Biden Releases Report Showing Recovery Act Energy Impact
On August 24, Vice President Joe Biden releases an analysis showing that the Recovery Act’s $100 billion investment in innovation is helping accelerate significant advances in science and technology.
According to "The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation," the U.S. is now on track to achieve three major energy innovation breakthroughs thanks to Recovery Act investments:
- cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015;
- reducing the cost of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) by 70% between 2009 and 2015;
- doubling U.S. renewable energy generation and renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012.
The Recovery Act is also impacting science technology, and innovation projects ranging from building a nationwide smart energy grid to growing the emerging EV industry.
The numbers are compelling. Solar, for example, is on track to compete with traditional power sources for both households and utility scale power. For household electricity, solar is expected to drop from $0.21 per kWh in 2009 to $0.10 per kWh in 2015. Utility-scale solar should drop from $0.13 per kWh today to $0.06 in 2015. And rooftop solar could fall to as low as $0.06 per kWh by 2030, a cost less than household rates.
Costs for EV batteries will shrink from the current $33,000 to $10,000 in 2015, while plug-in hybrid batteries will drop from $13,000 to $4,000 apiece. These cuts will make EVs and hybrids competitive with similar non-electric vehicles.
Additionally, the U.S. is poised to both double renewable energy generation and renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012, aided by more than $23 billion of Recovery Act investments.
U.S. renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal is expected to increase 100% by 2012, going from the 28.8 GW installed as of 2008 to 57.6 GW by the end of 2011. That amount of renewable energy will be enough to power 16.7 million homes.
U.S. renewable energy manufacturing capacity will also double from an annual output of 6 GW of renewable equipment (such as wind turbines or solar panels) to 12 GW by the end of 2011. See the DOE press release, the new White House Innovation Web site, and the full report (PDF 1.3 MB).
DOE Creates New Energy Hub for Energy-Efficient Building Design
On August 24, DOE announced its launch of the Energy-Efficient Building Systems Design Energy Innovation Hub to develop technologies that make buildings more energy efficient.
The hub team, led by Pennsylvania State University, will receive up to $122 million over the next five years to develop models that are applicable to both retrofits and new construction.
Located at the Philadelphia Navy Yard Clean Energy campus, the hub will bring together leading researchers from academia, two national labs, and the private sector. The goal is to formulate building designs that will save energy, cut pollution, create jobs, and position the U.S. as a worldwide industry leader.
The team will use the more than 200 buildings on the Navy Yard campus and its independent electric microgrid as a "virtual municipality" to test and validate new technologies. It will pursue a research, development, and demonstration program targeting technologies for single buildings and district-wide systems.
Technologies include:
- computer simulation and design tools to enable integrated project teams to collaborate on retrofit, renovation, and new building design projects;
- advanced combined heat and power systems;
- building-integrated PV systems;
- advanced HVAC systems with integrated indoor air quality management;
- sensor and control networks to monitor building conditions and optimize energy use.
The program will also analyze the role of policy, markets, and behavior in the use of building energy technologies. Because buildings account for nearly 40% of U.S. energy consumption and carbon emissions, developing systems to improve building efficiency will provide significant benefits. This is the third DOE hub established in Fiscal Year 2010. In July, DOE announced the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub. See the DOE press release, the Energy Hub Web site, and the July 28 edition of EERE Network News.
HUD Awards $100 Million for Housing Efficiency Retrofits
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on August 19 awarded over $100 million in Recovery Act funds to complete energy efficient renovations of 100 affordable housing developments in 31 states and Washington, D.C.
The awards, which will serve 8,112 residences, are part of HUD’s Green Retrofit Program, which is providing $250 million nationally from the Recovery Act to reduce energy costs, cut water consumption, and improve indoor air quality. The awards announced are the first grants and loans awarded through the program; remaining awards will be rolled out through September 30.
