Editor’s Note: The DOE solicitation for solar training, announced June 11, was included as a modification to a previous Funding Opportunity Announcement. View the solicitation by searching public opportunities on FedConnect: reference #DE-FOA-0000078. Deadline: July 30.
Developing World Now Consumes More Energy than Developed Countries
Led by China, the world’s developing nations now consume more energy than industrialized countries, according to the 2009 BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Industrialized countries reduced energy consumption 1.3% in 2008, led by a 2.8% drop in the U.S., marking our steepest single-year decline since 1982.
That decrease was counterbalanced by increased energy use in developing countries, which caused global energy consumption to increase 1.4%. China accounted for nearly 75% of that increase, boosting its energy use 7.2%. Meanwhile, high oil prices early in the year, followed by the recession later in the year, caused oil consumption to drop by 1.3%. Despite that drop, proven oil reserves (excluding Canadian oil sands) decreased by 3 billion barrels to 1,258 billion barrels, the first retreat in proven oil reserves in a decade. Since 1980, the world’s proven oil reserves have fallen only three times: in 1990, 1998, and 2008. See the BP press release and the full report.
DOE Sets New Lighting Standards & Invests in Efficient Buildings
President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced new energy efficiency standards for lighting, as well as DOE’s investment of $346 million in ARRA funds to develop and deploy energy-efficient technologies in buildings.
The new standards apply to general service fluorescent lamps, used in most offices and commercial buildings, and incandescent reflector lamps, used for recessed and track lighting. It will result in 15% lower electricity use for general service fluorescent lamps, and 25% lower electricity use of incandescent reflector lamps. The rule applies to lamps manufactured for sale in the U.S. or imported into the U.S. starting in mid-2012; in the following 30 years, it will save consumers up to $4 billion a year, avoid the emissions of up to 594 million tons of CO2, and eliminate the need for as many as 14, 500 MW power plants.
The new lamp standards also include two types of 4-foot-long lamps; the standards for four other types of lamps require an increase of 10%-31.2% in the light output per watt. For incandescent reflector lamps, the new standard remains essentially the same for the smallest 40-watt bulb, but it requires higher efficiencies for brighter bulbs.
For the brightest bulb, at 205 watts, the new standard requires nearly 30% more light per watt. It sets slightly lower requirements for new "modified-spectrum" bulbs, which use a coating to achieve specific effects, such as a better approximation of natural daylight. DOE issued the final rule for lighting standards on June 26 and will soon publish it in the Federal Register. Until then, see the final rule (PDF 1.2 KB) as published on the Web site of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
DOE is also investing $346 million in Recovery Act funds in energy efficient technologies for buildings, of which $100 million will go towards research that approaches buildings as an integrated system, including research focused on the systems-level design, integration, and control of both new and existing buildings. Another $50 million will support R&D of advanced manufacturing techniques for solid-state lighting, such as lamps that employ LEDs.
DOE will also direct $70 million toward residential buildings, including technical support to help train workers to perform energy efficiency retrofits, as well as outreach to municipalities and subdivisions to encourage such retrofits. The funds will also support a major initiative to provide builders with the technical assistance and training they need to build highly efficient homes.
DOE will also direct $53.5 million to its Commercial Buildings Initiative, expanding its partnerships with major companies that design, build, own, manage, or operate large fleets of commercial buildings from 23 today to about 75.
Another $72.5 million will help prepare the building community for new commercial building energy codes that require a 30% improvement in energy efficiency relative to the 2004 code. A portion of those funds will support expansion and acceleration of DOE’s Appliance Standards program, which brought you the above lighting standards, while also expanding and strengthening the Energy Star program for energy efficient products. See the DOE press release and President Obama’s announcement of the new energy efficiency efforts.
Labor Department Offers $500 Million for Clean Energy Job Training
The U.S. Department of Labor recently launched five grant competitions, totaling $500 million, to fund projects that prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Four of the competitions serve workers through various national, state, and community outlets.
These include Energy Training Partnership Grants, which aim to train workers in green industries, with some money earmarked for those leaving the auto industries; Pathways Out of Poverty Grants, which seek to engage national nonprofits, as well as local agencies that have networks for re-educating workers; State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants, designed to help states refine their energy sector strategies to build up a trained workforce, particularly in areas hurt by auto industry upheaval; and Green Capacity Building Grants, which beef up existing Labor Department programs to ensure there’s a large enough pool of green-trained workers to meet demands.
