DOE Provides $37.5M for U.S.-Chinese Clean Energy Research
DOE announced on March 29 the availability of $37.5 million in U.S. funding over the next five years to support the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC).
Grantees will need to match the funding, generating a total of $75 million to support research on advanced technologies for building energy efficiency, clean vehicles, and carbon capture and storage. China will contribute an additional $75 million to CERC, which will be a virtual research center, located in existing facilities in both the US and China. The program unites teams of scientists and engineers from both countries.
President Obama and President Hu Jintao formally announced the establishment of the CERC during their meeting in Beijing last November. Because the US and China are the world’s top energy consumers, producers, and greenhouse gas emitters, they have share a strong interest in advancing key technologies.
DOE will provide one award for each of CERC’s three initial work areas: building efficiency, clean vehicles, and carbon capture and storage for coal. Universities, national labs, private companies, and other relevant entities are eligible to apply through the Grants.gov Web site by May 14. DOE expects to select awardees this summer. See the DOE press release, the Grants.gov entry, and the full Funding Opportunity Announcement.
Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle to Sell for Under $33,000
On March 30, Nissan announced its new electric vehicle (EV), the Leaf, will have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $32,780 for the standard model.
The vehicle, designed to travel 100 miles on an average battery charge, will be available in some markets this December, with nationwide sales beginning in 2011. Nissan will accept online reservations for the Leaf on April 20 for a fully refundable fee of $99. The vehicle will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, as well as state tax rebates.
Nissan will offer to install personal charging docks that operate on a 220-volt supply. The company said the average cost of the docks would be $2,200, but they too would be eligible for rebates. Using current national electricity averages, Nissan estimates the Leaf will cost less than $3 to recharge. It will also be available for leasing, with monthly payments starting at $349.
In January, DOE closed a $1.4 billion loan to Nissan to retool and expand its factory in Smyrna, Tennessee, for the production of the Leaf and the battery packs used in the vehicle, with the goal of eventually producing 150,000 vehicles per year. See the Nissan press release, the Leaf Web site, and the DOE press release on the loan.
The Nissan Leaf also will be the sole vehicle participating in The EV Project, under which the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) will provide free home charging stations and installations for up to 4,700 Nissan Leaf owners in 10 cities in five states: Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona; San Diego, California; the Oregon cities of Corvallis, Eugene, and Portland; the Tennessee cities of Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga; and Seattle, Washington. The EV Project will also deploy a 6,510 EV charging stations in those cities.
Under the Recovery Act, the project was awarded a DOE grant of $99.8 million in August 2009. It was officially launched in October 2009 and will continue for three years, with the aim of gathering lessons learned from these initial deployments and applying them to future efforts to deploy EVs and charging infrastructure. See The EV Project Web site.
Governors’ Coalition Recommends Federal Initiatives for Wind Power
The Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition, a bipartisan group of 29 U.S. governors, released a report on March 16 that provides recommendations for developing wind energy across the country.
The document, "Great Expectations: U.S. Wind Energy Development, the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition’s 2010 Recommendations," calls for sweeping measures to accelerate deployment of wind energy-measures that will also boost the deployment of renewable energy in general.
Among their key recommendations, the governors call for a U.S. Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that requires utilities to provide a minimum 10% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2012.
Further, the group proposes building an interstate electric transmission infrastructure that supports renewable energy onshore and offshore. As part of its call for offshore development, the coalition backs research and development of coastal and deepwater wind power, including research to develop new types of turbines, offshore installations, and mooring techniques. Other avenues to boost wind power include streamlining the permitting processes for wind sites and expanding DOE’s involvement with both states and the wind industry to speed technology innovations.
Finally, the state leaders urge extending the U.S. Treasury Department’s grant program in place of tax credits, along with adopting long-term renewable energy production tax credits. See the press release from Iowa Governor Chet Culver and the governors’ report (PDF 1.22 MB).
DOE, Interior, and Army Corps of Engineers Cooperate on Hydropower
DOE, the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on March 24 to create a new federal approach to hydropower.
