DOE to Invest $34 Million in Enzymes for Cellulosic Ethanol Production
DOE announced yesterday its selection of four projects to develop improved enzymes for breaking down cellulosic biomass material into sugars, which can then be fermented into ethanol. The DSM Innovation Center, Genencor, Novozymes, Inc., and Verenium Corporation were all chosen by DOE for their proven ability to reduce the cost of ethanol by improving the performance of the enzymes. Among the many partners on the projects are four DOE national laboratories: Los Alamos National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. For all four projects, DOE intends to invest up to $33.8 million over the next four years, subject to congressional appropriations, and when combined with the cost sharing from industry, up to $70 million will be invested in the effort.
Cellulosic ethanol is produced from a wide variety of non-edible plant materials, including corn stover, cereal straws, sawdust, paper pulp, and switchgrass. Cellulosic ethanol could be produced in every region of the country using locally grown materials, while producing a fuel that creates less greenhouse gases than corn-based ethanol. Within the last year, DOE has announced that it will invest $1 billion in biofuels research and development, $114 million in small-scale cellulosic refineries, $405 million in bioenergy centers, and $385 million in commercial-scale cellulosic refineries. See the DOE press release and DOE’s Biomass Program Web site.
DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also announced the latest members of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee in mid-January. The Committee was founded as part of the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 and assists DOE and USDA in meeting national goals that support energy security and rural economies. The chosen committee members, of which six are new and seven are reappointed, will serve three year terms. See the DOE press release and the Biomass Research and Development Initiative Web site.
Western Governors to Speed Development of Alternative Fuels
Western governors agreed on Saturday to take action to speed the development of alternative fuels in the West. A resolution adopted by the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) commits to the development of a regional framework for a performance-based greenhouse gas standard for transportation fuels, such as a low-carbon fuel standard. The governors will also work together to promote an analytic methodology for evaluating the entire lifecycle of fuel production and use in terms of greenhouse gas emissions as well as other impacts upon the land, water, and air. The initiative was spearheaded by the governors of California, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington.
Most other items in the resolution are optional, such as asking each governor to consider procuring alternative fuel vehicles for state fleets, ensuring those vehicle use alternative fuels, and creating partnerships between public and private fleets for procuring alternative fuel vehicles and alternative fuels. Governors are also asked to work regionally on issues such as alternative fuel workforce training, biomass feedstocks, alternative fuel infrastructure, and policies that promote the sustainable use of natural resources in the transition to an economy based on alternative fuels. The WGA represents the governors of 19 western states and three groups of Pacific islands: American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. See the WGA press release and resolution (PDF 60 KB).
The western governors’ focus on greenhouse gas emissions from fuel production calls to mind two recent studies, published online by Science Magazine, that generally conclude that clearing land to produce biofuels generates more greenhouse gas emissions than is saved by the biofuel production. Researchers from the DOE Biomass Program and DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) took issue with the results of the first study, which focused on the United States, noting that the researchers used an ANL computer model incorrectly, overestimated ethanol production, and made conservative assumptions about corn yields. In a letter to Science Magazine, the researchers conclude that it is not clear what land use changes will result from increased U.S. biofuel use, and that a more scientific study of land use impacts needs to be carried out. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) also responded, noting that the studies say nothing about the benefits of today’s biofuels, and instead use a number of assumptions to examine a "worst case scenario" for the future. See the abstracts about the use of U.S. croplands for biofuels increasing greenhouse gases and land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt on the Science Magazine Web site, the ANL response, and the RFA press release (PDF 93 KB).
Arizona Utility to Buy Power from a 280-Megawatt Solar Power Plant
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is planning to draw power from a 280-megawatt concentrating solar power (CSP) plant to be built near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix. Called the Solana Generating System, the new facility will be built by Abengoa Solar and is expected to begin producing power in 2011. It will be among the largest solar power plants in the world, producing enough power at full capacity to serve 70,000 households, and it will also have the ability to store energy, allowing power production to continue into the evening. The facility will use miles of parabolic trough-shaped mirrors to capture the sun’s heat and focus it upon a length of "absorber" tubing. A fluid passed through the tubing collects the sun’s heat, and the hot fluid is used to boil water to steam, which then spins a turbine to produce electricity.
APS will buy all the power produced by the facility in its first 30 years, costing the utility a total of about $4 billion, while providing an estimated $1 billion in economic benefits to the state of Arizona. The plant’s builder, Abengoa Solar, has built a demonstration solar trough plant in Spain and is building two 50-megawatt solar trough plants there. In addition, the company is currently operating the world’s first commercial solar power tower plant, which uses a field of flat mirrors to focus sunlight onto a thermal collector at the top of a tall tower. The facility, called PS10, produces 11 megawatts of power, and Abengoa Solar is currently building PS20, which will produce 20 megawatts of power. See the press releases from APS and Abengoa Solar and Abengoa Solar’s Power Tower Web page.