The fifth competition, for State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants, will fund state workforce agencies that collect, analyze, and disseminate labor market information, while also encouraging collaboration among states. Those grants are also meant to help direct individuals to careers in green industries.
The five grant solicitations were published in the June 24 edition of the Federal Register -the grants will be funded through the ARRA. To earn the maximum return on each investment, the Labor Dept. is encouraging grantees to align their work with other federal agencies’ Recovery Act investments intended to create jobs and promote economic growth. Combining funds from different agencies can help worker training programs get more bang for the buck and put more people to work in the clean energy industry.
See the Labor Department press release and the grant solicitations for Energy Training Partnership Grants, with applications due September 4; Pathways Out of Poverty Grants, due September 29; State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants, due October 20; Green Capacity Building Grants, due August 5; and State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants, due August 14.
President Obama Approves "Cash for Clunkers" Act
President Obama signed into law last week a measure that directs $1 billion toward rebates for U.S. residents who trade in their cars or trucks for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Although unofficially called the "Cash for Clunkers" Act, the title is somewhat misleading, as the trade-in vehicle must be less than 25 years old and drivable, and it must be registered and insured for the full year before the trade-in date.
Instead, the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act focuses on fuel economy, requiring most trade-in vehicles to have a combined fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon (mpg) or less. On the other hand, the vehicle must be destroyed by the dealer, so people won’t be trading in their new Hummers just to cash in on the rebate.
The law focuses on inefficient, aging vehicles with little or no market value, encouraging people to buy or lease new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The new vehicles must have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of not more than $45,000, so people buying high-end cars can’t cash in. Rebates will be awarded directly to dealers, who will pass on the savings to their customers.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) calls the new program the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). It requires any newly purchased or leased cars to have a combined fuel economy of at least 22 mpg, while SUVs, small and medium-sized pickup trucks and vans (collectively called "category 1 trucks") must have a fuel economy of at least 18 mpg.
To earn the $3,500 rebate, new cars must have a combined fuel economy at least 4 mpg higher than the trade-in vehicle. To earn the $4,500 rebate, new cars must have a fuel economy at least 10 mpg higher. Category 1 trucks earn the $3,500 rebate for a fuel economy improvement of at least 2 mpg and a $4,500 rebate for an improvement of 5 mpg or more.
Those looking to purchase or lease a new large pickup or van must trade in the same size or larger work truck. The new large pickup or van must have a combined fuel economy of at least 15 mpg. The vehicles earn the $3,500 rebate for an improvement of at least 1 mpg and earn the $4,500 rebate for an improvement of 2 mpg or more. Any heavy work truck traded in for a large pickup or van can earn a $3,500 rebate, regardless of fuel economy, but it must be from model year 2001 or earlier. That same restriction applies to work trucks traded for new ones, but they only earn the $3,500 rebate if the one is of a similar size or smaller. There’s $75 million for rebates on work truck trade-ins, but that still allow for trade-ins of more than 21,400 work trucks.
Depending on the average size of the rebates, the act provides enough funding for rebates on roughly a 250,000 trade-ins. They will be in effect through the end of October, or until dealers provide $1 billion in rebates, whichever comes first. The act requires the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue final regulations by July 24, putting it into effect on that date. To support that extremely tight timeline, the NHTSA plans to publish a summary in the Federal Register in the near future.
Technically, the rebate takes effect today, but NHTSA recommends dealers wait until the final rule is issued to be sure that they don’t provide ineligible rebates. The NHTSA plans to include a list of participating dealers on the CARS Web site, and will list eligible vehicles, but until then, you can check the official fuel economy of vehicles on the fueleconomy.gov Web site. See the DOT press release and see the act, the NHTSA summary, and other information on the new CARS Web site.
DOE Awards $454 Million for Clean Energy in 18 States
DOE announced a $454 million award in ARRA funds to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in 18 states. Under DOE’s State Energy Program, states have proposed plans to prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase use of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The funds go toward a wide variety of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, including state programs offering grants, loans, energy audits, education, and training. The programs will support energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy installations at schools, colleges, universities, state-owned buildings, homes, small businesses, commercial buildings, farms, hospitals, health care facilities, and even industrial facilities. The funds will also support renewable energy resource assessments, alternative fuels programs, and efforts to develop building energy codes. The 18 states include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
Specific efforts supported by the funding include California’s Green Jobs Training Program, which will receive $15 million in funds from the California Energy Commission, combined with $20 million in Recovery Act funds. Idaho will create new zoning regulations to encourage development of more renewable energy facilities. Minnesota’s State Energy Information Center will organize Clean Energy Resource Teams comprised of local organizations and citizens to perform outreach and communications about the state’s programs. Missouri will support energy efficiency improvements for the state’s most energy-intensive industries. West Virginia will launch a Green Collar Jobs Training program to provide training for jobs in energy efficiency. And Utah will collect more accurate data about potential clean energy resources in the state that can then be used to identify potential Renewable Energy Zones. Utah will also offer free insulation upgrades for low-income housing and provide rebates to builders of high-performance buildings.
