Obama Proposes Home Energy Retrofit Program for Job Creation
President Obama proposed a new rebate program on Tuesday to reward homeowners for making their homes more energy efficient, while also proposing additional federal investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
As part of a speech about jobs and the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., he noted that home energy retrofits create jobs, save money for families, and reduce the pollution. He also called for aid to small businesses and new investments in infrastructure. Most of the president’s proposals require congressional approval.
Obama’s job plan calls for an expansion of select ARRA initiatives that promote energy efficiency and clean energy jobs. He noted that a third of the Recovery Act is intended for investments "to put Americans to work doing the work that America needs done," such as doubling U.S. capacity for producing power from renewable energy. But most of those initiatives are oversubscribed, causing many strong ideas to go unfunded.
With that in mind, the Obama Administration is supporting the expansion of programs for which additional federal dollars will leverage private investment and create jobs quickly, such as investments in industrial energy efficiency, as well as new or extended tax incentives for investing in U.S. manufacturing facilities for renewable energy technologies. See the White House press release and a transcript of the president’s remarks.
DOE & USDA Award $564M to Biorefinery Projects
On December 4, DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the award of $564 million in ARRA funds to 19 integrated biorefinery projects. Located in 15 states, the projects will validate biorefining technologies and help lay the foundation for full commercial-scale development of a US biomass industry.
The selected projects will produce advanced biofuels, bioproducts, and power from biomass feedstocks at the pilot, demonstration, and commercial scale. Collectively, these projects will be matched with more than $700 million in private and non-federal cost-share funds, for total project investments of nearly $1.3 billion.
These efforts are designed to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur creation of a domestic biomass industry, and provide new jobs in many rural areas of the country. They will also help close the gap between current biofuels production from a small number of advanced biorefineries and aggressive goals for cellulosic and advanced biofuels included in the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.
Of the new funding, up to $483 million will go to 14 pilot-scale and 4 demonstration-scale biorefinery projects, which will produce biofuels and bioproducts from such sources as algae, poultry fat, plant oils, switchgrass, sweet sorghum, agricultural and forest residues, and various sources of wood (including hybrid poplar trees and wood waste). The projects will produce ethanol and biobased versions of diesel fuel, gasoline, and jet fuel. Several projects will produce high-value biobased chemicals, including potassium acetate, ethyl acrylate, and succinnic acid. One demonstration-scale project will also produce 2 megawatts of power.
The funds include a DOE grant of up to $50 million and a USDA loan guarantee of $54.5 million for Sapphire Energy’s planned facility in Columbus, New Mexico. Sapphire plans to convert algae into "Green Crude," a drop-in replacement for crude oil that can be refined into a variety of fuels at a traditional oil refinery. See the Sapphire Energy press release.
The remaining $81 million will help accelerate the construction of a facility in rural Fulton, Mississippi, that had previously received DOE funding. The project from BlueFire Ethanol, Inc. will have the capacity to generate 19 million gallons of ethanol per year from woody biomass, mill residue, and municipal solid waste. BlueFire announced in October that it decided to locate in Mississippi after it faced licensing difficulties and a challenging business climate in California. The Mississippi site will draw on forest residues and wood wastes available in the region. See the DOE press release, the BlueFire Ethanol press release, and the complete list of selected projects (PDF 100KB).
DOE Launches Save Energy Now LEADER Program
DOE has joined forces with 32 industrial companies to launch the Save Energy Now LEADER Program, which will provide technical assistance and resources to companies that pledge significant improvements in industrial energy efficiency.
The 32 charter member companies, from a broad spectrum of the U.S. industrial sector, signed a voluntary pledge on December 2 to reduce their industrial energy intensity by 25% over the next decade. The industrial sector consumes nearly 30% of the energy used nationwide and produces 27% of the country’s carbon emissions.
The charter member companies agreed to establish energy use and energy intensity baselines and develop an energy management plan over the next 12 months. As indicated by the special "LEADER" designation, these companies are more than just first actors on the path to greater energy efficiency; they serve as role models in the industrial sector.
In return, they receive access to select DOE resources, as well as national recognition for their energy management achievements. The companies signing the pledge include such industry heavyweights as 3M, AT&T, Bridgestone, Dow Chemical Company, Honeywell, Intel, Mohawk Industries, and Sherwin-Williams. For a complete list, see the DOE press release.
The LEADER program is a new component of the successful Save Energy Now initiative, through which companies partner with DOE to conduct energy audits and assessments that identify opportunities for energy and cost savings in operations. Participating businesses also have access to tools and training they need to implement those recommendations.
Since 2006, more than 2,000 plants received energy assessments through Save Energy Now, identifying opportunities for $1.3 billion in cost savings, 119 trillion Btu of natural gas savings, and carbon dioxide reductions totaling 11.2 million metric tons. See the Save Energy Now Web site.
ARPA-E Offers $100M for Biofuel and Battery Research Projects
DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is offering a second round of grants for innovative energy research projects. The grants will draw upon $100 million in ARRA funds and are designed to accelerate innovation in green technology, increase U.S. competitiveness, and create jobs.
This funding round is focused specifically on new approaches for biofuels, electric vehicle batteries, and carbon capture technologies. Applicants need to submit a concept paper by January 15, 2010. The deadline for full applications has not been determined yet.