As the Abengoa Solar experience suggests, CSP is experiencing a resurgence in the United States and throughout the world. On Saturday, dedication ceremonies were held for Nevada Solar One, a 64-megawatt solar trough plant near Boulder City that started producing power last year. The facility is the largest CSP plant to be built in the world since 1991. A number of new CSP plants are also planned for southern California, including the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, a power tower facility that will reach 400 megawatts in three phases of construction. The California Energy Commission (CEC) is currently reviewing the Ivanpah application. With more CSP plants on the way, Ausra, Inc. announced in December that it will build a manufacturing facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, for CSP components such as mirrors, absorber tubes, and towers, and in January, Schott Solar announced plans to build a $100 million manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to produce both absorber tubes and solar photovoltaic modules. The Ausra facility will begin production in April, while the Schott Solar facility should be completed next year. See the Nevada Solar One press release, the CEC Web page on the Ivanpah facility, and the press releases from Ausra and Schott.
Alaska Utility Wins Wind Cooperative of the Year Award
Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) of Anchorage, Alaska, has been selected by DOE and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) as the winner of the 2007 Wind Cooperative of the Year award. The award recognizes AVEC for leadership, demonstrated success, and innovation in its wind power program. AVEC provides electricity to 53 small, native villages in rural Alaska and has 990 kilowatts of installed wind-generating capacity in four of the communities it serves. The annual award is co-sponsored by NRECA and DOE’s Wind Powering America program, which aims to dramatically increase the use of wind energy in the United States. See the Wind Powering America Web site.
Wind power provides 25% of the electricity needs of two of AVEC’s communities-Toksook Bay and Kasigluk. Those two communities are also home to the first field deployments of the NorthWind 100 wind turbine, a 100-kilowatt turbine that is specifically for use in cold, harsh climates. The turbine, manufactured by Distributed Energy Systems Corporation, features a direct-drive generator that eliminates the need for a gearbox, avoiding the problems with gearbox lubrication caused by cold weather and other harsh conditions. Designed and developed in conjunction with DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the wind turbine received an R&D 100 award in 2000. See the DOE press release, the NREL Web page on the NorthWind turbine, and the Distributed Energy Systems Web page on the turbine and its case study on the Toksook Bay installation (PDF 105 KB).
New York Launches Clean Energy Workforce Training Initiative
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) unveiled a $6-million clean energy workforce training initiative on Monday. NYSERDA will invest more than $4 million in a range of clean energy sectors including solar photovoltaic systems, small wind turbines, and biogas energy systems. An additional $2 million is included in the Governor’s Executive Budget for developing the solar workforce through programs at community colleges across New York State. The intent of the new efforts is to help develop a workforce that can design, install, and maintain renewable energy systems to ensure the successful implementation and promotion of renewable energy technologies in New York State. New York has already invested nearly $1 million to develop seven accredited solar training centers and continuing education programs across the state. See the NYSERDA press release and the pamphlet about New York’s Solar Electric Practitioner Training Centers (PDF 311 KB).
As noted in the NYSERDA press release, the agency is also seeking to establish a Wind Energy Research and Testing Center in New York. Although still in the preliminary stages of discussion and planning, the center would catalyze and support research in such topics as advanced materials, power electronics, turbine design, wind forecasting, and environmental impact assessment. The proposed Center would also provide resources to test new products while helping to provide a highly skilled workforce to meet the needs of the quickly growing wind power industry.
Natural Gas and Hybrid Vehicles Lead Annual Green Rankings
The natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX is once again the greenest new car sold in the United States, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The ACEEE’s Green Book Online, released last week, places the Honda Civic GX on top for the second year in a row, followed by the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid. Other hybrids in the top-twelve list include the Nissan Altima Hybrid in sixth place and the Toyota Camry Hybrid in tenth. The ACEEE’s annual evaluation of the current model year vehicles ranks them primarily in terms of air emissions and fuel economy.
Subcompact cars are continuing to show up in the top ranks, with the newly imported Smart Fortwo landing in fourth place, the Toyota Yaris in fifth, the Mini Cooper in eighth, and the Honda Fit (which is technically considered a "small wagon") in twelfth place. Compact cars also scored well, with the Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, and Honda Civic all landing in the top twelve. Meanwhile, five diesel models are among the seven least-green vehicles for 2008, but that trend should reverse itself next year, as automakers begin rolling out clean diesel vehicles in the United States. Although access to the full resources of ACEEE’s Green Book requires a paid subscription, the lists of the best and worst performers are available online for free. See the ACEEE press release and the Green Book ratings highlights.
Superconducting Cable Project Points to More Efficient Grid
DOE and SuperPower, Inc. commemorated last week a $27 million project to install a 350-meter high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable between two electrical substations in Albany. While that might not sound like much cable for the money, the project is the first demonstration of a technology that could someday be used to build a more energy efficient power grid. The HTS cable reduces energy loss by up to 10%, and wires using the same technology could potentially be integrated into generators, transformers, cables, and fault current limiters, making most of the equipment that produces and delivers power more energy efficient. On the other end of the power line, HTS wires can be employed in motors, providing an energy efficiency improvement for one of the largest electrical loads served by electric utilities.
The Albany project is actually in its second phase. Back in 2006, two lengths of cable were installed using first-generation HTS wire, but that cable was replaced last year with the second-generation HTS wire, which is expected to compete better with copper wire due to a combination of high performance and a lower price than first-generation HTS wire. SuperPower is also doing its best to take advantage of DOE research, having licensed technology from two of DOE’s national laboratories: Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. See the press releases from DOE and SuperPower.
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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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