DOE to Invest in Grid Integration Systems for Solar Energy
DOE announced on Tuesday that it plans to invest up to $24 million over a number of years to develop products that connect solar power systems with the electrical grid in an interactive way. DOE has selected 12 industry teams that will receive $2.9 million in current fiscal year funding to develop conceptual designs and market analyses for such Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) projects.
The projects will focus on solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and will involve such efforts as developing systems that can communicate with an interactive utility grid and advanced power meters to respond to power price changes over the course of a day, systems that can work with energy storage devices and "smart" appliances to respond to utility price signals, and systems that can interact with building energy management systems.
The goal is to maximize the value of PV systems and offer consumers greater control over their electric consumption and costs. In the future, and subject to congressional appropriations, additional funding will be provided for the projects that achieve the most promising technological advancements while demonstrating a high likelihood of commercial success. The SEGIS projects are integral to President Bush’s Solar America Initiative (SAI), which aims to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015. See the DOE press release and the SEGIS information on the SAI Web page of DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories.
New York Expands Renewable Net Metering and Green Roof Incentives
New York Governor David Paterson signed a legislative package last week that will encourage people throughout the state to install grid-connected solar and wind power systems, systems that generate power from farm wastes, and green roofs. Most of the bills relate to net metering, which allows homeowners and businesses to earn credit for any excess power that they feed back into the electric grid.
Senate Bill 7171 expands net metering to include non-residential solar power systems up to 2 megawatts in capacity, or equal in size to the customer’s peak load, whichever is less, and increases the maximum solar power system size for residential customers to 25 kilowatts, up from 10 kilowatts. The bill also attempted to increase the limit for farm-based anaerobic digesters to 1 megawatt, but a separate bill, S. 8415, knocked the limit down to 500 kilowatts, which is still an improvement over the previous limit of 400 kilowatts. S. 7171 also requires each utility to develop a model contract and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions for net metering of non-residential customers, and to develop safety standards for interconnecting these customers. It also includes a requirement for an external disconnect switch, which is rarely needed for modern grid connection equipment.
Senate Bill 8481 applies similar changes to net-metered wind power generators, allowing farms to net meter wind turbines as large as 500 kilowatts, up from 25 kilowatts, and expanding net metering of wind turbines to include non-residential customers, who can net meter wind turbines as large as 2 megawatts or the customer’s peak load, whichever is less. As with S. 7171, S. 8481 requires utilities to develop model contracts and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions for non-residential customers wishing to net meter their wind turbines.
Two additional bills relate to tax abatements for buildings in New York City with solar power systems and green roofs. S. 8145 creates a four-year real property tax abatement of up to $62,500 per year for buildings owners that install solar power systems, with a greater tax abatement available for systems installed before 2011, and a lesser tax abatement for systems installed in 2011 or 2012.
S. 7553 creates a similar tax abatement for buildings that install green roofs, which are rooftops covered with vegetation. The one-year tax abatement applies to buildings that cover at least half of their rooftop space with vegetation and is equal to $4.50 per square foot of green roof, up to the tax liability on the building or $100,000, whichever is less. The green roof tax abatement is in effect from 2009 through 2013. Both laws apply only to properties located in cities with populations of one million or more, which limits them to New York City. See the governor’s press release.
U.S. Leads the World in Wind Power Production, says AWEA
The United States now leads the world in the amount of electricity it generates from wind energy, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The trade group’s second-quarter market report, released last week, finds that the wind industry installed a total of 1,194 megawatts (MW) in the second quarter, bringing the total installed U.S. wind capacity to 19,549 MW. While that still lags behind the roughly 23,000 MW installed in Germany, the stronger winds in the United States are yielding greater power production despite the smaller generating capacity.
According to AWEA, U.S. wind power capacity is on track to increase by more than 45% this year, but the upcoming expiration of the federal production tax credit at the end of this year is threatening to slow this progress. The trade group also notes that over the past year and a half, at least 41 manufacturing facilities to support the wind industry have been announced, opened, or expanded in the United States, and those new and expanded facilities will create more than 9,000 jobs when they reach their full capacity. See the press release and the full quarterly report (PDF 234 KB).
Despite the looming loss of tax credits, wind power developers have unveiled a number of large, ambitious wind projects in recent weeks. The leader is definitely a 5,050-MW wind project in South Dakota, which is being pursued by Clipper Windpower Plc and BP Alternative Energy under a joint venture agreement. Previously dubbed "Rolling Thunder," and now called the Titan wind project, the project will be developed in multiple phases using Clipper’s 2.5-MW wind turbine. If completed as currently planned, it will be the world’s largest wind power plant.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council has approved a 909-MW wind facility that may hold the title of world’s largest wind project for at least a short while. The Shepherds Flat Wind Farm is being developed by Caithness Shepherds Flat, LLC, and will be located in north-central Oregon, just south of the Columbia River in Gilliam County. According to DOE’s Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), construction of the facility is slated to begin next summer, with full operation starting in 2010. BPA is building an addition to an existing substation to accommodate the new wind plant. See the press releases from Clipper Windpower and the Oregon Department of Energy, and see the Shepherds Flat Wind Interconnection page on the BPA Transmission Web site.
While large utility-scale wind turbines capture most of the attention in the United States, small wind turbines designed for homes and businesses are also growing in popularity. According to a report released by AWEA in mid-July, the U.S. small wind turbine market grew by 14% in 2007, adding 9.7 MW of new wind power capacity.