The agencies have agreed to focus on increasing energy generation at federally owned facilities and to explore opportunities for development of low-impact hydropower. The agreement also provides an opportunity for DOE to connect its hydropower research and development efforts with the agencies that own, operate, and regulate federal water projects. The combined hydroelectric facilities of the Army Corps of Engineers and Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation total about 34,000 MW, representing about half of the country’s hydropower capacity.
Under the MOU, the agencies will identify specific federal facilities that are well-suited as sites for sustainable hydropower, upgrade facilities and demonstrate new technologies at existing hydropower locations, coordinate research and development on advanced hydropower technologies, and increase hydropower generation through low-impact and environmentally sustainable approaches.
The MOU is supported by detailed action items the agencies have identified as areas of collaboration, including technology development and deployment, green hydropower certification, federal inland hydropower coordination, renewable energy integration and energy storage, and regulatory process facilitation. See the DOE press release, DOE’s Wind and Water Power Program Web site, and the Bureau of Reclamation’s Hydroelectric Power Web site.
DOE Orders AeroSys to Halt Distribution of Inefficient Products
DOE ordered AeroSys, Inc. to stop distributing two product models-one air conditioner and one heat pump-that DOE testing found to consume more energy than allowed under federal efficiency standards.
Based on independent test results, DOE determined that the AeroSys heat pump (THHP-24T*) and one of the air conditioners (THDC-30T*) violate federal law, falling 4% and 8% below minimum standards, respectively.
DOE’s Notice of Noncompliance requires the manufacturer to respond within 15 days of its March 25 issuance, detailing steps the company will take to remove the two failed models from U.S. commerce. AeroSys must also provide written notification of violations to all businesses that sold the products. If the company fails to respond, DOE will seek a judicial order to prevent the sale of the appliances. This is the first time DOE has told a company to halt the distribution of products that failed to meet minimum energy efficiency standards. See the DOE press release, and the full Notice of Noncompliance (PDF 158 KB).
DOE also recently launched investigations into lighting, air conditioning, and heat pump products that may have failed to meet federal energy efficiency standards. These probes are part of the ongoing efforts at DOE and across the Obama Administration to strengthen and enforce federal energy efficiency standards.
In one investigation, DOE is seeking to determine whether certain air conditioners and heat pump products manufactured by Air Con International comply with federal energy efficiency standards. A subpoena issued on March 24 requires Air Con to submit detailed information about the energy consumption of its products and how Air Con marketed and sold them in the US. See the DOE press release.
In another investigation, DOE issued subpoenas to three companies that were identified as selling certain torchiere lamps that did not meet federal energy efficiency standards. Target Corporation, Adesso, Inc. and Habitex Corporation must submit detailed information about the design of these products and how the companies marketed and sold them in the US. Target and Adesso privately label torchieres manufactured by Habitex. The companies have 30 days to respond to the subpoena, and based on the information they provide, DOE will determine whether these products violate the energy conservation standards for torchiere lamps. Under DOE’s energy efficiency standards, torchieres must not be capable of operating with light bulbs that total more than 190 watts. See the DOE press release.
Insurance Commissioners Back Off on Climate Change Disclosures
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has backed away from a mandatory requirement for insurance companies to disclose to regulators the financial risks they face from climate change.
Under the requirement passed in 2009, all insurance companies with annual premiums of $500 million or more would have been required to complete an Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey every year, with an initial reporting deadline of May 1, 2010. The scope of issues covered by the survey was meant to be broad, reflecting the many ways in which climate change will impact the insurance industry. However, at the NAIC’s spring meeting, the commissioners adopted a new, watered-down version of the survey.
The new survey adds qualifications that it is not meant to "express an opinion on the existence or absence of climate change," and it also prohibits the use of the survey for any purpose relating to regulatory consideration of a proposed rate change. Completion of the survey is now at the discretion of each state, but the suggested guideline is for the survey to be mandatory for insurance companies with annual premiums of $300 million or more. See the NAIC press releases on the original mandate and the revised survey, as well as the full text of the revised survey (PDF 187 KB).
++++
Find related green jobs.
EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Loading...