DOE Awards $106 Million to 37 ARPA-E Projects
DOE is awarding $106 million in Recovery Act funds to 37 research projects in 17 states under its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The awardees were selected from 540 concept papers and 180 full applications after a rigorous review.
This second round of ARPA-E grants will fund three areas: making advanced biofuels from renewable electricity or hydrogen instead of sunlight; designing completely new types of batteries to make electric vehicles more efficient and affordable; and removing carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants in a more cost-effective way.
One key area of focus is "electrofuels." 13 projects will start with microorganisms, such as bacteria or microbes, and then add electricity or hydrogen to produce products such as bio-oil; biodiesel; jet fuel; alcohol fuels, such as butanol; and isooctane, a component of gasoline.
In one example, a bacterium would act like a reverse fuel cell: where fuel cells use a fuel to produce electricity, the bacterium would start with electricity and produce octanol, an alcohol fuel. The project is led by Harvard Medical School, demonstrating that ARPA-E is successfully drawing on experts from non-energy fields to help address our energy challenges. Theoretically, producing biofuels from electricity or hydrogen could be more than 10 times more efficient than current biomass approaches.
10 projects will seek to develop a new generation of low-cost battery technologies with ultra-high energy densities for long-range plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles. The projects will aim to develop a high-energy-density capacitor, an innovative manufacturing process for lithium-ion batteries, and such novel approaches as batteries using lithium-air, lithium-sulfur, and magnesium-ion chemistries; a solid-state lithium battery; a zinc-air "flow" battery, which transfers zinc slurries to charge and discharge the battery; a semi-solid flow battery, combining the best features of rechargeable batteries and fuel cells; and an "all-electron" battery, which stores energy by moving electrons, rather than ions.
See the DOE press release, the project list with brief project descriptions (PDF 99 KB), another project list with longer and more technical project descriptions (PDF 135 KB), and the ARPA-E Web site.
Interior Department Approves Cape Wind
After almost a decade of federal analysis, the U.S. Dept of the Interior (DOI) approved the Cape Wind project on April 21, allowing the first U.S. offshore wind farm to move ahead.
Cape Wind is a 130-turbine wind project on submerged federal lands in Nantucket Sound off the Massachusetts coast. DOI required the developer of the $1 billion wind farm to agree to additional binding measures to minimize potential adverse impacts of construction and operation of the facility.
Located in a 25-square-mile section of Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, the Cape Wind project will have a maximum electric output of 468 megawatts (MW), with an average anticipated output of 182 MW. That’s enough to meet 75% of the electricity demand for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Island. The developer hopes to begin construction by the end of this year. See the Cape Wind press release.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the project’s public benefits weigh in favor of its approval, citing the benefits from increased energy independence, reduced pollution, and job creation. Salazar notes that Nantucket Sound already has undersea power lines, communication towers along its coasts, and visual impacts associated with aviation, shipping, fishing, and recreational boating. Those visual impacts are far greater than the impacts of wind turbines located at least 5.2 miles from the mainland.
Nevertheless, DOI took several steps to minimize the visual impacts, including reducing the number of turbines from 170 to 130, reconfiguring the array to move it farther away from Nantucket Island and to reduce its breadth when viewed from Nantucket, requiring the developer to paint the turbines off-white to lessen contrast with the sea and sky, reducing nighttime lighting, and minimizing daytime lighting. In terms of seabed cultural and historic resources, DOI is also requiring a detailed marine archaeological survey of the area before construction begins. In addition, a "Chance Finds Clause" in the lease requires the developer to halt operations and notify DOI of any unanticipated archaeological find. See the DOI press release, the Record of Decision (PDF 20 MB), the Cape Wind fact sheet (PDF 108 KB), the project site map, and Secretary Salazar’s reply to ACHP (PDF 3.6 MB).
There are other offshore wind proposals in neighboring northeastern states, all seeking to tap the region’s estimated offshore wind potential of 1 million MW. DOI issued a Request for Interest (RFI) on April 21 for development off the coast of Delaware. Delaware officials have approved the Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC 200 MW offshore wind farm, but they still have to apply to DOI’s Minerals Management Service for an offshore lease, which may entail competing with other companies.
The area covered in the RFI is in federal waters between the shipping routes for Delaware Bay, with the closest point to shore located about 7.5 miles due east from Rehoboth Beach. Responses to the RFI are due by June 25. See the DOI press release, the RFI (PDF 62 KB) as published in the April 26 edition of the Federal Register, and the DOI’s map of the proposed leasing area (PDF 486 KB).
EPA, USDA Promote Renewable Energy Generation from Livestock
The U.S. EPA and USDA announced a new interagency agreement on May 3 to promote renewable energy generation and slash greenhouse gas emissions from livestock operations.
The agreement expands the work of the AgStar program, a joint EPA-USDA effort that helps livestock producers reduce methane emissions from operations. The expanded program will provide up to $3.9 million over the next five years to help facilities overcome obstacles that prevent them from recovering and using biogas, the methane-rich gas produced by the decomposition of manure.
The collaboration will expand technical assistance and improve technical standards for construction and evaluation of biogas recovery systems. The partnership will also expand outreach to livestock producers and assist them with pre-feasibility studies.
Methane is a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. To accelerate decomposition of manure and production of methane-rich biogas, farms and livestock facilities can feed their manure into an anaerobic digester, which combines bacteria and elevated temperatures to "digest" the manure. Biogas emitted from digesters can produce electricity, heat, or hot water.
There are about 150 on-farm manure digesters operating at livestock facilities across the US, and an additional 8,000 acilities that are good candidates for biogas systems. Tapping that resource could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of more than 34 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, roughly equal to the annual emissions from 6.5 million passenger vehicles. In addition, these projects could generate more than 1,500 MW of renewable energy. See the EPA press release, the AgStar Web site, and the section of DOE’s Energy Savers Web site that focuses on anaerobic digesters.
