News and Events by CCRES April 26, 2013

CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES) News and Events April 26, 2013

Energy Department Announces Projects to Develop Innovative, Advanced Drop-in Biofuels   The Energy Department on April 22 announced nearly $18 million in four innovative pilot-scale biorefineries that will test renewable biofuels as a domestic alternative to power cars, trucks, and planes, and that also meet military specifications for jet fuel and shipboard diesel. These biorefineries will be in in California, Iowa, and Washington. The projects selected for funding include Frontline Bioenergy of Ames, Iowa, which will use an innovative new pilot scale reactor and new gas conditioning processes to produce biofuel from woody biomass, municipal solid waste, and refuse; Cobalt Technologies of Mountain View, California, which will operate a pilot-scale integrated biorefinery to convert switchgrass to bio-jet fuel; Mercurius Biorefining of Ferndale, Washington, which will build and operate a pilot plant that uses an innovative process that converts cellulosic biomass into bio-jet fuel and other chemicals; and BioProcess Algae of Shenandoah, Iowa, which will evaluate an innovative algal growth platform to produce hydrocarbon fuels meeting military specifications using renewable carbon dioxide, lignocellulosic sugars, and waste heat. The pilot-scale biorefinery projects selected will use a variety of non-food biomass feedstocks, waste-based materials, and algae in innovative conversion processes to produce biofuels that meet military specifications for jet fuel and diesel. The projects will demonstrate technologies to cost-effectively convert biomass into advanced drop-in biofuels and assist these organizations to scale up the processes to commercial levels. Recipients are required to contribute a minimum of 50% matching funds for these projects. See the Energy Department press release.   Energy Department Highlights Nissan’s Better Plants Challenge Project   The Energy Department on April 17 recognized Nissan’s participation in the Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge and its showcase project at the company’s new energy-efficient paint plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. The 250,000-square-foot Smyrna facility, which opened in January, is expected to cut energy use by almost a third compared to its predecessor. As a partner in the Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge, Nissan North America has committed to reducing energy use in its three U.S. plants by 25% by 2020, affecting 12 million square feet of plant space. Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge participating organizations receive technical assistance from the Energy Department and share best practices on industrial energy efficiency with other Challenge partners. Each year, the United States spends about $200 billion just to power commercial buildings and another $200 billion to power industrial facilities. Together, commercial and industrial buildings account for roughly half of the nation’s energy use and more than 40% of U.S. carbon emissions. The Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge serves as the industrial component of President Obama’s broader Better Buildings Challenge, which was launched in December 2011 to help America’s commercial and industrial buildings become at least 20% more efficient over the next decade. See the Energy Department press release and the Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge website.   EIA: 2012 Home Energy Bills Lowest Percentage in 10 Years   U.S. consumers spent 2.7% of their household income on home energy bills last year, which was the lowest percentage in 10 years, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysis released on April 18. Also, aggregate home energy expenditures by U.S. households fell $12 billion in 2012 from the 2011 level. Warmer weather contributed to lower energy consumption in 2012, and because household energy expenditures reflect both prices and consumption, these changes resulted in lower household energy expenditures. On average, households spent $1,945 on heating, cooling, appliances, electronics, and lighting in 2012. This total includes home use of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, propane, kerosene, wood, and coal, but excludes fuels used for transportation. It also excludes other household utilities such as water and telephone services. Using EIA projections for 2012 based on household data from the U.S. Census Bureau through 2010, $1,945 is the lowest level since 2002. The percentage of household income spent on home energy bills peaked at 4.3% in 1982 and steadily declined until it reached its lowest level since 1973—2.4% in 1999. See the EIA's Today in Energy.   Walmart Announces New Goals for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy   Walmart on April 15 announced the company’s next step on the path to achieving its goal of being 100% supplied by renewable energy. The company committed to achieving the production or procurement of 7 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy globally every year by the end of 2020. That would mark a 600% increase over its 2010 levels. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer will also seek to reduce the energy intensity required to power the company's buildings during the same period by 20%. Walmart expects its six-fold increase in utilizing renewable energy projects to be equal to eliminating the need for roughly two U.S. fossil fuel power plants. Based on external estimates of projected energy costs and other factors, the two new commitments are anticipated to generate more than $1 billion annually in energy savings once fully implemented. The company also expects to avoid 9 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of taking 1.5 million cars off the road. In the United States alone, Walmart plans to install solar power on at least 1,000 of its rooftops and facilities by 2020, an increase from just over 200 solar projects currently in operation or under development. According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the company has more solar power capacity and number of systems than any other company in America. It has also been cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as America’s leading user of onsite renewables, using more onsite renewable power than any other company in the United States. In addition to onsite solar, the company will continue to develop projects in wind, fuel cells, and other technologies. It will also procure offsite renewable energy from utility-scale projects, such as large wind, micro-hydro, and geothermal projects. See the Walmart press release.

