DOE Requests $3.2 Billion for Renewable Energy, Efficiency in FY 2012
On February 14, President Obama unveiled a $29.5 billion budget request for DOE covering fiscal year (FY) 2012, including $3.2 billion for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The proposed budget aims to strengthen renewable energy sources, boost clean energy research, and cut expenses.
Overall, the DOE budget would grow 12% over 2010 levels while cutting a number of programs and administrative costs (We use FY 2010 numbers as a comparison because Congress didn’t pass a FY 2011 budget – the federal government is running on a stopgap budget resolution reflecting 2010 levels).
DOE is requesting a 44% increase over EERE’s current appropriation of $2.2 billion. Boosts for EERE programs include:
- 135% more for geothermal technology
- 115% more for building technologies
- 93% more for vehicle technologies
- 88% more for solar energy.
- 61% more for wind
- 57% more for biomass energy
- 52% more for weatherization
It also calls for:
- $550 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to continue supporting early-stage clean energy research projects.
- $146 million for 3 existing energy innovation hubs-and three new ones focused on batteries and energy storage, smart grid technologies, and critical materials
- $100 million to continue 46 "energy frontier research centers" begun in 2009.
- $300 million in credit subsidies to support $3-4 billion in renewable energy and energy efficient projects
- The budget for DOE’s Office of Science would be doubled to $5.4 billion, with $2 billion going toward basic energy sciences to discover new ways to produce, store, and use energy.
- $580 million for advanced vehicles R&D, a competitive grant program to support deployment in communities across the country, and to enhance the existing electric vehicle tax incentive.
It includes funding for public/ private partnerships under the new Better Buildings Initiative and launches DOE’s "Race to Green" grant competition and a pilot program to provide retrofit loan guarantees for universities and hospitals.
Areas proposed for reductions: EERE funding for hydrogen technology would be reduced over 40% ($70 million) as DOE focuses on large scale technologies deployable in the near term. Water power funding would drop 21%.
Overall, the budget would save $3.6 billion from repealing subsidies and tax preferences for fossil fuels. DOE also plans to pare the cost of its corporate management by nearly 13% ($45 million). See the DOE press release, the White House Office of Management and Budget DOE overview , and Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s budget summary.
DOE Supercomputer Helps Design More Efficient Big Rig Trucks
DOE continues to use supercomputers to help push the envelope of energy efficiency.
BMI Corp, in partnership with DOE’s Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), has developed a technology that will make semi-trucks more fuel-efficient. By using ORNL’s Cray XT-5 "Jaguar" supercomputer, BMI has shortened the computing turnaround time for its complex models from days to a few hours, enabling it to design a set of integrated aerodynamic fairings that improve the aerodynamics of 18-wheeler long-haul trucks. The typical big rig can achieve fuel savings between 7-12% using these systems. BMI’s work was supported by the DOE’s Office of Science. See the DOE press release.
And IBM announced that DOE’s Argonne National Lab will use its next-generation Blue Gene supercomputer to enable significant advances in areas such as designing ultra-efficient electric car batteries. A 10-petaflop IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer named "Mira" will be operational in 2012 and made available to scientists from industry, academia and government research facilities around the world.
On November 30, 2010, DOE announced the largest ever awards of its supercomputing time on two computers, including the Jaguar, to 57 innovative research projects that are using computer simulations to perform experiments in areas including biofuels and climate change. See the IBM press release and the supercomputing news in EERE Network News.
Loan Guarantee for New Transmission Project in Southwest
DOE finalized its first loan guarantee for a transmission project. The $343 million loan guarantee, supported by the Recovery Act, will support development of the One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line), which will help integrate existing transmission systems in northern and southern Nevada.
The ON Line project consists of a new 500-kilovolt 235 mile long transmission line that will carry 600 MG of electricity from Ely, Nevada to just north of Las Vegas. This is the first phase of the Southwest Intertie Project which, when finished, will carry 2,000 MG of electricity, enabling wind and solar resources in Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada to power the southwest and California markets.
DOE’s Loan Programs Office has issued loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees totaling over $17.5 billion to support 18 clean energy projects. See the DOE press release and the Loan Programs Office website.
BOEMRE Preparing Assessment for Offshore Wind in Mid-Atlantic
Public comment for use in the environmental assessment (EA) of Mid-Atlantic offshore wind development is being accepted through March 11, says the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).
The EA will analyze the impacts of leasing as well as associated site characterization surveys and assessments for the areas identified for priority commercial wind development.
Analyses will be initiated for designated "wind energy areas" off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. On February 7, DOE and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), which oversees BOEMRE, announced coordinated efforts to speed development of U.S. offshore wind energy resources.
The EA is part of DOI’s "Smart from the Start" renewable energy initiative that facilitates environmentally responsible leasing of designated wind areas on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf that are most suitable for development. See the BOEMRE press release and the notice in the Federal Register .
USDA Boosts Rural Wind Energy with Loan Guarantee
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) selected Basin Electric Power Cooperative to receive a $204 million loan guarantee funded by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service.
The guarantee is for 60% of the total $340 million project costs of the PrairieWinds wind farm project in central South Dakota. The coop plans to construct about 100 wind turbines to produce 151.5 MG of electricity. The loan guarantee will provide financing for engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of the wind farm.
When the PrairieWinds project is completed, Basin Electric will have over 700 MG of wind generation capacity in its portfolio. See the USDA press release.
Global Wind Energy Capacity up by 22% in 2010
Global wind capacity grew by 35.8 GW in 2010, a 22.5% increase from 2009 (158.7 GW), according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The world’s total installed wind capacity is now 194.4 GW.
For the first time, more than half of all new wind power was added outside of traditional markets in Europe and North America. The shift was driven mainly by the continuing boom in China, which installed 16.5 GW in 2010 and now claims global leadership with 42.3 GW.
Still, the rate of growth dropped for the first time in 20 years, shrinking by 7% from 38.6 GW in 2009, due largely to slowdowns in the US and Europe.
The U.S. wind industry built 5,115 MW last year, which was about half of 2009’s record pace, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). However, AWEA says the U.S. entered 2011 with over 5,600 MW under construction.
The one-year extension by Congress of the Section 1603 Investment Tax Credit for renewable energy is expected to spur project start ups to meet the new deadline for the tax credit, which now expires at the end of 2011. See the GWEC press release, the GWEC summary , and the AWEA press release.
Halving Carbon Emissions from New Cars Achievable by 2030
Makers of cars and light trucks sold around the world can double vehicle fuel efficiency and cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The agency is a partner in the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI), which has produced a report on the potential for fuel-economy improvements around the world.
The report concludes that the global fleet of new light-duty vehicles- cars, vans, pickup trucks, SUVs – had an average fuel economy of about 30 mpg in 2005 and could potentially reach 60 mpg by 2030. Automakers can achieve this goal by combining incremental technology improvements for conventional vehicles, augmented with sales of electric vehicles.
To meet the goal, the report recommends countries create regulatory and fiscal environments that encourage automakers to use technology to improve fuel economy rather building heavier or more powerful vehicles (as has been the trend).
Although some countries, such as India, already have a fairly fuel-efficient fleet, significant gains are possible in most industrialized countries, resulting in a 50% gain in fuel economy overall.
The GFEI, launched in early 2009, aims to achieve a 50% improvement in average fuel economy for the entire global fleet of light-duty vehicles by 2050. Achieving that goal would result in saving six billion barrels of oil per year. See the IEA press release and the GFEI report .
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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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