DOE Offers $90 Million for Enhanced Geothermal Systems
DOE issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) last week for the research, development, and demonstration of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), an advanced geothermal technology that drills deep wells into hot rocks, fractures them, and circulates a fluid through the fractures to extract heat. EGS technologies can be used to create new geothermal reservoirs or to stimulate existing geothermal reservoirs that are underperforming.
The FOA offers up to $90 million over four years, of which $40 million will go toward research and development (R&D) projects for the technologies needed to commercialize EGS and $50 million will go toward demonstration projects that stimulate existing unproductive geothermal reservoirs.
The R&D projects will target the technologies needed to create reservoirs at temperatures up to 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) and depths as great as 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). They will address specific needs identified in a recent DOE report, "An Evaluation of Enhanced Geothermal Systems Technology."
According to a recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a reasonable R&D investment in these technologies could create the opportunity to develop 100,000 megawatts of geothermal power in the United States by 2050, an amount equal to 20% of the current U.S. generating capacity. See the reports from DOE and MIT in the EGS technology section of DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Program Web site.
Of the $90 million in funds, $10.5 million are ready for immediate award, while the remainder is subject to congressional appropriations, with an estimated $30 million expected to be available for 2009. Under the FOA, R&D projects must carry a minimum 20% cost share and demonstrations will require up to a 50% cost share, depending on the phase of the award. The FOA is open to industry and academia, and DOE anticipates selecting up to 26 awardees, including 5-20 R&D projects and 2-6 demonstration projects. Applications are due by August 12. See the DOE press release and the FOA on Grants.gov.
40 Teams Compete in Solar Boat Race in the Netherlands
The second running of the Frisian Solar Challenge is now underway in Friesland, a northern province in the Netherlands. The 137-mile solar boat race started on Monday in Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, and follows the classic route of the Eleven City Tour, which is typically taken on skates in the winter. Following canals, rivers, and lakes, with the occasional portage, the race features 40 teams from eight countries, including Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the one long-distance entry, a team from the Federal University of Rio in Brazil.
The race is divided into three classes: the A class is for one-person boats, the B class is for two-person boats, and the open or C class can have a crew of any size. To keep costs down, entries in the A and B class can borrow solar panels from the race’s sponsors, Sharp and The Sun Factory. As of Tuesday, two Dutch teams appear to be competing for the prize, as the Technical University of Delft (running in the C class) won the first stage and preliminary results show the Hanze Solar Team (running in the A class) winning the second stage. The six-day race concludes on Saturday back at its starting point in Leeuwarden. See the Frisian Solar Challenge Web site.
Meanwhile, a biodiesel-fueled boat is zeroing in on the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by a powered boat. The Earthrace is on the final leg of its round-the-world journey, with only the Mediterranean Sea between it and its goal. The current world record of slightly less than 75 days was set in 1998; the Earthrace is currently on day 59 of its journey and is passing south of Greece. If all goes well, the ship should reach its destination in Spain by Friday, beating the record by about two weeks. Unlike Earthrace’s previous attempt, this time the crew has managed to fuel the boat with 100% biodiesel for its entire journey. For the current location of the ship, see the Earthrace Web site and press releases.
New Biodiesel Standard Allows Automaker Approval of 20% Blends
ASTM International, one of the largest standards development organizations in the world, has approved a new specification for diesel fuel blends containing 6%-20% biodiesel. According to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), ASTM standards for the 20% biodiesel blends, or B20, are a crucial hurdle for the full acceptance of the use of such blends in diesel vehicles.
With the new specification in place, automakers and engine manufacturers can test B20 in their diesel engines and know that consumers will be fueling their vehicle with a fuel of the same quality.
Currently, Chrysler LLC supports the use of B20 in its Dodge Ram diesel pickups, but only for use in fleets. Likewise, General Motors Corporation accepts the use of 5% biodiesel blends, or B5, in all its vehicles, but limits the use of B20 to special equipment options available only to government fleets in a limited selection of vehicles. While setting the new B20 standard, ASTM International also made changes to its specifications for B5 and for 100% biodiesel, or B100. See the NBB press release.
Engine warranty concerns also came into play in a recent effort to create labeling requirements for diesel fuels containing renewable fuel blends. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to set labeling requirements that address the blending of biodiesel and other types of biomass-based diesel fuels into diesel fuel. Some companies are converting biomass such as animal fats directly into a liquid with the properties of diesel fuel, a product that blurs the lines between biodiesel and diesel fuel.
At first, the FTC proposed to treat all renewable diesel fuels the same, but the NBB warned that not all biomass-based diesel fuels would necessarily meet the ASTM standards required by automakers for diesel fuels. On the other hand, biomass-based diesel fuels that meet ASTM standards could be used in much higher concentrations than biodiesel, which is usually limited to 20% biodiesel blends for standard diesel vehicles. Considering those comments, the FTC decided to set separate labeling requirements for biodiesel blends and biomass-based diesel fuel blends. See the FTC press release and the final ruling (PDF 213 KB).
DOE to Invest $1.3 Billion in Carbon Capture and Storage
DOE announced yesterday that it plans to invest $1.3 billion over several years in multiple clean coal plants that feature cutting-edge carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. DOE’s FutureGen program was originally intended to make a large investment in a single plant with CCS technology, but with a growing impetus to develop such power plants, DOE decided that it could better advance the technology by providing more limited support for a larger number of CCS-enabled plants. By taking this approach, DOE expects to at least double the amount of carbon dioxide that is sequestered under the program.
DOE released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the restructured program on Tuesday and anticipates that $290 million will be available for fiscal year 2009. Applications are due on October 8, and DOE intends to select the projects by the end of the year. See the DOE press release.
A report released last year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that CCS technologies were part of a package of technologies needed to enable significant cuts in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by mid-century. While the IPCC emphasized the use of renewable energy and a shift from carbon-intensive fossil fuels to lower-carbon fuels such as natural gas, the panel also concluded that "no single economically and technologically feasible solution would on its own suffice for reducing GHG emissions from the energy sector. Instead, governments would need to promote a range of options." See this newsletter’s coverage of the IPCC report.
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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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