The most recent agriculture census counted more than 20,000 farms and ranches that were producing renewable energy via solar panels, wind turbines, and methane digesters. To find out more, the USDA is now conducting the first national On-Farm Energy Production Survey, with results to be published in February 2011.
And to further accelerate the use of renewable energy, the USDA announced on May 4 that it is seeking applications for four renewable energy programs. Rural producers and small businesses installing renewable energy systems can apply for grants and loan guarantees under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), with applications due by June 30. The funding may also be used to purchase energy-efficient equipment, add insulation, and improve heating and cooling systems.
In 2009, REAP helped fund 1,485 energy projects throughout the US. The USDA also plans to accept applications for three other renewable energy programs: the Biorefinery Assistance Program, Repowering Assistance Program, and the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels. The solicitation for those programs will be published in the Federal Register by May 7. See the USDA press releases on the survey and the funding, the REAP solicitation (PDF 77 KB) as published in the Federal Register, and the REAP Web site.
EPA Hosts First Building Competition to Boost Energy Efficiency
Is there a flabby, inefficient office building in your neighborhood that needs to drop a few kilowatts? Now that energy hog has a chance to be inspired, as 14 commercial buildings compete to "shape up" their energy consumption under the first National Building Competition, sponsored by the US EPA. The contest will declare the building that sheds the most energy waste on a percentage basis as the winner. Stay tuned for the EPA’s final "weigh-in" on October 26.
Nearly 200 applications were received for EPA’s National Building Competition, and the 14 finalists, ranging from an elementary school to a hotel building, will be judged on their energy performance from September 1, 2009, to August 31, 2010. The energy use of each building is being monitored with Portfolio Manager, Energy Star’s online energy measurement and tracking tool, and a Twitter feed allows you to follow the contestants as they take such actions as upgrading their lighting and cooling systems and tweaking their energy management systems. Fitness expert Bob Harper, who appears on "The Biggest Loser," will also provide energy fitness tips for contestants through a series of videos that will be available on the competition Web site. See the EPA press release and the National Building Competition Web site.
Which U.S. cities have the most efficient buildings? EPA released its second annual ranking of the top 25 U.S. cities with the most Energy Star buildings: Los Angeles, California, followed by Washington, D.C.; San Francisco, California; Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Lakeland, Florida; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and New York City. Lakeland and New York City are new to the top 10 this year.
EPA awards the Energy Star to commercial buildings that perform in the top 25% of buildings nationwide compared to similar buildings. In 2009, nearly 3,900 commercial buildings earned the Energy Star, representing savings of over $900 million in utility bills and over 4.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. There are 9000 Energy Star-qualifying buildings and plants in the US, achieving overall annual utility savings of $1.6 billion and preventing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 1 million homes. The Energy Star is a joint program of EPA and DOE. See the EPA press release, the list of top 25 cities (PDF 168 KB), and the real-time registry of all Energy Star buildings and plants.
More Customers Participating in Utility Green Power Programs
The number of U.S. utility customers participating in voluntary green power programs continues to grow steadily, reaching more than 650,000 in 2009, according to DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). That’s a gain of about 50,000 customers since 2008, or about 8%, despite tough economic conditions.
Also, green power sales exceeded 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2009, a gain of about 1 billion kWh over 2008. The sales are supporting roughly 6,000 MW of renewable power capacity. Overall, more than 850 utilities nationwide provide voluntary green power programs, in which people can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar power.
NREL’s annual assessment of leading utility green power programs, released on May 3, finds that Austin Energy continues to lead the nation in total green power sales. During 2009, the Texas utility sold nearly 765 million kWh of renewable power generated from wind and landfill gas, up from almost 724 million KWh in 2008.
In terms of the total number of participants, modestly-sized Portland General Electric (PGE) in Oregon moved up from second-place in 2008 to overtake Xcel Energy, which serves customers in eight states. PGE registered 72,812 green power customers in 2009. PacifiCorp moved up from third to second place, pushing Xcel Energy into third. PGE also moved into second place in the percentage of customers participating, at 10.2%, but California’s City of Palo Alto Utilities maintained its lead with a nearly 21% participation rate.
NREL analysts attribute the success of many programs to continued efforts by utilities and their partners to raise awareness of the availability of green power options. In addition, the rate premium that customers pay for green power continues to drop. The average net price premium for utility green power products has decreased from 3.48 cents per kWh in 2000 to 1.75 cents per kWh in 2009. See the NREL press release and the current and past top-ten lists of utility green power programs on the Green Power Network, a part of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site.
One-Third of Countries Have Made Progress on Climate in 2010
An analysis of 95 countries responsible for 97% of global economic activity finds that 32 made significant improvements in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, 46% of the countries demonstrated improvement in climate accountability.
The findings are the result of the Climate Competitiveness Index (CCI) 2010, produced by the non-profit institute AccountAbility in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The index rates countries on their climate accountability, based on a climate strategy that is clear, ambitious, and supported by stakeholders, as well as climate performance, which tallies each country’s capabilities and track record on delivering its strategy.
The CCI finds Germany, China, and the Republic of Korea to be outstanding examples of countries that have made significant improvements, while Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Japan, and France show the most consistent progress toward climate goals. The US and UK earn kudos for climate accountability, while Switzerland and Austria are strong on performance. UNEP and AccountAbility intend to update the new index annually. See the UNEP press release, the CCI Web site, an executive summary of the accompanying report (PDF 1.6 MB), and the full report (PDF 3.3 MB).
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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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