The funds are part of the Obama Administration’s national strategy to support job growth while making a historic down payment on clean energy. The Recovery Act appropriated $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program, giving priority to achieving national goals of energy independence while helping to stimulate local economies. For the 14 states, the new funds represent 40% of the State Energy Program funds available to them under the Recovery Act, following an initial 10% that were awarded to support planning activities. The second half of the funds will be released when the states meet the reporting, oversight, and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act. See the DOE press releases for California, Missouri, New Hampshire, and North Carolina; Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, and West Virginia; and the other 10 states.
DOE Delivers $304 Million in Recovery Act Funds for Weatherization
DOE delivered over $304 million in funds from the ARRA to Georgia, Illinois, and New York last week, allowing those states to expand their weatherization assistance programs. The programs improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income families, helping residents cut energy costs. This round of disbursements will help these states achieve their goal of weatherizing over 85,000 homes, creating green jobs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. States may spend up to 20% of the funds to hire and train workers. DOE delivered nearly $50 million to Georgia, more than $97 million to Illinois, and nearly $158 million to New York.
The funds represent 40% of the total weatherization funds available to those states under the Recovery Act and follow the award of 10% of the funds in March to supporting planning and preparation. The states join the District of Columbia and 18 other states in receiving half the allocations available to them under the Recovery Act. Details on the weatherization goals set by Georgia, Illinois, and New York can be found in the DOE press release and DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program.
DOE Offers $32 Million to Upgrade Existing Hydropower Facilities
DOE issued a solicitation on Tuesday that offers up to $32 million in Recovery Act funding to modernize the existing hydropower infrastructure in the U.S. The funds support the deployment of new turbines and control technologies that will increase power production while improving environmental performance, such as reducing fish mortality or increasing the dissolved oxygen content of water. Grants will be competitively awarded to non-federal hydropower projects that can be developed without significant modifications to dams and with a minimum of regulatory delays.
The funding will be divided between large and small hydropower facilities, with up to $25 million going to large facilities and up to $7 million going to small facilities. The projects are expected to begin in fiscal year 2010, which starts in October 2009. Letters of intent to apply for the funds are due July 22, and completed applications are due August 20. See the DOE press release and view the full Funding Opportunity Announcement by searching public opportunities on FedConnect reference # DE-FOA-0000120.
Interior Department Expedites Solar Energy Development in the West
The U.S. Interior Department launched several initiatives to speed development of solar energy on western lands. 24 tracts of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be evaluated for their environmental and resource suitability for large-scale solar production. DOE will help evaluate these "Solar Energy Study Areas," which are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, encompassing about 670,000 acres. The goal is to provide large-scale planning and zoning for solar projects, allowing a more efficient process for permitting and siting responsible solar development. The selected areas will be available for ventures producing 10 MW or more of electricity, and could have fast track permit applications.
To select the study areas, the Interior Department chose lands with excellent solar resources, suitable slope, proximity to roads and transmission lines or designated corridors, and containing at least 2,000 acres of BLM-administered public lands. The agency excluded sensitive lands, wilderness, and other high-value lands, as well as lands with conflicting uses.
The study areas will be evaluated by including them in the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), an ongoing federally-funded environmental evaluation of potential solar development on public lands in six Western States. The expansion of the Solar PEIS will be supported with Recovery Act funds. While study areas are being evaluated, BLM will temporarily close them to new mining claims and other actions initiated by third parties under public land laws. The evaluation should be completed in late 2010 and will be open to public comment. See the maps of the study areas on the BLM Web site.
The Interior Department is also coordinating with states to expedite permitting for a number of solar power projects nearing approval. The BLM will begin site-specific environmental reviews for two major projects in Nevada that would have a combined capacity of over 400 MW. To help speed the processing of an increasing number of applications, a new Interior Department renewable energy coordination office has opened in Nevada, the first of four in the West. The BLM currently has about 470 renewable energy project applications, including 158 active solar applications for up to 97,000 megawatts of new solar power capacity on 1.8 million acres. See the Interior Department press release.
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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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