Energy-Related CO2 Emissions Projected to Drop 5% in 2009
U.S. CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels are projected to drop 5% in 2009, according to DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The EIA’s "Short-Term Energy Outlook," released yesterday, projects annual energy-related CO2 emissions the first time. Economic downturns are generally bad news, but they’re great for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, because businesses and industries use less energy, and people generally drive less.
In 2008, US energy-related CO2 emissions dropped 3.2% – the trend is expected to deepen this year. Energy-related CO2 emissions are the dominant greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted in the US, so overall GHG emissions generally follow the same trend.
Breaking it down by fossil fuel, the EIA expects CO2 emissions from petroleum to decline 4% in 2009, primarily due to lower consumption of jet fuel and fuel oil, with motor fuel consumption holding steady. Emissions from burning natural gas should drop 2.3% because of lower electricity production, while emissions from burning coal should drop 7.9% because of declining industrial use and electric utilities switching to other fuels.
Looking ahead to 2010, the EIA sees a 0.7% increase in energy-related CO2 emissions as the economy improves. Increased coal and natural gas consumption will push coal emissions up by 1.1% and natural gas emissions up by 0.5%. And even though transportation fuel consumption is expected to increase by 1.5% in 2010, the growth in biofuels is expected to hold the growth in CO2 emissions to only 0.6%. See the EIA’s "Short-Term Energy Outlook."
President Obama Approves $2 Billion Extension for "Cash for Clunkers"
President Obama signed a bill last week that directs another $2 billion to the "Cash for Clunkers" program, officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). Originally funded at $1 billion, dealers began providing rebates starting July 1. The program proved popular, raising concerns that the rebates would need to be halted in early August.
To keep the program going, Congress hurried to pass H.R. 3435, which draws $2 billion from the DOE Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program, under the assumption that DOE will not spend all the money allocated to that program by the end of the year. The funds are available to the CARS program through September 30, 2010. See the White House announcement of the signing and the full text of the bill on the Library of Congress’ Thomas website.
Although critics of the program thought the fuel economy requirements were too weak, July results indicate that people are voluntarily purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles than required by the program. As noted by President Obama, "the initial transactions are generating a more than 50% increase in fuel economy; they are generating $700 to $1,000 in annual savings for consumers in reduced gas costs alone; and they are getting the oldest, dirtiest, and most air-polluting trucks and SUVs off the road for good."
Those results also drew support for the added funds from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), which noted that vehicles purchased under the program are averaging close to 10 miles per gallon better than the vehicles they are replacing. See the President’s statement and the ACEEE press release on the funding extension.
The program also had a noticeable impact on vehicle sales in July; the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of car and light truck sales for July reached 11.24 million vehicles. The SAAR adjusts the monthly sales data to account for seasonal lulls and surges in sales, and extends it for the full year. The SAAR for U.S. car and light truck sales fell from 12.57 million in September 2008 to 10.82 million the following month and remained below 10 million for the first six months of this year, before reviving in July.
Sales are still down from July 2008, although Ford Motor Company saw a 10.3% year-to-year increase in car sales, which it credited to the rebate program. Honda and GM also saw increased sales of their fuel-efficient vehicles, and Volkswagen saw increased sales of its clean diesel vehicles.
The CARS program did have one minor glitch, however: the US EPA sharpened its pencils and posted more precise fuel economy data for older cars on fueleconomy.gov on July 24, causing 78 cars to become ineligible while adding 86 previously unqualified cars to the list. To be fair to people who acted on the earlier information, those that traded in the now-ineligible vehicles on or before July 24 will still earn the rebate. See the SAAR and vehicle sales data on the Motor Intelligence Web site; the press releases from Ford, GM, Honda, and Volkswagen; and the notes on the CARS site about the fuel economy adjustments and how they affect early rebates (PDF 100 KB).
DOE Awards $2.4 Billion for U.S. Batteries & Electric Vehicles
In the largest single investment ever in advanced battery technology, President Obama announced last week that 48 new projects will receive $2.4 billion under the Recovery Act.
The projects, selected by DOE through a competitive process, are designed to accelerate U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components, as well as deployment of electric drive vehicles.
The awards cover: $1.5 billion to U.S.-based manufacturers to produce batteries and components and to expand battery recycling capacity; $500 million to U.S.-based manufacturers to produce electric drive vehicle components, including electric motors, power electronics, and other drive train components; and $400 million to purchase thousands of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and all-electric vehicles (EVs) for test demonstrations. The winners must match the federal investment. See the White House press release.
