State Commission Approves Fifth California Solar Plant
On October 28, the California Energy Commission approved the 663.5 MW Calico Solar Project in San Bernardino County – the seventh California solar power plant in the past two months.
Calico Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of Tessera Solar, is developing the project on 4,613 acres of land managed by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in the Mojave Desert. The project will use solar dish Stirling systems, or "SunCatchers." Construction will require a peak workforce of 700; project operation will require another 180 solar jobs.
Since August, the Commission has licensed 3,492.5 MW of solar in the California desert. The Calico project is the fifth commercial solar project permitted on U.S. federal public land. It’s size was reduced from 850 MW on 8,230 acres to minimize its environmental impact, primarily on the desert tortoise. To qualify for federal stimulus funds, projects have to be approved by the Commission before December 31, 2010. See the California Energy Commission press release.
GSA Moves to LEED Gold Standard for All New Federal Buildings
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is upgrading the requirement for new federal building construction from LEED Silver to LEED Gold certification. The new requirement will also apply to substantial renovation projects.
The higher rating will be reflected in GSA’s Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service by year end. Projects funded prior to FY 2010 that are already in the design phase will be encouraged to upgrade to LEED Gold, based on budget and schedule constraints. See the GSA press release and Sustainable Design Program Web site.
DOT Boosts High-Speed Rail Projects with $2.4 Billion
On October 28, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) named 54 high-speed rail projects in 23 states selected for a second round of funding for high-speed intercity passenger rail service. Projects will receive $2.4 billion to continue developing the first nationwide program.
DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration received 132 applications from 32 states totaling $8.8 billion, more than three times the $2.4 billion available for this funding cycle. During the first round of awards in the fall of 2009, applicants submitted more than $55 billion in project proposals for the initial $8 billion from the Recovery Act.
Funding will go toward building track and stations, purchasing passenger equipment, and completing planning studies to develop new high-speed rail service, among others.
California received about $901 million, including $715 million for construction of new high-speed rail lines in the Central Valley. Florida received $800 million for the Tampa to Orlando high-speed rail corridor, part of a planned line linking Tampa, Orlando, Miami, and other communities.
More than 30 rail manufacturers and suppliers, both domestic and foreign, have agreed to establish or expand their bases of operations in the US if they are hired to build next generation high-speed lines. See the DOT press release and DOT’s full list of award selections .
Army Adopts New Sustainable Policy for Buildings, Lighting
The U.S. Army issued two new policy memorandums on October 27, one to improve its high-performance green buildings standards and another to require efficient light bulbs.
The "Memorandum for Sustainable Design and Development Policy Update," changes the way the Army approaches facility design. Preliminary analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicates energy savings over current design of 45% or greater.
The "Memorandum on the Utilization of Efficient Lighting," aims to completely replace all inefficient incandescent lighting on Army installations within five years. Only efficient light bulbs can be purchased when older ones burn out. New bulbs must meet standards outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which requires manufacture of energy efficient light bulbs, with efficiency standards phasing in between 2012-2014. See the Army press releases on buildings and lighting , as well as the new policies on buildings and lighting .
FTC Requires EnergyGuide Labels for Televisions
Televisions manufactured after May 10, 2011 must display EnergyGuide labels, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on October 27.
The familiar removable labels, which have long been used on home appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators, will provide energy cost information.
In March 2009, the FTC sought comments on whether EnergyGuide labels should be required on a range of consumer electronics, including televisions. The new label will display the television set’s estimated annual energy cost and a comparison with the annual energy cost of other televisions with similar screen sizes.
Labels must be display on the front of the televisions and starting July 11, 2011, websites that sell televisions have to display an image of the full EnergyGuide label. See the FTC press release, the Federal Register Final Rule notice , and examples of the FTC labels .
The FTC is also proposing revisions to guidance it gives marketers to help them avoid misleading environmental claims about their products. On October 6, the agency announced a public comment period about changes to Green Guides on such topics as renewable energy and carbon offset claims.
The FTC, in its proposed revisions, notes that general "eco-friendly" claims are difficult, if not impossible, to substantiate. The agency will accept public input until December 10, 2010. See the FTC press release, which includes an electronic link for comment submissions, the summary of proposed Green Guides changes , and the full list of proposed changes .
Carbon Capture Project Seeks Carbon Storage Site
The FutureGen Industrial Alliance announced on October 25 that it’s seeking proposals from communities that would like to host the carbon dioxide storage site for the FutureGen 2.0 project, the first commercial-scale coal-fired power plant with carbon capture and storage.
Ameren Energy Resources, Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Air Liquide Process & Construction will retrofit Ameren’s 200 MW coal-fired Unit 4 in Meredosia, Illinois, with advanced oxy-combustion technology. The technology involves burning coal with a nearly pure oxygen stream to produce a flue gas consisting mainly of carbon dioxide and water vapor. Removing the water vapor results in a concentrated stream of carbon dioxide, which can be sequestered in a geologic formation. See the process description from DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The plant’s new boiler, air separation unit, and carbon dioxide purification and compression unit will capture 90% of the unit’s carbon emissions while eliminating most of the emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, mercury, and particulates.
DOE announced support for the project in August, and in late September formally committed $1 billion in funding from the Recovery Act to help build the project. The FutureGen Industrial Alliance consists largely of coal suppliers and energy companies. See the DOE press releases from August and September.
A deep geologic saline formation underlies the State of Illinois, providing the best local option for geologic storage of carbon dioxide. The intent is to create a regional storage site and build a pipeline from the Ameren plant to the site. This regional hub would accept 1.3 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide from the Ameren plant each year for the next 30 years, for a total of about 39 MMT. To allow other sources to use the hub, its minimum capacity must be 100 MMT. It has the possibility of expanding to 500 MMT.
For the initial test site, the alliance is requiring sufficient access to land areas above the anticipated carbon dioxide plume to allow for monitoring, noting that a 100-MMT plume will probably underlie about 2,400 acres of land. This plume must lie entirely within Illinois; cannot be under a public access area, such as a park; and cannot be beneath a major body of water.
Proposals are due by November 15, and the alliance expects to select a site in early 2011. Extensive technical and environmental studies will follow to assure the site’s safety and suitability. See the alliance Web site, press release , site guidance , and request for proposals .
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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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