News and Events by CCRES April 18, 2013

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources News and Events April 18, 2013

President's 2014 Budget Proposes Critical Investments in Clean Energy   President Barack Obama on April 10 requested a $28.4 billion Fiscal Year 2014 budget for the Energy Department, including $2.78 billion for the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The request is part of the Administration-wide effort to strengthen the U.S. economy with energy that is cleaner, cheaper, and creates sustainable jobs. As Assistant Energy Secretary Dr. David Danielson explained in an April 10 presentation, the $2.78 billion EERE portion of the request includes $615 million in funding for research and development into sources of renewable electricity generation such as wind, solar, water power, and geothermal energy. The proposed budget also includes $949 million for energy savings programs including the Federal Energy Management Program, Weatherization & Intergovernmental, building technologies, and advanced manufacturing. And the proposed FY 2014 budget includes a $957 million request for sustainable transportation, including research and development of vehicles, bioenergy, and fuel cell technologies. This segment includes $575 million for cutting-edge vehicle technologies research and $282 million in research into next-generation advanced biofuels. See the presentation on the EERE proposed FY 2014 budget . Overall, the budget request for the Energy Department invests in innovative research to lead in research, development, deployment, and production of clean energy technologies. It also creates a new Race to the Top for Energy Efficiency and Grid Modernization, and helps consumers and businesses save money and improve their energy efficiency through the President’s Better Buildings Initiative. Other highlights in the FY 2014 budget include $80 million for advanced technologies and tools that improve clean energy integration into the grid; $147 million in research and development of smart grid investments, cybersecurity for energy control systems, and National Electricity Delivery within the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability; and $2 billion for an Energy Security Trust to help transition U.S. cars and trucks off of oil. See the Energy Department press release and the White House blog.   First U.S. Grid-Connected Enhanced Geothermal System Deployed   The Energy Department on April 12 recognized the nation’s first commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) project to supply electricity to the grid. Based in Churchill County, Nevada, Ormat Technologies’ Desert Peak 2 EGS project has increased power output of its nearby operating geothermal field by nearly 38 %, generating an additional 1.7 megawatts of power. EGS technologies utilize directional drilling and pressurized water to enhance flow paths in the subsurface rock and create new reservoirs, capturing energy from resources that were once considered uneconomical or unrecoverable. Leveraging a $5.4 million Energy Department investment—matched by $2.6 million in private sector funding—the Ormat Desert Peak project is extending the life of previously unproductive geothermal wells. Since the project’s start in 2008, the Energy Department has worked with Ormat, GeothermEx, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Lawrence Berkeley and Sandia National Laboratories to develop cost-effective and innovative production technologies that utilize protective environmental best practices and monitoring. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that EGS in the United States has the potential to enable development of 100 to 500 gigawatts of geothermal resource capacity. See the Energy Department press release and the Energy Department's Geothermal Technologies Office website.   DOE and NREL Name Inaugural Collegiate Wind Competition Teams   The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on April 11 announced the teams selected for the inaugural DOE Collegiate Wind Competition, which will take place in spring 2014. The Collegiate Wind Competition is a forum for undergraduate college students of multiple disciplines to investigate innovative wind energy concepts; gain experience designing, building, and testing a wind turbine to perform according to a customized business plan derived from market data; and increase their knowledge of wind industry barriers. The 10 student teams selected through a competitive process are Boise State University, California Maritime Academy, the Colorado School of Mines, James Madison University in Virginia, Kansas State University, Northern Arizona University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Alaska—Fairbanks, the University of Kansas, and the University of Massachusetts—Lowell. The theme of the inaugural competition is to design and construct a lightweight, transportable wind turbine that can be used to power small electronic devices. A principal contest involves testing each team's prototype wind turbine in a wind tunnel under specific conditions. Each team's business plan and turbine will also be evaluated against other pre-weighted criteria. The third event of the competition will be a team-to-team debate relating to current wind market drivers and issues. The turbine from the college or university with the best overall score will be placed on temporary display at the DOE headquarters building in Washington, D.C. See the NREL press release.   USDA Announces $6 Million for Rural Smart Grid   The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on April 10 announced funding for projects to improve electric service in rural areas across 13 states, including more than $6 million in smart grid funding, which increases access to information to better manage electricity use. Overall, $280 million will be available through loans for rural electric infrastructure in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas. For example, the Georgia Transmission Corporation, which serves customers in Alabama and Florida in addition to Georgia, will receive a USDA loan that includes more than $3 million for smart grid projects. The Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative in Kansas will receive a USDA loan that includes more than $192,000 for smart grid projects. Smart grid technologies involve adding communication capabilities and control systems to the electrical grid that are intended to improve home energy management for the homeowner, provide greater demand control for the utility, and create a more reliable power grid overall. Smart grid technologies are also expected to better accommodate the use of renewable energy, all forms of on-site power production, and electric vehicles. See the USDA press release. And on March 29, USDA announced that it is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Funding is available from USDA's Rural Energy for America Program. See the USDA press release.

CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)   special thanks to U.S. Department of Energy | USA.gov

Celebrating Earth Day 2013 in a Google+ Hangout   The Energy Department is celebrating Earth Day 2013 by hosting a special Google+ Hangout on Monday, April 22 at 3 p.m. EDT. We've rounded up our panel of experts to answer your questions and share best strategies for saving energy and money in the home. The live discussion will be streamed on Google+, YouTube, and energy.gov/live. On average, U.S. families spend more than $2,000 per year on their home energy bills. Unfortunately, much of this money is wasted on air leaks and drafts. Considering that the residential sector accounts for about 22% of U.S. energy consumption, upgrading homes to run more efficiently is not only a great way to save money but can also help minimize our impact on the planet. Our Earth Day Google+ Hangout not only gives you the opportunity to learn new approaches to home efficiency upgrades, it’s also your platform to share your best energy-saving tips. During the live discussion, we will be selecting video questions to answer in addition to taking real-time questions from Twitter and Google+ tagged with #askEnergy. You can also submit questions by emailing us at newmedia@hq.doe.gov or posting in the comments on the Energy Department’s Facebook page. For the complete story, see the Energy Blog.  Earth Day - April 22 - is fast approaching. With environmental disasters escalating and international climate change talks at an impasse, your participation is needed now more than ever. Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)

News and Events by CCRES April 19, 2012

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources News and Events April 19, 2012