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

On the Path to Low Cost Renewable Fuels, an Important Breakthrough   by Leslie Pezzullo, Technology Manager, Bioenergy Technologies Office America’s homegrown fuel resources—from wood chips to the leaves and stalks of corn plants—are plentiful. Research finds that these resources could produce enough clean, renewable fuel to replace about 30% of the nation’s current petroleum consumption. Still, on the path to creating a strong, thriving biofuels industry, there are challenges we continue to address. That’s why the Energy Department is working with researchers, industry, and other partners to increase the reliability and cost-effectiveness of renewable fuel production. The good news is we are making progress—particularly when it comes to cellulosic ethanol. For the uninitiated, cellulosic ethanol is fuel produced from the inedible, organic material abundant in agricultural waste—including grasses, farm waste, and virtually every type of plant. While cellulosic ethanol represents a huge opportunity for the renewable fuels industry, the high costs and inefficiencies associated with the technology are barriers to its commercialization. However, with major technology milestones met by researchers at our national labs and industry partners, that’s all starting to change. Last fall, scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) successfully demonstrated the technical advances needed to produce cellulosic ethanol cost competitively at $2.15 per gallon—a process that was modeled at $9 per gallon just a decade ago. For the complete story, see the Energy Blog. CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)

News and Events by CCRES April 26, 2012

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources News and Events April 26, 2012