For biofuels, ARPA-E is seeking new ways to make liquid transportation fuels from carbon dioxide, without using petroleum or biomass. The intent is to use microorganisms to harness the chemical or electrical energy needed to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuels. The objective is to develop an entirely new paradigm to produce liquid fuels that could overcome the challenges associated with current technologies, including dependence on biomass supplies or waste streams.
While there are also approaches to produce liquid transportation fuels from sunlight and carbon dioxide using photosynthesis, these approaches suffer from low efficiencies. ARPA-E requests innovative proposals that can overcome these challenges through the use of metabolic engineering and synthetic biological approaches for efficient conversion of carbon dioxide to liquid transportation fuels. Such approaches could be 10 times more efficient than current techniques that rely on photosynthetic biomass.
ARPA-E is also looking to develop a new generation of low-cost batteries with ultra-high energy densities for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs). ARPA-E’s objective is to fund high-risk, high-reward research efforts that will promote leadership in the emerging EV battery market.
If successful, new battery technologies developed under this program will give electrified light-duty vehicles the range, performance, lifetime, and cost required to shift transportation energy from oil to a domestically powered U.S. electric grid. See the DOE press release, DOE’s ARPA-E Web site, and the ARPA-E Web site for Funding Opportunity Announcements.
DOE also announced the creation of the ARPA-E Fellows Program, which will consist of scientists and researchers who will actively help create the strategic direction and vision of ARPA-E. Fellows, selected for no more than two year terms, will support ARPA-E’s program directors in program creation, while also undertaking independent explorations of promising future research areas for the agency. They will also engage with world-class researchers and innovators to develop theses for high-impact ARPA-E research program areas, prepare energy technology and economic analyses, and make recommendations to DOE senior management. See the DOE press release.
Commerce Department to Speed Review of Green Technology Patents
The U.S. Commerce Department announced that its U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will pilot a year-long program to accelerate examination of certain "green" technology patent applications by as much as one year.
The initiative is designed to speed development and deployment of green technology, create green jobs, and promote U.S. competitiveness. In particular, the program focuses on patents for renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, plus other environmental technologies. The program rules spell out 29 categories of renewable energy technologies and 23 categories of energy efficiency technologies that are eligible. Pending patent applications in these technologies will be eligible for special status and given expedited review. Earlier patenting of these technologies enables inventors to secure funding, create businesses, and bring vital green technologies into use much sooner.
Patent applications are normally taken up for examination in the order that they are filed. It typically takes the USPTO two and a half years to start taking action on a patent application, and it takes another 10 months to reach a final decision on the patent. Under the pilot program, the office will examine patent applications on an accelerated basis for the first 3,000 applications related to green technologies for which a petition is filed. Petitions are currently being accepted, and the program will accept petitions through December 8, 2010. If the trial is successful, the USPTO will consider ways to expand the initiative. See the Commerce Department press release; the USPTO Web site; the full details on the pilot program as published in the Federal Register (PDF 452 KB); and the petition form for the pilot program (PDF 158 KB).
DOE to Prohibit Energy Star Labels on Certain LG Refrigerators
DOE announced that certain LG French-door refrigerator-freezers are banned from using the Energy Star label, effective January 2, 2010. DOE’s announcement is part of a broader effort at the agency to expand enforcement efforts for Energy Star and appliance standards programs.
DOE is proceeding with this action after multiple independent labs confirmed that when certain LG French-door refrigerator-freezers are tested, they do not qualify for Energy Star. In November 2008, DOE and LG entered into an agreement that was intended to let LG transition away from test procedures that significantly underestimated the amount of energy that certain LG French-door refrigerator-freezers would consume during normal use. Because recent testing confirms that problems persist, DOE exercised its right to give notice and terminate the agreement. As a result of DOE’s actions, LG has now sued the department in federal court. The DOE says it will defend its actions in federal court. See the DOE press release and the Energy Star Web site.
EIA: U.S. GHG Decreased 2.2% in 2008
Total U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) dropped to the equivalent of 7,053 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2008, a 2.2% decrease, according to a report from DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The drop was largely due to a 2.9% decrease in energy-related CO2 emissions, which EIA attributes to record-high oil prices for much of the year, followed by a decline in economic activity. That decline is expected to continue this year, as the EIA’s "Short Term Energy Outlook," released on December 8, projects a 6.1% decrease in energy-related CO2 emissions.
A healthier economy so far results emission increases – EIA projects a 1.5% increase in energy-related CO2 in 2010. Since 1990, U.S. emissions have grown at an average annual rate of 0.7%. See the EIA press release, the greenhouse gas report, and the "Short-Term Energy Outlook."
The U.S. EPA officially declared that GHG threaten the public health and welfare of US residents, which means they fit within the Clean Air Act’s definition of air pollutants and are subject to regulation. This "endangerment finding" covers six key greenhouse gases: CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
The finding itself doesn’t impose emissions requirements, but it allows the EPA to finalize its proposed GHG standards for light-duty vehicles. Although it opens the six greenhouse gases to regulation under the Clean Air Act, the Obama Administration prefers a legislative solution to the problem of climate change. See the EPA press release and the endangerment finding.
++++
EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Loading...