| The Energy Department announced on September 19 that 33 breakthrough energy projects will receive approximately $66 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The support comes under two new programs, one designed for recycling metals for lightweight vehicles, and the other to develop biological technologies to convert biogas to liquids for transportation fuels. Funding will go to recipients in 15 states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Washington. The Modern Electro/Thermochemical Advancements for Light-metal Systems (METALS) program provides $32 million to find cost-effective and energy-efficient manufacturing techniques to process and recycle metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and titanium, which are ideal for creating lighter vehicles that can save fuel and reduce carbon emissions. For example, the Palo Alto Research Center in Palo Alto, California will develop a new electrochemical diagnostic probe that can identify the composition of light metal scrap for efficient sorting, which could reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions, and costs by enabling recycling of typically discarded light metal scrap. The Reducing Emissions using Methanotrophic Organisms for Transportation Energy (REMOTE) program provides $34 million to find advanced biocatalyst technologies that can convert biogas to liquid fuel for transportation. This program aims to lower the cost of gas to liquid conversion while enabling the use of low-cost, low-carbon, domestically-produced natural tgas. For example, GreenLight Biosciences, in Medford, Massachusetts will develop a cell-free bioreactor that can convert large quantities of methane-to-liquid fuel in one step, which could enable mobile fermenters to access remote sources of natural gas for low-cost conversion of natural gas to liquid fuel. See the Energy Department press release and the complete list of projects .   The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Georgetown University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement on September 17 to collaborate on the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a competition to encourage innovative, replicable, and scalable approaches to reducing energy use in communities across the United States. Aimed at increasing the number of municipalities, utilities, and individuals working to save energy in their homes and communities, the MOU supports President Obama's Climate Action Plan by pursuing greater energy efficiency that reduces greenhouse gases and saves consumers money. Beginning in February 2014, U.S. municipalities ranging in population from 5,000-250,000 residents will be eligible to compete for the prize by reducing their energy use. Participating communities must develop a long-term energy efficiency plan and demonstrate initial effectiveness and sustainability during a two-year period. The winning community will receive $5 million provided by private sponsors, which will help to support their continuing community-based energy efficiency efforts. Interested parties are invited to learn more about Georgetown Energy Prize, review the competition's rules and timeline, and register their communities in advance of the formal launch in February. The Energy Department's Building Technologies Office will advise the Georgetown University Energy Prize in refining competition guidelines, promoting the prize among key stakeholders, and providing technical assistance to participating communities. See the Energy Department's Progress Alert. Production scale, not lower labor costs, drives China's current advantage in manufacturing photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems, according to a new report released on September 5 by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Although the prevailing belief is that low labor costs and direct government subsidies for PV manufacturing in China account for that country's dominance in PV manufacturing, the NREL/MIT study shows that a majority of the region's competitive advantage comes from production scale—enabled, in part, through preferred access to capital (indirect government subsidies) —and resulting supply-chain benefits. The study's findings suggest that the current advantages of China-based manufacturers could be reproduced in the United States. "Assessing the Drivers of Regional Trends in Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing," co-authored by NREL and MIT, and funded by the Energy Department through its Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Energy & Environmental Science. By developing manufacturing cost models, the team of researchers examined the underlying causes for shifts from a global network of manufactures to a production base that is now largely based in China. The study shows that China's historical advantage in low-cost manufacturing is mainly due to advantages of production scale, and is offset by other country-specific factors, such as investment risk and inflation. The authors also found that technology innovation and global supply-chain development could enable increased manufacturing scale around the world, resulting in broader, subsidy-free PV deployment and the potential for manufacturing price parity in most regions. See the Energy Department Progress Alert and the complete report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on September 12 announced more than $136 million in loan guarantees to build more than 2,200 miles of electric transmission line, incluuding more than $5 million in smart grid projects and nearly $3 million to improve electric service for Native Americans. The loan guarantees are made available through the USDA Rural Development program. For example, in Minnesota, Rural Development will finance nearly $16 million in loan guarantees to build more than 200 miles of electricity transmission line and finance more than $1.7 million in smart grid technologies for two projects. And Wyoming's High Plains Power will use nearly $1.4 million of its loan for smart grid projects and $2.4 million for service to Native Americans. See the USDA press release. |
| As if designing and building solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive wasn’t challenging enough, the teams competing in the Solar Decathlon must also overcome another hurdle: Safely transporting their houses to the competition site in Irvine, California. Whether the houses have to travel 50 miles or 10,000, the transportation decisions the teams make can directly impact their final design. Early on, teams must decide how they will move their houses, the appliances and furniture for public exhibit, and all the equipment necessary to reassemble the house for the competition. Not only do they have to consider transportation costs, the teams also have to factor in the size restrictions for each mode of transportation. And since the teams only have nine days to reassemble their houses before the start of the competition, they have to plan down to the minute the arrival of their house to the competition site. For the complete story, see the Solar Decathlon website and Energy Blog. |
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