The largest award goes to Johnson Controls, Inc., which will receive $229 million for battery production in Holland, Michigan, and to produce battery components in Oregon by its partner, Entek. Johnson Controls is currently teamed with Saft to produce lithium-ion batteries in France for Mercedes and BMW hybrids, and it plans to produce lithium-ion batteries at its Michigan facility for use in Ford’s PHEV and in a commercial vehicle to be produced by Azure Dynamics. Saft America, Inc. will also receive $95.5 million to produce lithium-ion battery packs in Florida, but those battery packs will be slated for industrial and agricultural vehicles and defense applications.
And Compact Power, Inc., a subsidiary of LG Chem, will receive $151.4 million to manufacture lithium-ion polymer battery cells for the Chevy Volt, an extended-range EV from GM. Other major awardees include A123 Systems, Inc., receiving $249 million; Dow Kokam, $162 million; EnerDel, Inc., $118 million; Exide Technologies with Axion Power International, $34 million; and East Penn Manufacturing Company, $32 million. See the Johnson Controls press release.
The major automakers also received large awards. GM will receive $105.9 million to build a facility in Michigan for the high-volume assembly of battery packs for the Chevy Volt; $105 million to build facilities in Maryland and Michigan that will manufacture GM’s electric drive system; and $30.5 million to test hundreds of Chevy Volts, as well as a variety of PHEVs.
Ford Motor Company will receive $62.7 million to produce an electric drive transaxle with integrated power electronics at an existing transmission plant in Michigan, plus another $30 million to deploy 130 Ford Escape PHEVs and 20 Ford E450 Van PHEVs and to work with 15 electric utilities to accelerate the commercialization of PHEVs and EVs.
And Chrysler LLC will receive $70 million to manufacture 220 PHEV pickups and minivans in Michigan and to deploy them in 11 fleets. In addition, the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation and its partner Nissan will demonstrate up to 5,000 Nissan EVs, using $99.8 million in federal funds, while deploying up to 12,750 electric chargers in 11 cities in Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. Nissan recently unveiled the Leaf, an EV with a range of more than 100 miles, which is slated to go on sale in the United States in late 2010. See the Nissan press release and Web site.
Truck makers will also garner federal funds, as Navistar, Inc. will receive $39.2 million to develop and deploy 400 EV delivery trucks with a 100-mile range, and Smith Electric Vehicles will receive $10 million to develop and deploy 100 EV light- and medium-duty trucks and vans. Smith delivered its first electric trucks to six companies in late July. The Smith Newton has a top speed of 50 miles per hour, a range in excess of 100 miles, and can carry payloads weighing up to 16,280 pounds.
A number of major companies also earned awards to manufacture electric drive components, including Delphi Automotive Systems, receiving $89.3 million; Allison Transmission, Inc., $62.8 million; Remi, Inc., $60.2 million; UQM Technologies, Inc., $45.1 million; and Magna E-Car Systems of America, Inc., $40 million. An additional $214 million will support 10 suppliers of chemicals and components for lithium-ion batteries, while $21 million will go to EnerG2, Inc., an Oregon-based producer of supercapacitors, a type of electrical storage device that can be charged very rapidly.
Looking to the future, another $9.5 million will go to TOXCO Incorporated for a facility to recycle lithium-ion batteries. Finally, $39.1 million will go to 10 colleges and universities to support educational and training programs relating to advanced electric drive vehicles. See the full list (PDF 34 KB) and a map (PDF 369 KB) of award winners.
DOE Awards $377 Million to 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers
DOE delivered $377 million last week to 46 new Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs). The centers are located at universities, national labs, nonprofit organizations, and private firms across the nation, and DOE plans to provide funding for each of them for the next five years. Of the total awarded, $277 million comes from the ARRA, providing up-front funding to 16 of the EFRCs for the full five years. The remaining $100 million comes from DOE annual appropriations and provides the first-year funding for the other 36 EFRCs.
EFRC researchers will take advantage of new capabilities in nanotechnology, high-intensity light sources, neutron scattering sources, supercomputing, and other advanced instrumentation, much of it developed with DOE Office of Science support over the past decade. Their goal is to lay the scientific groundwork for fundamental advances in solar energy, biofuels, transportation, energy efficiency, electricity storage and transmission, and other energy technologies. The 46 EFRCs were selected in a rigorous merit review process by outside scientific experts. In total, the EFRC initiative represents a planned DOE commitment of $777 million over five years.