Funds from the retrofit program help private property owners and property management companies cut heating and air conditioning costs by installing more efficient heating and cooling systems, for example. The renovations are designed to upgrade thousands of affordable apartments. See the HUD press release and the full list of award selections (PDF 213 KB).
DOE Awards $120 Million for Weatherization Projects, Marks Busiest Month
On August 19, DOE announced its selection of 119 organizations across the country that will receive nearly $120 million under the DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program.
These investments will enable weatherization agencies to expand their programs, and will support new pilot projects to demonstrate innovative delivery, novel financial models, and new technologies.
DOE also reported that a record 31,600 homes were weatherized in June, and that over 80,000 homes will be weatherized this summer.
The leading states for the month were Illinois, with 2,957 refurbished homes, and California, with 2,701, and Texas with 2,649. The program has created over 13,000 green jobs in the second quarter of 2010. See the DOE press release and the tally of weatherized homes by state (PDF 14 KB).
Nearly $90 million in Recovery Act funds will be awarded to 103 high-performing local providers in 27 states to enhance their existing weatherization programs. For the first time in the program’s history, grantees will install renewable energy systems and cutting-edge energy efficiency technologies. These include solar heating systems, solar PV panels and shingles, small-scale wind turbines, new insulation technologies, "cool roofs, " high-efficiency appliances, tankless hot water systems, high-efficiency combination boilers, in-home energy monitors, and ductless heat pump systems.
For example, the Miami County YMCA in Indiana will add solar PV and solar hot water systems, and Missouri’s Central Missouri Community Action group will provide geothermal heating systems for low-income households. See the full list of awards (PDF 52 KB).
An additional $30 million from the program’s annual budget will fund 16 recipients showcasing other innovative approaches to weatherizing low-income single and multifamily homes. Projects will test combining weatherization services with a comprehensive "green and healthy homes" approach that incorporates indoor air quality improvement and lead abatement services.
Grantees include organizations that have not historically been part of DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program, including private companies, NGOs, universities, city governments, and national partners. Nebraska’s Energy Pioneer Solutions, for instance, will use funds to streamline weatherization services for low-income families and will offer loans for half the project’s value, which can be repaid through local utility bills. See the full list of selected awardees (PDF 42 KB).
DOE Offers $15 Million Geothermal Heat Recovery Opportunity
DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Program announced on August 20 a $15 million funding opportunity to research and develop innovative methods of extracting heat from geothermal resources.
The funding’s purpose is to commercialize heat recovery technologies that have potentially lower environmental, technical, and financial risks than those available today.
The funding opportunity announcement (FOA) seeks applicants to expand geothermal generation into geologically diverse environments, such as permeable sedimentary formations that minimize the risk of rapid drawdown of a reservoir’s heat. The FOA also calls for reducing the levelized electricity cost of new methods of geothermal production from $0.10 kWh to $0.06 kWh.
Applicants must submit an initial pre-application concept paper by October 1. Eligible full applications, which must address environmental risk factors associated with geothermal heat recovery, are due November 30, 2010.
Funding will be available on a competitive basis for two phases of work. Phase I will encompass feasibility studies of the applicant’s proposed heat recovery method, including numerical analysis of the proposed reservoir, economic modeling, and unproven component technology engineering and validation plans. Phase II will include validation of unproven component technology. See the DOE progress alert, the FOA on the FedConnect Web site, and the Geothermal Technologies Program Web site.
DOE Extends Renewable Energy Loan Guarantee Solicitation
DOE announced on August 20 that it is extending the application deadline for the July 2009 energy efficiency, renewable energy, and advanced transmission and distribution technologies solicitation.
The Round 8, Part 1 application deadline is October 5, 2010. This gives companies an additional six weeks to apply for a loan guarantee under Section 1703, and if qualified, under Section 1705, provided by the Recovery Act. The goal is to get as many commercial renewable energy projects online as possible.
Round 8 is intended to give companies additional time to develop and submit Part I applications. The Round 8 Part II application deadline is December 31, 2010. See DOE press release and the Loan Guarantee Program Web site.
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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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