengineering the biological processes for converting cellulosic materials, such as grasses and agricultural residues, into ethanol. EPAct requires that 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel be blended into the nation’s fuel supply by 2012. Four billion gallons of ethanol were produced in 2006, mainly from corn. The use of other feedstocks?including cellulosic materials?will be necessary to ramp up to the required level. See the DOE press release and the full funding announcement.
New Contract to Yield First Biomass Power Plant in New Mexico
The largest electric and gas utility in New Mexico has signed a contract to buy 35 megawatts of power from the state’s first biomass power plant. PNM announced last week that it signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Western Water and Power Production, which plans to build the plant near Estancia, about 40 miles southeast of Albuquerque. The plant will burn wood produced from forest thinning efforts in the area and will use state-of-the-art technology to minimize air emissions. It will be located next to Tagawa Greenhouses, which will use waste heat from the power plant to heat the greenhouse. PNM expects the plant to begin operating in early 2009. PNM must still file the agreement with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for its approval. See the PNM press release.
The Estancia plant is an example of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, producing both heat and power for commercial uses. Biomass-fueled CHP plants are more commonly found in the Pacific Northwest, where sawmills and paper mills can use their own waste as an energy source. One example is the Rough & Ready Lumber Company in Cave Junction, Oregon. Drawing on a grant of $1.7 million from the Energy Trust of Oregon, the lumber company plans to install a new boiler and generator next year to provide steam for the company’s two sawmills and lumber dry kilns while generating 1.2 megawatts of power. The power will be sold to the local power grid, allowing a four-year payback on the investment. The company plans to provide half the fuel for the boiler from its sawmill waste and draw on nearby forest thinning operations for the remainder of the fuel. To encourage such projects, the Energy Trust’s Biopower program is open to project proposals on a rolling basis. See the Energy Trust press release (PDF 30 KB) and the Energy Trust Biopower program.
Two New Geothermal Power Plants Slated for Northern Nevada
Two new geothermal plants in north-central Nevada will produce as much as 60 megawatts of power when they come on line in l
ate 2009, according to Ormat Technologies, Inc. The company announced last week that two of its subsidiaries have each signed 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Nevada Power Company, a subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources. Though the PPAs are subject to the approvals of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Ormat expects to move ahead with the development of the two power plants, which will be located in Lander and Churchill counties. The Carson Lake and Buffalo Valley projects will both employ state-of-the-art air-cooled binary power plants that will re-inject 100 percent of the geothermal fluid produced, consuming no water or chemicals in the process. See the Ormat press release.
The agreements are the eleventh and twelfth PPAs between Ormat and Sierra Pacific Resources, and the fifth and sixth executed since the enactment of Nevada’s aggressive renewable portfolio standard (RPS) legislation in 2001, which requires 20 percent of all electricity generated in Nevada be derived from new renewable energy sources by 2015. The two new PPAs will help Sierra Pacific Resources to meet the interim commitment that requires utilities to draw on renewable resources for 12 percent of their electricity production in 2009. See the summary of Nevada’s RPS on the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) Web site.
Vail Resorts Buys 100 Percent Wind Power
Vail Resorts, Inc. has vaulted into the number two position for corporate buyers of green power by purchasing 152,000 megawatt-hours of wind power. The purchase will offset all the electricity used by the company, which operates four ski resorts in Colorado, one ski resort in California, 125 retail locations (operated through Specialty Sports Venture), 10 resorts through its RockResorts subsidiary, three lodges in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, plus the nearby Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club, as well as its new corporate headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado. The company is buying all of its wind power in the form of renewable energy credits, purchased from Renewable Choice Energy. The purchase will avoid the emission of 211 million pounds of carbon dioxide each year. See the Vail Resorts press release.
Vail Resorts’ purchase places it in the number six spot overall for green power purchasers, just behind DOE and ahead of Starbucks. Among corporate buyers, only Whole Foods Market is buying more green power. The lists of top green power buyers, compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership, were last updated in June and do not yet include Vail Resorts. See the top 25 list and the top 10 corporate buyers list from the Green Power Partnership.
Eleven States are First to Receive Hybrid School Buses
Most people might associate “hybrid” with smaller vehicles like the Toyota Prius, but hybrid technologies are now finding their way into large, heavy-duty vehicles, including school buses. IC Corporation, North America’s largest school bus manufacturer, unveiled its hybrid electric bus last month and in late July announced that it will provide up to 19 hybrid buses to school districts in 11 states. The buses combine a V8 diesel engine with an 80-kilowatt Hybrid Drive System developed by Enova Systems, Inc. The system is based on a parallel architecture, allowing it to use both diesel and electric power in a highly efficient manner. IC Corporation claims that the buses will achieve up to a 40 percent increase in fuel efficiency. The company is a subsidiary of International Truck and Engine Corporation, which is also developing hybrid utility and delivery trucks. See the IC Corporation press release.
The states that will receive the hybrid buses include Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The hybrid bus development was in response to a request for proposals from Advanced Energy, a non-profit dedicated to pursuing innovative and market-based approaches to energy issues. Advanced Energy was founded in 1980 by the North Carolina Utilities Commission to investigate and implement new technologies for distributed generation, load management, conservation, and energy efficiency. The company was set up and still operates to work with member utilities on energy efficiency and conservation projects. For its hybrid electric bus project, Advanced Energy created a Buyer’s Consortium that includes school districts, state energy agencies, and student transportation providers. The project was supported through an $840,000 grant from the State Technologies Advancement Collaborative (STAC), a five-year pilot program funded by DOE. See the Advanced Energy press releases and the STAC Web site.
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| Kevin Eber is the Editor of EREE Network News, a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). |
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