Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Export Initiative Launched
DOE joined seven other U.S. government agencies on December 7 in launching the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative, a coordinated effort to promote exports of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
In 2009, the US exported roughly $2 billion of manufactured renewable energy goods, which will be used as a benchmark for progress. The Department of Commerce and DOE co-chair the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Working Group on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for the federal agencies participating in the initiative.
DOE is investing in market research and discovery that can help focus U.S. government resources for trade promotion. For example, DOE will identify U.S. manufactured energy efficiency products likely to be competitive in global markets, and in collaboration with U.S. trade associations, DOE will consider creating guides for foreign buyers that list technologies and services available from U.S. providers.
The initiative, which will involve 23 agencies over the next five years, is the first US federally coordinated effort to support renewable energy and energy efficiency exports. The concept was developed through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Working Group on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, which includes representatives from the Departments of State and Agriculture, as well as the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the Office of the US Trade Representative. See the DOE press release and the initiative Web site.
California Approves Start of $4 Billion High-Speed Rail Line
The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board voted on December 2 to begin construction in the Central Valley of a new high-speed rail corridor linking Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The decision to begin the 65-mile stretch follows a mandate from the Federal Railroad Administration that all federal funding awarded to the project so far must be dedicated to a single leg of the project in the Central Valley. This initial segment will use $4.15 billion of the available $4.3 billion to build two new stations, acquire rights-of-way, construct viaducts, prepare the site, grade the course of the new line, restore vegetation, build rail bridges, realign roadways, and relocate existing railways and utilities. No construction can begin until the authority completes environmental reviews. The federal deadline for completing reviews is September 2011; construction is expected to begin in 2012 and finish in 2017.
On January 28, President Obama and Vice President Biden announced the U.S. Department of Transportation was awarding $8 billion in Recovery Act funds to 31 states to develop the nation’s first high-speed rail service. California is seeking to build a passenger line with trains running up to 220 miles per hour. See the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board press release and coverage of the presidential announcement in EERE Network News.
10 EU Countries Sign Up for North Sea Offshore Grid
10 European Union (EU) nations signed a MOU on December 3 to develop an offshore energy grid linking wind energy sources in the North Sea. The grid, targeted to begin operating by 2020, would allow countries to share electricity among the British Isles and mainland Europe.
The 10 countries-Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK-committed to work together to identify and overcome the regulatory, legal, market, planning, and technical issues involved in creating a North Sea grid.
The ISLES project (Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study), is assessing the possibility of connecting Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland in an Irish Sea and Atlantic coast grid. The new MOU calls for, among other things, an assessment of technical considerations through 2030 to be delivered by June 2011. Scotland’s Energy Minister Jim Mather hailed the EU initiative because it will draw upon the ISLES work in overcoming challenges of a sub-sea grid. See the Scottish government press release and the MOU .
Biomass Cogeneration Plant Under Construction in Oregon
Iberdrola Renewables has begun construction of a 26.8 MW Lakeview Biomass Cogeneration Plant in Lakeview, Oregon. The project should begin power production for 18,000 homes by the fall of 2012.
Located about 90 miles east of Iberdrola’s Klamath Cogeneration Plant, the Lakeview project will be combined a heat and power (cogeneration) facility. The plant will be entirely air-cooled, reducing water use more than 80% compared to conventional water-cooling. Fuel will come from logging and sawmill residues. See the Iberdrola press release.
Other biomass projects are being scrapped, however. In November, FirstEnergy Corp. cancelled plans to repower two units at its R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, Ohio, citing falling electricity prices as the basis for the decision. The R.E. Burger Plant units were included as part of a 2005 federal consent settlement with the EPA and others in a lawsuit aimed at reducing pollution. Plans had called for it to become one of the largest US biomass facilities by 2012.
Xcel Energy has halted plans for a biomass gasification project in Wisconsin because of a significant increase in estimated costs and regulatory uncertainty at the state and federal levels. The project would have converted the power plant’s remaining unit that uses coal to one that uses biomass via gasification. See the FirstEnergy press release and the Xcel press release.
Chevrolet to Invest $40 Million in U.S. Clean Energy Projects
Chevrolet announced it would invest $40 million in various clean energy projects throughout the US during the next 3-5 years. The company’s goal is to eliminate 8 million metric tons of carbon emissions, equal to the electricity consumed by nearly 1 million homes. The initiative will focus on projects that promote energy savings, renewable energy, and responsible use of natural resources.
Chevy will consider projects such as smart energy sensors and solar panels for schools and other community-based facilities, wind farms and solar projects, and capturing methane from landfills. Chevy will invest through third-party organizations such as Bonneville Environmental Foundation. To define project criteria and the program’s investment portfolio, Chevy’s parent company General Motors has engaged environmental experts, NGOs, and academics through the Climate Neutral Business Network consultants. See the Chevy press release and its carbon reduction 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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