Energy Department Offers $9 Million to Improve Solar Forecasting The Energy Department on April 23 announced that $9 million is available this year to help utilities and grid operators better forecast when, where, and how much solar power will be produced at U.S. solar energy plants. Enhanced solar forecasting will allow power system operators to integrate more solar energy into the grid and help ensure the economic and reliable delivery of renewable energy. The selected projects, part of DOE's SunShot Initiative, will last up to three years and will require more than 20% of the total funding from private and other sources. Changes in weather conditions can cause variations in solar power production. Improved forecasting technologies will help utilities and power system operators better predict when clouds and other weather-related factors will reduce the intensity of incoming sunlight at solar facilities. This information will allow utilities and operators to more accurately anticipate changes in solar power production and take actions to ensure the stability of the national power grid. This can reduce the cost of integrating solar power plants into the grid. DOE will competitively select one or two projects for this funding, potentially partnering with national laboratories, universities, and industry. Awardees will strive to improve the accuracy of solar forecasting in the sub-hourly, short-term (1–6 hours), and day-ahead timeframes. The Energy Department plans to fund projects that could improve advanced weather modeling, find breakthrough methods for accurately predicting solar energy output, work to incorporate solar energy forecasts into power system operations, and demonstrate the economic benefits and improved system reliability from more accurate forecasts. See the DOE Progress Alert, the full announcement on the Funding Opportunity Exchange, and the SunShot Initiative website.   Energy Department Announces Solar "Plug-and-Play" Funding Solar A new SunShot Initiative effort is supporting plug-and-play photovoltaic for homes. Credit: MSB Energy Associates The Energy Department on April 24 announced that up to $5 million is available this year to develop "plug-and-play" photovoltaic (PV) systems. These are off-the-shelf systems that can be purchased, installed, and operational in one day. This effort is part of the Energy Department's strategy to spur solar power deployment by reducing non-hardware, or "soft" costs, such as installation, permitting, and interconnection, which currently amount to more than half of the total cost of residential systems. The funding, part of the Energy Department's SunShot Initiative, will help drive innovations to fundamentally change the design and installation of residential PV systems, reducing costs for homeowners and simplifying installations and grid connectivity. As the costs of solar PV modules continue to come down, soft costs and other non-module hardware costs, such as electronics and mounting hardware, now account for a majority of the total costs of systems. This offers significant opportunities to bring down costs through more efficient installation and permitting processes or new ways to affordably and effectively connect solar panels to the grid. Plug-and-play solar energy systems will make the process of buying, installing, and connecting solar energy systems faster, easier, and less expensive, potentially unlocking major cost reductions in this area. Plug-and-play PV systems could be installed without special training or tools, and simply plugged into a PV-ready circuit. An automatic detection system would initiate communication between the solar energy system and the utility. Plug-and-play systems are already in wide use in the computer and automotive industries, and DOE believes that similar innovations can be made in the solar energy industry to reduce costs and simplify installations. As part of a planned five-year program, DOE will invest an initial $5 million this year for two projects that will develop innovative plug-and-play prototypes through partnerships with universities, industry, utilities, and other stakeholders. The Energy Department plans to make an additional request of $20 million to Congress over the next four years to support these efforts. See the DOE press release, the full funding opportunity announcement, and the SunShot Initiative website.   Small Business Efficiency, Renewable Research Funding: Energy Department The Energy Department on April 9 announced that up to $9 million is available this year to fund about 50 small businesses to advance innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. This initiative will help businesses with promising ideas that could improve manufacturing processes, boost building efficiency, cut oil reliance, and generate renewable electricity. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is offering the funding through the department's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. These allow federal agencies with large research and development budgets to set aside a fraction of their funding for competitions among small businesses. Small businesses that win awards in these programs keep the rights to any technologies they develop and they are encouraged to commercialize them. This broad topic research solicitation gives small business broadly framed problems to work on and goals to achieve, and gives them the freedom to innovate. It also encourages small businesses with groundbreaking concepts to become part of the EERE programs' research teams. The funding opportunity includes 8 broad topics and 30 subtopics in areas including advanced manufacturing, energy-efficient buildings, biomass, hydrogen and fuel cells, solar energy, and wind and waterpower technologies. The Energy Department will fund selected small businesses with one-year awards of up to $150,000. Awardees with successful projects will have the opportunity to compete for more than $1 million in follow-on funding. See the EERE Progress Alert and the funding opportunity announcement on the Funding Opportunity Exchange website.   Michigan Company Unveils EV Systems Manufacturing Facility The Energy Department on April 16 announced the opening of an electric vehicle (EV) component manufacturing facility in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. The Magna E-Car Systems plant received $40 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funding from the Energy Department. The facility will provide components for EV systems, including those in the 2012 Ford Focus EV. It helps support the department's EV-Everywhere Challenge, a broad initiative to make EVs more affordable and convenient to own than today's gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 10 years. The 50,000-square-foot-production facility will be able to manufacture a variety of EV components in high volume under one roof, and next year it will be able to produce 500,000 EV components. Production has already started, and at full production, the plant will be able to manufacture electric motors, power electronics, battery chargers, and vehicle controllers, enabling it to assemble complete electric vehicle drivetrains. The Magna E-Car Systems plant is one of 30 advanced battery and electric drive manufacturing facilities supported by the Recovery Act. See the DOE press release and the DOE Vehicle Technologies Program website.   Biomass Cogeneration Facility Opens at Energy Department Site The Energy Department and Ameresco, Inc. marked the successful operational startup of a new $795 million biomass-fueled cogeneration facility at DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina, on March 12. The 20-megawatt project created an estimated 800 jobs, and when fully operational, the plant will employ 25 fulltime jobs onsite and support the local logging community. The facility replaced a deteriorating and inefficient 1950s-era coal powerhouse and oil-fired boilers and will generate an estimated $944 million in savings in fuel costs and operation and maintenance costs over the next 20 years. Biomass, consisting of local forest residue and wood chips, and bio-derived fuels will be the primary fuel source for the high-tech renewable energy facility, which has the capacity to combust 385,000 tons of forest residue annually. The projects also was the "Renewable Recipient" of the 2012 Renewable Energy World Excellence in Renewable Energy Award for Biomass Project of the Year. SRS is a key DOE industrial complex dedicated to environmental management and cleanup, nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship, and nuclear materials disposition in support of the U.S. nuclear non-proliferation efforts. The project is also the single largest renewable energy savings performance contract (ESPC) in U.S. history. DOE signed a 20-year fixed-price contract with Ameresco, a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, in 2009 to finance, design, construct, operate, maintain, and fuel the new biomass site. ESPCs are contracts in which private companies finance, install, and maintain new energy- and water-efficient equipment at federal facilities. The government pays no up-front costs, and the company's investment is repaid over time by the agency from the cost savings generated by the new equipment. This allows the government to use the private sector to purchase more energy-efficient systems and improve the energy performance of their facilities at no extra cost to the agency or taxpayers. See the SRS press release.

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

Harvesting the Sun at the West Tennessee Solar Farm The West Tennessee Solar Farm (WTSF) is now open for business! Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman attended the WTSF's ribbon cutting recently. At a capacity of five megawatts, the WTSF is the largest photovoltaic installation in the state of Tennessee and the seven-state Tennessee Valley Authority region. Located off I-40 in Haywood County, the WTSF is projected to produce enough energy to power 500 homes and offset 250 tons of coal per month. With $31 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds from the Energy Department, the WTSF is the largest funded project under DOE's State Energy Program. Over 100,000 hours of work were required to install 21,434 solar panels and connect the WTSF to the grid. Proceeds from the power sales will be used to operate, maintain, and expand the array, as well as fund education and demonstration related activities. The Tennessee Department of Transportation will soon begin construction on an Information and Welcome Center at the WTSF. The center, which will house an interactive educational display, is expected to be completed in 2013. Read the complete story on the Energy Department Blog. Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)