Automakers Commit to Fuel Economy, Electrification in Long-Term Plans
Detroit’s "Big Three" automakers came to Washington, D.C., yesterday to present their long-term viability plans to Congress, and those plans included significant commitments to fuel-saving and electric vehicle technologies.
Ford Motor Company unveiled an aggressive plan to electrify its fleet of vehicles, including plans to offer an all-electric van-type vehicle in 2010 for use in commercial fleets, complemented by a battery-powered sedan in 2011. By 2012, the company will bring a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery electric vehicles to market. Ford intends to invest about $14 billion on fuel-efficient technologies over the next seven years and aims to achieve a 36% improvement in fuel economy for its entire fleet by the 2015 model year. The company has applied to DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program for $5 billion to support these efforts, but the company is also asking for access to up to $9 billion in bridge loans. However, Ford expects to remain viable through 2009 and hopes to avoid drawing on the loan. See the Ford press release and business plan (PDF 230 KB).
Of course, General Motors Corp. (GM) is involved in a well-publicized effort to launch its plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt, in 2010, and the company intends to employ the Volt drivetrain in other vehicles. GM plans to launch predominately fuel-efficient cars and crossovers over the next four years, investing $2.9 billion in fuel-efficient technologies and alternative fuels during that time. By 2012, GM will offer 15 hybrid models, and more than half of its fleet will be flex-fuel vehicles, able to run on either gasoline or ethanol-rich E85.
GM seeks $12 billion in bridge loans through 2009 and a revolving credit line of $6 billion that it could draw on if its sales forecast falls short. The company ended the third quarter of the year with cash reserves of $16 billion, but estimates it needs at least $11 billion on hand to maintain operations. Without a federal loan, GM expects its cash reserves to fall to $10.1 billion by year’s end and to fall to $3.6 billion by February. See the GM press release and its long-term plan (MS Word 573 KB).
Chrysler LLC notes that for the 2009 model year, 73% of its vehicles will be more fuel efficient than their 2008 models, and the company plans to launch more small, fuel-efficient vehicles in the future. The company’s plan also calls for the introduction of the Dodge Ram Hybrid in 2010, along with the company’s first electric-drive vehicle. Chrysler also plans to offer three additional electric-drive vehicles by 2013. The company is seeking a bridge loan of $7 billion. Chrysler ended the first half of the year with $9.4 billion in cash, but expects to end the year with only $2.5 billion in cash, and it might not make it through the first quarter of 2009 without the loan. See the Chrysler press release and plan (PDF 70 KB).
USDA Offers Guaranteed Loans for Commercial-Scale Biorefineries
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on November 19 that it is accepting applications for loan guarantees to support commercial-scale biorefineries producing advanced biofuels – defined as biofuels that aren’t produced from corn kernel starch. The loan guarantees are being offered under the Biorefinery Assistance Program, which was authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, commonly known as the 2008 Farm Bill.
Under the new program, loan guarantees of up to $250 million per project will support the development and construction efforts needed to either build new biorefineries or to convert existing biorefineries to produce advanced biofuels. Applications are due December 31 for the first wave of loan guarantees, which will be issued by March 2009.
Applications can also be submitted in March or April of 2009 for the second wave of loan guarantees, which will be issued by September 2009. The USDA is also accepting public comments through January 20, 2009, on how to administer the program in the future. See the USDA press release, the program Web site, and the official Federal Register notice (PDF 130 KB).
One company that has announced it will apply for the loan guarantees is U.S. Sugar Corporation. The Florida-based company it working with Coskata, Inc. to explore the feasibility of building a cellulosic ethanol facility in Clewiston, Florida, to convert leftover sugar cane material into 100 million gallons of ethanol per year. The Coskata process involves gasifying the biomass material and using the resultant stream of "syngas" to feed ethanol-producing microorganisms. Coskata is currently building a commercial demonstration plant near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and expects to be able to produce ethanol at a cost of less than $1 per gallon. See the U.S. Sugar press release, the Coskata process description, and the April 2008 press release from Coskata on its commercial demonstration plant.
While a large number of companies are pursuing advanced biofuels, most technologies are being developed at the pilot-plant scale, rather than the commercial scale. In mid-October, DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE) and the University of Tennessee (UT) Research Foundation broke ground in Vonore, Tennessee, on a pilot plant that will convert switchgrass and corn stover into 250,000 gallons of ethanol per year. DDCE is a joint venture of DuPont and Danisco, the parent company to Genencor, which develops enzymes for industrial purposes, including biofuel production.
The facility is expected to start production by late 2009, drawing on 723 acres of switchgrass that 16 local farmers are maintaining as part of a UT research program. Other biofuel companies include Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., which opened a pilot plant in Emeryville, California, in mid-November to convert sugar to renewable diesel fuel, and Solix Biofuels, which has announced plans to build an algae-based biofuel pilot plant on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwest Colorado, near Durango. See the press releases from DDCE, Amyris, and Solix.
