400 MW Ivanpah Solar Project Draft Released
The U.S. Department of the Interior and the California Energy Commission (CEC) completed a joint draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System Project. The project, to be located on 4,000 acres of federal land in Southern California’s Ivanpah Valley, will draw on solar tower technology to generate 400 MW of electricity.
Proposed by BrightSource Energy Inc., the Ivanpah project will be built in three phases, two 100 MW plants followed by a 200 MW plant. According to the CEC Web page for the project, each 100 MW plant will use three towers to deliver steam to a central plant, which will also have its own power tower. The 200 MW plant will have four power towers around a central plant.
The project would be located on land managed by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and will provide power to the PG&E and Southern California Edison. A BLM notice that the draft EIS is ready for public review was published in the Federal Register on November 10. The draft EIS also includes a Final Staff Assessment by the CEC, which will lead to an evidentiary hearing by the CEC in mid-December. See the CEC press release, the BrightSource Energy Web site, the BLM’s Federal Register notice, and the full FSA and draft EIS.
The Interior Department also announced that five other renewable energy projects in California are on a fast-track review schedule and are poised to begin environmental review. Four of these are solar projects and one is a wind farm, and all are located on BLM lands.
The Daggett Ridge Wind Farm, near Barstow, is an 82.5 MW project proposed by AES. The four solar projects all employ solar troughs: a 250 MW Genesis Solar Energy Project and three proposals from Solar Millenium LLC: the 484 MW Palen Solar Power Project, the 968 MW Blythe Solar Power Project, and the 250 MW Ridgecrest Solar Power Project.
The first three projects are located in the Sonoran Desert near Blythe, about 200 miles east of Los Angeles, while the Ridgecrest project is located about 120 miles north of Los Angeles. The projects are on a fast track because they are advanced enough in the permitting process that they could potentially be cleared for approval by December 2010, thus making them eligible for economic stimulus funding. See the Interior Department press release.
Report Charts Path for U.S. Offshore Wind Power Development
A new report calls for coordinated activities among government agencies, universities, and businesses to develop offshore wind power in the US. The U.S. Offshore Wind Collaborative (USOWC) released "U.S. Offshore Wind Energy: A Path Forward" in late October as a call to action.
Citing a DOE finding that the US possesses the potential for 900,000 MW of electricity from offshore wind resources, the report lays out specific areas needed to make it a reality. Among the recommendations: better collaboration among government entities, universities, businesses, and stakeholders in wind development; creation of a Web-based information clearinghouse; convening meetings among states with common interests in offshore wind, as well as between the US and European counterparts; and providing leadership to build public trust and investor confidence in offshore wind potential. The report and OSOWC Web site also provide an overview of offshore wind power activities throughout the US. See the USOWC Web site and report (PDF 619 KB).
Current efforts to develop offshore wind power in the US include the 468 MW Cape Wind project, proposed for Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, about 4.7 miles off the shore of Cape Cod. While that project awaits a federal permit, others are being considered off the East Coast. In Delaware, Bluewater Wind signed an agreement to deliver 200 MW of offshore wind power to Delmarva Power, starting around 2012. In Maryland, the Maryland Energy Administration began an initiative to explore development of its offshore wind resources. And in North Carolina, the Duke Energy Corp. and the University of North Carolina/ Chapel Hill, recently announced plans to build three demonstration turbines in eastern Pamlico Sound, 7-10 miles from the Outer Banks. See the Cape Wind Web site; the Delmarva Power press release and the Bluewater Wind Web site; the MEA press release (PDF 69 KB); and the Duke Energy press release.
Efforts are also underway to develop offshore wind in the Great Lakes. Last year, the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University issued an offshore wind report, finding the potential for nearly 322 GW of power production off the state’s coast. This September, the Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council delivered a report to Governor Jennifer Granholm highlighting 587 square miles of state-owned Great Lakes bottomlands considered "most favorable" for wind development, and highlighting legislative and rule changes needed to encourage the development.
Meanwhile, the Ohio-based Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force issued a feasibility study for an offshore wind facility in Lake Erie, near Cleveland. The report found that a pilot project of up to 20 MW, located 3-5 miles from shore, would be feasible at a cost of $92 million. Case Western Reserve University helped fund the report. See the LPI press release and report (PDF 1.3 MB); the GLWC Web site and report (PDF 1.9 MB); and the CWRU press release and the full report (PDF 14.2 MB).
Japan’s Tokai University Solar Car Wins the Global Green Challenge
The "Tokai Challenger" solar car from Japan’s Tokai University won the 3,000 kilometer Global Green Challenge race down the center of Australia on October 28. The solar car maintained an average speed of 100 kilometers per hour, or about 62 mph, besting the winner of the previous four races, the Dutch Nuon Solar Team.
The event is an expansion of the World Solar Challenge, a solar vehicle race from Darwin to Adelaide that’s held every two years. As the Global Green Challenge, the race now also showcases hybrid, electric, and other alternative energy vehicles. This year’s competition ran from October 25-29.