Hydropower Gets a $5 Million Energy Department Opportunity The Energy Department on April 17 announced that up to $5 million is available this year to assess opportunities to increase power production at up to 40 existing hydropower facilities around the nation. Through this competitive funding opportunity, the Energy Department will work with hydropower professionals to conduct standardized assessments to identify opportunities to increase generation and value at hydropower plants. As much of America's aging hydropower infrastructure is more than 50 years old, this effort could help accelerate the deployment of upgrades at existing hydropower facilities, creating jobs and increasing the supply of renewable energy to American families and businesses. Conventional hydropower already supplies more than 6% of the nation's electricity. The assessments to be completed through this solicitation are part of the Energy Department's larger Hydropower Advancement Project, which seeks to accelerate the improvement and expansion of U.S. hydropower plants. See the DOE Progress Alert and Funding Opportunity Announcement. Also, the Energy Department on April 17 released a report detailing the potential to develop electric power generation at existing U.S. dams that aren't equipped to produce power. The renewable assessment estimates that without building a single new dam, the available hydropower resources could provide more than 12 gigawatts (GW) if fully developed. That total would be roughly 15% of current U.S. hydropower capacity. The report, titled An Assessment of Energy Potential at Non-Powered Dams in the United States, analyzes more than 54,000 sites that could be developed to generate power. The results indicate that the non-powered dams could provide enough energy to power over four million households. The greatest hydropower potential was found at locks and dams on the Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas rivers in facilities owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The top ten sites alone have the potential to provide approximately 3 GW of generating capacity, while the top 100 sites together could potentially provide 8 GW. Many of these dams could also likely be converted to power-generating facilities with minimal impact to critical species, habitats, parks, or wilderness areas. The assessment by DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory also concludes that many potential hydropower sites are in areas with fewer wind or solar resources. And because hydropower provides reliable baseload power day and night, developing existing dams could also provide flexibility to the electric grid, and allow utilities to integrate other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. See the Energy Department press release and the full report. Energy Department to Back $30 Million Storage Competition The Energy Department on April 11 announced a $30 million research competition for improving the performance and safety of energy storage devices, including hybrid energy storage modules being developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for military applications. DOE, through its Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), is funding the Advanced Management and Protection of Energy-storage Devices (AMPED) program. It is designed to seek out transformational, breakthrough energy storage technologies that are too risky for private-sector investment. Specifically, AMPED technologies have the potential to create a new generation of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles; increase the fuel efficiency of military generators to help reduce the need for fuel convoys on the battlefield; improve the reliability of military aircraft generators to help to reduce operation and maintenance costs; enable next-generation high-power weapons systems and fuel-efficient operations for U.S. Navy ships; and enhance the efficiency and reliability of the U.S. electricity grid. See the DOE press release and the ARPA-E website for funding details. Energy Department Offers $2.5 Million for Biomass Stoves The Energy Department announced on April 13 that up to $2.5 million will be available this year for applied research to advance clean biomass cookstove technologies for use in developing countries. The funding will support the development of innovative cookstove designs that allow users to burn wood or crop residues more efficiently and with less smoke than open fires and traditional stoves. DOE, along with other federal agencies, is a founding partner of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a public-private partnership to advance cookstove technologies that improve indoor air quality, reduce carbon emissions, and deliver important benefits for developing nations around the world. The World Health Organization cites indoor smoke from cooking and heating as one of the top 10 threats to public health in developing countries, contributing to nearly two million deaths each year. Clean cookstoves with reduced emissions and increased energy efficiency will help prevent some of these deaths caused by smoke exposure. Energy-efficient cookstoves also reduce fuel use, slow deforestation, and reduce the time families have to spend collecting fuel. The Energy Department encourages organizations including small businesses, non-profits, universities, and national laboratories, to submit proposals for applied research and development grants to develop clean and efficient cookstoves. To help ensure the technologies developed will be usable and adopted, the research and development work will be based on assessments of user needs, and prototypes will be tested in the laboratory and in the field. DOE is also interested in supporting the development of a software tool that integrates research findings to help stove designers and manufacturers improve a wide range of cookstoves. See the Energy Department press release and the Funding Opportunity Announcement. Selections Named for U.S.-India Joint Energy Center The Energy Department on April 13 announced the selection of three consortia that will make up the $125 million U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center. The consortia are led in the United States by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as the University of Florida. They will bring together experts from national laboratories, universities, and industry in both the United States and India. Consortia researchers will leverage their expertise and resources in solar technology, advanced biofuels, and building efficiency to unlock the potential of clean energy technologies that can reduce energy use, cut dependence on foreign oil, and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources. The three lead U.S. institutions have partnered with three lead Indian institutions: the Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology-Hyderabad, and CEPT University-Ahmedabad. The Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center is part of the U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy. As part of a planned five-year initiative, DOE will make $5 million available in fiscal year 2012. The Energy Department plans to request as much as an additional $20 million of Congress over the next four years, subject to available appropriations, to support research conducted by U.S. institutions and individuals. The Indian Government also committed to funding $25 million over five years that will be used to support work by Indian institutions and individuals. In addition, U.S. and Indian consortia members have pledged more than $75 million in matching funds, for a combined funding total of more than $125 million for joint research and development in solar energy, advanced biofuels, and building energy efficiency. See the DOE press release. U.S. Wind Industry Grew 31% in 2011 over Previous Year: Report The U.S. wind industry installed 6,816 megawatts (MW) of energy in 2011, a 31% gain over 2010, according to a report released April 12 by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The U.S. wind industry's trade association reported a total of 46,916 MW installed in the United States last year. The report noted that more than 8,300 MW are under construction. Five states received more than 10% of their electricity from wind in 2011, with South Dakota leading the way with 22.3%. Iowa, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wyoming completed the list. In terms of wind power under construction, Kansas leads with 1,189 MW, followed by Texas, California, Oregon, and Illinois. See the AWEA press release. CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)   special thanks to U.S. Department of Energy | USA.gov

Site News Energy Savers Tips Are on the Go The new Energy Savers mobile website provides tips to homeowners on the go. Credit: DOE The Energy Department recently launched a new Energy Savers mobile website, which conveniently provides homeowners with tips through mobile devices. Whether on the road, at the store, or talking with a home improvement contractor, as an Energy Savers mobile user, you can find ways to make your home more comfortable and easier to heat and cool—and save money at the same time. The site features energy-saving tips you can try today, including suggestions for your roof, landscaping, appliances, and lights. These solutions are good for your wallet and for the environment, and also help with U.S. energy independence. See the Energy Savers mobile website to explore and learn more. Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)