Of the 16 EFRCs funded for the full five years, 15 relate directly to energy efficiency or renewable energy, and the majority of those relate directly to solar energy. One EFRC will try to mimic photosynthesis to produce hydrogen or other fuels from sunlight, while others will try to enhance the conversion of solar energy to electricity or other fuels using hybrid inorganic-organic materials; nanometer-sized thin films; novel, self-assembled polymer materials; new classes of materials under conditions far from equilibrium; nanostructures built from synthetic molecular catalysts and light absorbers; and other unique materials.
Some of these efforts may also yield breakthroughs in solid-state lighting, converting heat into electricity, and storing electricity and hydrogen. Three of the EFRCs will also tackle the conversion of biomass into chemicals and fuels by studying the physical structure of polymers in plant cells walls, examining the interactions between catalysts and plant cell walls, and employing novel catalysts. In addition, one EFRC will study reactions at the electrodes of fuel cells, batteries, and solar cells. See the DOE press release and the full list of EFRCs (PDF 38 KB).
Northwestern Transmission Line to Carry 575 MW of Wind Power
DOE announced on Monday that construction is underway for the McNary-John Day transmission project in Oregon and Washington, funded by $343 million from the ARRA. The project, part of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) transmission system, is expected to deliver more than 575 megawatts (MW) of wind-generated power across the West by early 2012.
The 79-mile McNary-John Day line will run from the McNary Substation in Oregon, across the Columbia River into Washington, and back into Oregon, where it will end at the John Day Substation. It is one of four proposed transmission lines that together would add 225 miles of high-voltage power transmission to the Pacific Northwest, delivering about 2,800 MW of renewable energy to the region. See the DOE press release and the BPA fact sheet on the proposed projects (PDF 109 KB).
The Pacific Northwest expansion is part of a nationwide push for grid upgrades. Among the other transmission projects being considered for development is the "Green Power Express," announced earlier this year by ITC Holdings Corp., and which is designed as a network of transmission lines that would carry up to 12,000 MW of wind power from the Upper Great Plains to the Midwestern cities.
Plans envision some 3,000 miles of 765-kilovolt transmission lines at a cost of $10-12 billion, with a target date of 2020 for the power to flow. In April, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a number of investment rate incentives that will help the project go forward. See ITC’s Green Power Express Web site and the FERC press release.
Also in the works are two Kansas and Oklahoma projects, Tallgrass and Prairie Wind, that would string a combined 400 miles of 765-kilovolt transmission lines across the two states by 2013, pending permitting and cost allocation approvals. Work on Tallgrass is scheduled to begin this year.
And Great Basin Transmission, LLC is developing the Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP), a 500-kilovolt transmission line stretching 500 miles between Idaho and southern Nevada. The SWIP is moving ahead, and backers say the southern portion of the line could be in service as early as 2010, with the northern stretch completed a year later. A complimentary project, the Overland Intertie, is a 560-mile transmission link planned to run between southern Idaho and eastern Wyoming. The Overland Intertie, being developed by a Great Basin affiliate, would connect to SWIP.
Agriculture Department Proposes Consumer Label for Biobased Products
More than 15,000 bio-based consumer products now available, ranging from glycerin hand soap to home furnishings such as jute rugs, could soon appear on store shelves with special "BioPreferred" labels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently proposed the voluntary labeling program that would apply to qualifying non-food goods made wholly or significantly of biological ingredients such as renewable plant, animal, marine, or forestry materials. This new designation won’t include biofuels, however. The BioPreferred program encourages interested parties to submit comments on the proposed rule by September 29. See the USDA press release, and for a complete list of qualifying products, peruse the catalog on the USDA’s BioPreferred Web site.
The USDA also aims to increase the biological ingredients that go into making biofuel. The agency offered $20 million in financial incentives last month to help bio-refineries heat or power their facilities with biomass rather than fossil fuels. Such a switch could lower the greenhouse gas impacts of producing the biofuels. Applications for the incentives are due by November 1 – they are part of the 2008 Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill also established the Rural Energy for America Program, which helps farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements. On Monday, the USDA announced its selection of 365 recipients of more than $15 million in loans and grants under the new program. See the USDA press releases on the biorefinery funds and the loans and grants, as well as the Notice of Funding Availability for the biorefinery incentives (PDF 77 KB).
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EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
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