Los Angeles Pursues 1,300 Megawatts of Solar Power by 2020
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled last week an aggressive solar power plan that aims to encourage the installation of 1,300 megawatts (MW) of solar power throughout the city and surrounding areas of Southern California by 2020. Called "Solar LA," the plan addresses solar power systems on residential, commercial, and municipal properties.
The plan includes a requirement for the city’s municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water (LADWP), to install 400 MW of solar power on city-owned property by 2014. By 2020, the utility will be required to procure an additional 500 MW of utility-scale solar power through contracts with third-party developers, with the option to purchase the systems after about eight years of operations.
Residential customers will be offered expanded rebates, including free systems for some customers in low-income neighborhoods, and the city may offer loans that can be repaid through property taxes. Residential customers that can’t afford their own solar power system will be able to buy shares of an LADWP solar power plant through a new program called "SunShares." Combined, these programs could yield another 230 MW of solar power by 2020. But perhaps the most unique part of the plan is the city’s intent to institute a feed-in tariff, which would allow solar developers throughout the city to sell power directly to LADWP under a long-term contract. The feed-in tariff is expected to yield another 150 MW of solar power by 2016. See the mayor’s press release and the full plan (PDF 298 KB).
California established a feed-in tariff earlier this year for seven of the state’s utilities, but only Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison offered feed-in tariff programs in which any customer could participate. That was later expanded to include customers of San Diego Gas & Electric Company. Those programs applied to customer-located renewable energy systems up to 1.5 megawatts in capacity, and as of October, PG&E had signed 12 contracts totaling more than 9.5 MW. However, the California Energy Commission (CEC) held a staff workshop on Monday to consider expanding the state’s feed-in tariffs to include projects larger than 20 MW. Meanwhile, a group called the Alliance for Renewable Energy was formed in spring to create awareness and build support for feed-in tariffs, which that group refers to as renewable energy payments. See the CEC workshop notice, which includes background information on the state’s feed-in tariffs, and see also the Alliance for Renewable Energy Web site.
California Gets its First Large LNG Fuel Production Plant
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has opened the first large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) production plant in California, and the largest LNG plant in the Southwest. The new California LNG Plant is located in the Mojave Desert near Boron, California, about 125 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The facility will produce up to 160,000 gallons per day of LNG for Clean Energy’s new LNG truck fueling station in Carson, California, which provides fuel for trucks serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Those ports have instituted a Clean Truck Program that aims to replace old diesel trucks with new, cleaner trucks, which may include LNG-fueled trucks. The California LNG Plant will also supply LNG to transportation fuel customers throughout California and Arizona. If there is sufficient demand for LNG fuel, the facility can be expanded in the future to produce 240,000 gallons per day. See the Clean Energy press release and description of the California LNG Plant.
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach created the Clean Truck Program as part of their Clean Air Action Plan, which was adopted in November 2006 to address air pollution at the ports. The ports are the largest source of air pollution in the greater Los Angeles region, and more than 1,200 people in Southern California die prematurely each year because of air pollution from the two ports.
The Clean Truck Program took effect on October 1 and immediately banned from the ports about 2,000 trucks built before 1989, which was the first year for pollution controls on diesel-fueled trucks. By 2012, the program will bar any trucks that don’t meet the cleanest 2007 emission standards, and right now, that adds up to another 14,000 trucks. The program also provides subsidies to encourage the use of alternative fuels and other advanced technologies for trucks.
The Clean Truck Program is currently being blocked by legal action of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), which has found certain portions of the program to be anti-competitive, but the FMC believes these anti-competitive features can be removed without hurting the program. See the Clean Truck Programs for the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, as well as the FMC’s press release and legal documents.
Scotland Offers $15 Million for Viable Wave or Tidal Technologies
The Scottish Government announced details last night about the Saltire Prize, a $15 million technology prize that will be awarded to the team that successfully demonstrates the best commercially viable wave or tidal energy technology capable of powering thousands of homes. The technology must be demonstrated in Scottish waters and must achieve a minimum electrical output of 100 million kilowatt-hours over a continuous two-year period, using only the power of the sea.
That electrical output is equivalent to the continuous production of 5.7 megawatts of power, so the winning demonstration system must have a capacity significantly larger than that to account for times when the system produces power at less than its full capacity. If more than one technology meets the minimum criteria, the prize purse of 10 million pounds will be awarded to the best overall technology, based on the technology’s cost, environmental sustainability, and safety.
The Scottish Government first announced its plans for the Saltire Prize in April and promised to release details before the end of the year. Scotland’s total wave and tidal energy resource is estimated to be double the country’s current electrical generating capacity, and the Scottish Government believes that wave and tidal energy and other renewable energy resources could provide half of Scotland’s electricity by 2020. Scotland is also host to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), a unique ocean-based facility for the full-scale testing of wave and tidal energy prototypes.
Companies interested in competing for the prize can register online and can consult with the Saltire Prize Challenge Committee from January through March 2009. Teams can officially enter the competition starting in summer, and the competition will remain open to entries until June 2013. See the Scottish Government press release and Saltire Prize Web page, as well as the EMEC 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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