ACORE Releases State-by-State Report on Renewable Energy
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) released a report that’s intended to be an executive summary of the renewable energy sector in each state. It compiles data on renewable energy developments, resource potential, and financial, market, and policy information on a state-by-state basis.
The state summaries show the wide range of renewable energy development in the U.S. Louisiana has the hardly any: a measly 200 kW of grid-connected solar and production capabilities for 1.5 million gallons of biofuels a year. On the other end of the spectrum, California has 2.7 GW of wind, 2.6 GW of geothermal, 1.1 GW of grid-connected solar, 705 MW of biomass, and production capabilities for nearly 200 million gallons of biofuels per year.
The report also notes the state policies that helped to accomplish that scale of deployment. In California, such policies include a renewable energy requirement; a mandate for utilities to provide grid connections and net metering for solar and wind; a program to invest $2.17 billion in grid-connected solar over 10 years; a feed-in tariff for renewable energy systems; and a number of other rebates, tax incentives, and financing programs for renewable energy.
ACORE will update Renewable Energy in America quarterly.
DOE Awards $9.6 Million for Transformational Energy Research Projects
On September 10, DOE announced its selection of six transformational energy research and development projects to receive a total of $9.6 million through the Recovery Act.
DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) made the selections:
- a dehumidifier based on a nano-structured solid polymer that is permeable to moisture but impermeable to air;
- next-generation permanent magnets with a lower content of critical rare-earth metals, to increase the efficiency and power density of electric machines;
- a cryogenic carbon capture system for fossil-fuel power plants;
- an airborne wind turbine, consisting of a high-performance wing that carries a turbine and is tethered to the ground;
- a dynamic liquid prism that can be adjusted using an applied electric field, allowing concentrating PV systems to track the sun without using mechanical systems;
- a thermal energy storage system for concentrating solar systems that uses supercritical fluids to potentially store twice the energy of an equivalent-size molten-salt system. Supercritical fluids are substances at temperatures and pressures above their critical point, which means that distinct liquid and gas phases of the substance have ceased to exist.
See the DOE press release, the technical descriptions of the selected projects, and DOE’s ARPA-E Web site.
$5.2 Million for Wind Forecasting, Turbine Development
DOE announced on September 13 that it will award over $5.2 million over two years to five projects that will support U.S. wind development.
Two of the projects, focused on short-term wind forecasting, will receive $3.4 million over two years. AWS Truepower, LLC will lead a project in Texas, and WindLogics, Inc. will lead a project targeting portions of several upper-Midwestern states.
Three projects will receive $1.8 million to develop midsize wind turbines: Clean Green Energy, LLC is developing a 200 kW vertical-axis wind turbine; Northern Power Systems is developing a 450 kW wind turbine; and Texas Tech University is developing a 500 kW model that can be tilted upward without using cranes.
Vertical-axis wind turbines resemble upright eggbeaters and have maintenance advantages because the generator is located near the ground. See the DOE press release and the Web site for DOE’s Wind and Water Power Program.
$37 Million for Marine, Hydrokinetic Energy
In the largest single U.S. funding commitment to date for this technology, DOE announced on September 9 its selections for over $37 million to accelerate the technological and commercial readiness of emerging marine and hydrokinetic technologies.
These technologies generate renewable electricity from free-flowing rivers and streams, ocean tides and waves, and temperature differences in the ocean.
The 27 projects in 17 states range from concept studies and component design research to prototype development and in-water device testing. DOE will leverage private-sector investments by providing cost-shared funding to industry and industry-led partnerships.
Projects include in-water tests in Alaskan rivers and off the shores of Maine, Oregon, and Washington. For example, Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. will deploy a full-scale 150 kW wave energy conversion system in the Oregon Territorial Sea and will collect two years of detailed operating data. The Public Utility District No.1 of Snohomish County, Washington, will deploy, operate, monitor, and evaluate two 10-meter diameter tidal turbines in Puget Sound. The project is expected to generate 1 MW of electrical energy during periods of peak tidal currents, with an average energy output of about 100 kW. Ocean Renewable Power Company will test five tidal turbines in Cobscook Bay, off the coast of Eastport, Maine. See the DOE press release, the full list of projects, and DOE’s Wind and Water Power Program Web site.