The winning entry was equipped with Sharp multijunction solar cells developed for satellites. According to the manufacturer, the car’s solar cells have a combined output of 1.8 kW and a solar conversion efficiency of 30%. The University of Michigan’s Infinium car, which finished third, was given the Technical Innovation Award. Among Infinium’s technical innovations is a lithium-ion battery pack developed by A123 Systems. Meanwhile, non-solar cars competed in the "Eco Challenge" to demonstrate the levels of efficiency they could achieve on a closed highway. Among the notable achievements: an all-electric Tesla Roadster set a record distance of 313 miles on a single charge. See the Global Green Challenge Web site and press releases, the University of Michigan Solar Car Web site, and the press releases from Sharp and Tesla Motors.
ACEEE: California Leads the Country in Energy Efficiency Policies
California topped the 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, recently released by American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The third annual edition of the report ranks states in six energy efficiency categories: utility-sector and public benefits programs and policies; transportation polices; building energy codes; combined heat and power; state government initiatives; and appliance efficiency standards.
In the new scorecard, Massachusetts and Connecticut land in second and third place, respectively, while Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming are at the bottom of the list.
The report lauds Colorado, Delaware, Maine, South Dakota, and Tennessee for greatly improving their ranking in 2009. According to ACEEE, a variety of efforts boosted their rankings, including adoption of new building energy codes and setting new energy savings targets. For instance, Maine moved up 9 spots to number 10 through the increased efforts of Efficiency Maine (the agency that delivers the state’s energy efficiency programs), the adoption of building energy codes and land-use planning management. The report also notes a growing trend toward Energy Efficiency Resource Standards, which set binding energy savings goals for utilities. In late 2008 and the first half of 2009, Delaware, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania passed laws establishing efficiency targets. See the ACEEE press release and the 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.
DOE Awards $30.6M for Fish-Friendly Hydropower Upgrades
On November 4, DOE announced its selection of seven hydropower upgrade projects to receive up to $30.6 million in ARRA funds. The selections will deploy innovative technologies such as high-efficiency, fish-friendly turbines; improved water intakes; and advanced control systems to increase power generation and improve environmental stewardship. The projects will increase generation by an estimated 187,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) per year-enough to meet the annual electric usage of 12,000 average U.S. homes-at an estimated incremental cost of less than 4 cents per kWh.
DOE sought cost-shared projects that upgrade existing hydropower facilities without requiring significant modifications to dams, allowing for projects to be developed quickly to create jobs and stimulate local economies. Of the seven projects, three will add a total of 28.6 MW of new generating capacity: Alcoa, Inc. will upgrade four turbines, generators, and transformers at its Robbinsville, North Carolina facility, adding 22 MW of capacity and increasing generation 23%; the City of Tacoma, Washington will add two turbines to an existing hydropower facility in Potlatch, adding 3.6 MW of capacity and increasing power production 14%; the Incorporated County of Los Alamos, New Mexico will add a low-flow turbine to its hydropower plant in Abiquiu, adding 3 MW of capacity and boosting generation 22%.
Three other projects will allow increased power production by producing power more efficiently from a wider range of flow rates. Alabama Power Company will upgrade four units at three hydropower plants on the Coosa River, increasing generation 7.3%; the City of Boulder, Colorado will replace two turbines with a more efficient unit at its Boulder Canyon facility, boosting generation 30%; and Energy Northwest will design, manufacture, and install a new turbine at its Packwood, Washington facility increasing power production 6%.
Some of the projects will also yield environmental benefits by removing lead components, asbestos insulation, and water-cooled transformers, which can leak oil. A noteworthy environmental benefit at the City of Tacoma project is the addition of an upstream fish collection pool, enabling the reintroduction of native fish above the dam for the first time since the 1920s. See the DOE press release and the press release from Tacoma Power.
EIA: Oil & Fuel Prices on Their Way Up as Economy Recovers
Current optimism for a continued economic turnaround is driving oil prices higher despite high inventories, according to DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA’s monthly "Short-Term Energy Outlook" forecasts the average price of oil for the winter heating season as $77 per barrel, up from $70 forecast last month. Assuming continued recovery in the U.S. and world, EIA expects oil to reach a monthly average of $81 per barrel by December 2010. If the recovery stalls, oil prices will likely weaken. Sustained growth in China and other Asian countries is already beginning to cause a rebound in world oil consumption.
In general, gasoline and diesel fuel prices follow oil prices. EIA expects regular grade gasoline to average $2.66 per gallon in the fourth quarter of 2009, up from $2.55 per gallon in September and October. Gasoline is expected to average $2.81 per gallon in 2010. Meanwhile, diesel fuel averaged $2.63 per gallon in August and September and is expected to escalate in price, averaging $2.79 per gallon during the fourth quarter of 2009 and rising to $2.94 per gallon for 2010. See the EIA’s "Short-Term Energy Outlook."
++++
EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Loading...