Defined as wind turbines with capacities of 100 kilowatts or less, and including turbines smaller than 1 kilowatt in capacity, the small wind power market currently lacks federal incentives, although some states offer incentives. Despite that handicap, more than 9,000 small wind turbines worth more than $42 million were installed in the United States in 2007, increasing the nation’s total generating capacity from small wind turbines to roughly 60 MW. About 50 companies either manufacture or plan to manufacture small wind turbines in the United States. See the AWEA press release and the Small Wind Market Report (PDF 381 KB).
Geothermal Lease Sale in Nevada Yields Record Bids
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has received a record $28.2 million in bids for geothermal energy development on federal public lands in Nevada. The DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held a competitive auction of lease parcels on August 5 in Reno, Nevada, offering 35 parcels encompassing a total of 105,211 acres. The lease sale was the first to offer parcels that were formally nominated by the public, and that process seems to have worked, as all 35 parcels were sold. Geothermal energy developers bid the most for parcels in Churchill County, an area east of Reno where a number of geothermal power plants are already operating. Under the competitive leasing provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 245,695 acres in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah have been leased for a total of $57 million. See the DOI press release.
A survey released last week by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) shows continued growth in the number of new geothermal power projects under development in the United States. The report identified 103 projects underway in 13 states, including Alaska, Hawaii, all the Western states except for Montana, and Florida. If developed, the projects could add 4,000 megawatts of new capacity, more than doubling the nation’s geothermal power capacity. But progress remains slow, as the United States currently has 2,957 MW of geothermal power capacity, an increase of only 106.1 MW from the capacity reported by the GEA in May 2007. See the press release (MS Word 35 KB) and the current (PDF 468 KB) and previous report (PDF 124 KB) on the GEA Web site.
Recent efforts include a plan for a 30-megawatt plant in Nevada, which the Nevada Power Company (a subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources) is pursuing with Ormat after earning approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada in late July. The facility will be built near Fallon, Nevada, which is located in Churchill County, about 60 miles east of Reno. Meanwhile, the Division of Oil and Gas at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources is preparing to offer competitive leases on land along the southern flanks of Mount Spurr, an active volcano located about 75 miles west of Anchorage. While the Mount Spurr summit has not had a significant eruption in recent history, a vent of the volcano at nearby Crater Peak erupted in 1953 and 1992. The lease sale will take place in Anchorage on September 10. See the Sierra Pacific Resources press release, the Mount Spurr geothermal lease sale on the Division of Oil and Gas Web site, and the description of Mount Spurr from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
EPA Declines Texas Request to Reduce Renewable Fuel Requirements
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided last week to deny a request from the State of Texas to reduce the national Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The RFS currently requires 9 billion gallons of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply in 2008, increasing to 11.1 billion gallons in 2009, and that requirement will stay in place. Current law authorizes the EPA to waive the national RFS if the agency determines that the mandated biofuel volumes would cause "severe harm" to the economy or the environment. On April 25, Texas Governor Rick Perry requested that the mandate be cut in half for 2008, based on the perceived contribution of the RFS to high grain prices, which are negatively impacting the production of beef, poultry, and eggs in his state.
In denying the request, the EPA determined that the proposed waiver would have no impact on ethanol production volumes in the relevant time frame, and therefore no impact on the price of corn or food. And even if it did impact ethanol production, the waiver would have only a minor impact on grain prices, cutting the price of a bushel of corn by at most 30 cents, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is predicting a price of $5.40 per bushel for the current season. Both DOE and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) agreed with the EPA’s decision, noting that the RFS is critical for reducing the nation’s dependence on oil imports. See the EPA press release, the EPA Web page on the waiver request, the USDA’s season-average price forecasts, and the press releases from DOE and the RFA.
Meanwhile, a new USDA report finds that the flooding in the Midwest in early June had a minimal impact on corn and soybean production in the United States. Thanks in part to replanted crops in the flood-affected regions, U.S. farmers are on pace to produce the second-largest corn crop in history and the fourth-largest soybean crop. Corn production is forecast at 12.3 billion bushels, down 6% from last year’s record crop, while soybean production is forecast at 2.97 billion bushels, up 15% from last year. Farmers often rotate between corn and soybean crops, causing production numbers to fluctuate, so a smaller corn crop was expected from the start of the growing season. See the press release and full report (PDF 414 KB) from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Hydrogen-Fueled Vehicles Take to the Road in National Tour
Hydrogen-fueled vehicles from nine automakers are currently on a whirlwind tour across the United States, visiting 31 cities in 18 states on their 13-day tour. The Hydrogen Road Tour ’08 kicked off on Monday in Portland, Maine, and will pass through New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania today as it heads down to Georgia, then doglegs over to Tennessee and Missouri. The tour then skips across the country, stopping in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada before concluding in Los Angeles, California, on August 23.
DOE has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the National Hydrogen Association, and the nine automakers to sponsor the cross-country tour, which will feature fuel-cell vehicles from General Motors Corporation, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen, as well as the BMW Hydrogen Series 7, which burns hydrogen in an internal combustion engine. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and Linde are providing mobile refueling stations and hydrogen fuel for the tour. See the DOT press release and the Hydrogen Road Tour ’08 Web site.
++++
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).
Loading...