$16.5 million for Biomass R&D
DOE will award $16.5 million for two major R&D cost-share initiatives that will support expansion of renewable fuels production.
Under the first initiative, DOE will invest $12 million over three years in four projects that employ pyrolysis – heating of biomass in the absence of oxygen to create a bio-based oily liquid called bio-oil. The projects will explore a variety of catalytic processes to upgrade this bio-oil into so-called "drop-in" biofuels-advanced biofuels that are compatible with our existing fueling infrastructure.
Drop-in biofuels may include a bio-based crude oil substitute that could be processed in existing refineries, as well as bio-based versions of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel that can be handled the same way as their petroleum-based counterparts. For example, the Gas Technology Institute will test wood, corn stover, and an aquatic plant in an automated, integrated pilot facility that converts biomass directly into gasoline and diesel fuel.
Under the second initiative, DOE will provide $4.5 million to three projects focused on developing sustainable methods of biomass crop production. The projects will design, model, and implement biomass production systems across different regions of the country while looking at factors such as how plants impact soil erosion and water quality, quantifying the environmental impacts of different strategies for producing energy crops and using crop residues. The projects will also provide insight into where to locate bioenergy crops within a landscape in order to maximize their potential positive impacts.
A team led by North Carolina State University will examine sites in Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina and will investigate biomass production options that are compatible with forest management, with a focus on the intercropping of pine and switchgrass. The University of Minnesota and Purdue University will focus on energy crops in the Mississippi River watershed and watersheds in the Upper Midwest, respectively. See the DOE press release and DOE’s Biomass Program Web site.
$30 Million for State Energy Efficiency Projects
DOE announced $28.5 million in competitive awards to 12 states and territories for energy efficiency projects.
Funding falls into two categories, "Strengthening Building Retrofit Markets" and "Stimulating Energy Efficiency Action." Retrofit support will assist states in developing targeted building retrofit markets in the residential and commercial sectors. Energy efficiency funding will help states generate the necessary policy and program frameworks to support short- and long-term investments in energy efficiency.
The winning proposals cover an array of approaches to reduce energy use. For example, Nevada will expand its Home Performance with Energy Star Program with the goal of retrofitting at least 5% of Nevada’s single-family residences by 2021, focusing on major metropolitan areas. Mississippi and Kentucky will team up to generate a lasting market transformation for energy efficiency in the southeastern U.S. with utility investment in efficiency. In a complementary effort, DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability awarded a grant to Hawaii to help its public utilities commission reduce electricity use by 4,300 GwH by 2030. See the DOE press release and DOE’s State Energy Program Web site.
Energy Efficiency Enforcement Penalties for 27 Companies
As part of an ongoing commitment to rigorously enforce appliance efficiency requirements, DOE is proposing penalties against 27 companies that sell products in the U.S. without certifying that they comply with energy efficiency or water conservation standards.
The 27 companies include manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of appliance, plumbing, and lighting products. Collectively, the notices propose penalty fees of more than $3.5 million, though the fines may be reduced if the companies quickly comply with certification requirements. Unless companies address these claims within 30 days, DOE will file actions either in the US District Court or with an administrative law judge to demand payment of the proposed penalties.
Under the Obama Administration, DOE has acted quickly to establish energy efficiency standards for over 20 different product categories that will save consumers $250-$300 billion on energy bills through 2030.
Over the past year, DOE’s appliance standards enforcement efforts have initiated 75 enforcement investigations and actions, including the 27 new penalty cases, and have removed 66 products from the market that failed to meet federal energy efficiency standards. See the DOE press release, the penalty notices, and the Web site for DOE’s Appliances and Commercial Equipment Standards Program.
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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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