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October 20, 2004
News and Events
Site News
- Community Energy Opportunity Finder
- Electric Research Groups Unveil New Power Grid Architecture
DOE announced on October 19th its selection of 36 research projects to
receive more than $75 million to support the President's Hydrogen Fuel
Initiative, including 11 projects to produce hydrogen from sunlight.
The projects address major recommendations from the recent National
Research Council (NRC) report, "The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers and R&D; Needs," such as the NRC's call for shifting
towards more exploratory research on sustainable, carbon-free pathways
for hydrogen production.
The selected projects also establish more robust programs in
distributed hydrogen-generation appliances—such as small-scale
natural gas reformers and electrolyzers—that can be sited at
existing gasoline stations. These projects will address the NRC's
recommendation to use existing natural gas pipelines and electricity
transmission and distribution systems for near-term hydrogen
production. These small-scale technologies can also generate hydrogen
from renewable resources such as biomass liquids and wind power.
When private cost share is included, the 36 projects come to a nearly
$100 million investment and involve more than 115 organizations,
including academia, industry, and DOE national laboratories. Projects
were chosen through a merit-review, competitive solicitation process.
See the DOE press release and the full list of projects (PDF 35 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.
Acting Under Secretary of Energy David K. Garman participated
on October 19th in the opening of a hydrogen technology park that will
produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources and use it to refuel
fuel-cell vehicles. The Michigan Hydrogen Technology Park, located in
Southfield, converts electricity from solar power panels at the site
and from a municipal solid waste plant off-site to make hydrogen from
water. Funded through DOE's State Energy Program, the project is a
cost-shared effort between DOE and DTE Energy, running for three years
at a cost of $3 million. In addition, DaimlerChrysler will provide the
vehicles for the project, while BP will provide the refueling
technology. See the DOE press release, and for more information, see DOE's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program.
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DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
contributed to 10 of the year's top 100 technology developments with
commercial potential, according to R&D; Magazine, which presented its
42nd annual R&D; 100 Awards on October 14th. The awards recognize the
most promising new products, processes, materials, or software
developed throughout the world and introduced to the market the
previous year.
DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory contributed to two winning
technologies relating to renewable energy: a robust and lightweight
thin-film solar power module and an enzymatic process for converting
cellulose (found in wood and grasses) to glucose, which can then be
converted into fuels or chemicals.
Four award-winning technologies relate to industrial energy
efficiency: DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a system for
heating high-performance aluminum forgings; DOE's Argonne National
Laboratory helped develop a software model of a glass furnace;
DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Sandia National
Laboratories helped develop a radio imaging system that maps
underground features to help mines avoid hazards; and NETL helped
develop a system that replaces vibrating screen machines, used for
tasks such as separating sand from gravel.
Four awards went to energy efficiency technologies for buildings and
vehicles. NETL helped to develop a ceramic-based electrochromic
window, which can be electronically dimmed to control glare and heat
gain in buildings and vehicles. DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory developed its own electrochromic window prototype using
lower-cost metals such as nickel and manganese. Sandia developed a
process to create brighter, more efficient light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) for high-efficiency lights, which have applications in both
buildings and vehicles. And Argonne developed the Powertrain System
Analysis Toolkit software, which lets vehicle designers compare
advanced powertrain configurations, including hybrid and fuel cell
vehicles.
Overall, DOE technologies won 36 of the 100 awards, including one that
went to Argonne and NETL for a hydrogen-separation membrane
technology. For more information about the awards, see the DOE press release, which includes links to press releases from the DOE national laboratories.
Awards also went to two energy-efficiency technologies that weren't
developed by DOE: a high-efficiency air conditioner developed by
Idalex Technologies, Inc., and a low-cost, high-temperature fuel cell
membrane developed by Virginia Tech and Battelle. See R&D; Magazine's
descriptions of all R&D; 100 Award winners.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on October 13th grants
of $2.1 million to 16 business ventures related to biomass, wind, and
solar energy resources. The grantees include seven projects related to
ethanol, four related to converting farm waste into energy, two
biodiesel projects, one wind energy project, one solar energy project,
and one project to evaluate generating energy, fuel, and other
products from low-quality wood resources. The grants will go towards
efforts such as creating a business plan for harnessing wind energy in
Colorado, determining the feasibility of marketing ethanol from a
plant in Illinois, and determining the feasibility of converting dairy
biogas in Idaho into either automotive fuel or a high-purity gas for
distribution by pipeline.
The renewable energy ventures are part of $13.1 million in
agricultural product market development grants announced by USDA last
week. These "value-added" grants are aimed at refining agricultural
commodities and products to increase their value in the market place.
See the USDA press release, the list of recipients, and the project descriptions (PDF 156 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.
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The U.S. Postal Service's solar power installation generates electricity while providing shade. Credit: PowerLight Corporation |
The U.S Postal Service (USPS) announced on October 13th that it has
completed the installation of 403-kilowatt solar electric system, as
well as a number of energy efficiency upgrades, on its West Sacramento
Processing & Distribution Center. PowerLight Corporation provided the
solar array, consisting of 2,120 solar panels mounted on a parking
facility that covers nearly 28,000 square feet. Chevron Energy
Solutions managed the project, which also included energy-efficiency
improvements such as new energy-efficient lighting systems; heating,
cooling and ventilation systems; air compressors; and energy
management controls.
The improvements will reduce the facility's annual electricity
purchases by more than $615,000 and its power consumption by more than
33 percent, or about 5.5 million kilowatt-hours per year. The
improvements will also lower the facility's natural gas use by about
43,000 therms per year. The $6.3-million project was funded entirely
through energy savings and utility rebates incentives, including a
$1.6-million rebate from Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E;)
self-generation incentive program. PG&E; will also provide a $300,000
rebate for the energy efficiency improvements at the facility. See the
Chevron Energy Solutions press release.
The new USPS solar installation arrives on the scene just as the
nation's largest-ever business-to-business and business-to-consumer
solar expo and conference kicks off in San Francisco. Solar Power
2004, presented by the Solar Electric Power Association and the Solar
Energy Industries Association (SEIA), started on October 18th and runs
through October 21st. See the SEIA press release and the conference Web site.
The Rocky Mountain Institute's Community Energy Opportunity Finder is
an interactive tool that collects information about community energy
use and provides suggestions for beneficial energy efficiency and
renewable energy measures. The tool also estimates potential energy
and dollar savings, emissions reduction, and job creation.
Electric Research Groups Unveil New Power Grid Architecture
A coalition of utilities, government agencies, and non-profits
unveiled on October 14th their proposed architecture for a new "smart" power
grid that integrates the power delivery system with the information
system that controls it. The smart power delivery system concept,
called Intelligrid Architecture, includes automated capabilities to
recognize problems in the system, find solutions, and optimize the
performance of the system. Such a power system would offer greater
reliability and flexibility while enhancing system security. The
Intelligrid Architecture is described in a report that includes a
catalog of the functions of the electricity system, a set of design
tools, and recommendations for standards and technologies.
Some utilities and agencies are making plans to use of some of the
Intelligrid Architecture tools in the near future. The California
Energy Commission, for example, plans to use the tools in working with
three major California utilities to design consistent automated demand
response systems. Other utilities plan to use the tools to automate
substation design, and upgrade communications systems between control
centers and power plants.
The Intelligrid Architecture report was sponsored by a consortium of
partners organized by the Electricity Innovation Institute (E2I), an
affiliate of the Electric Power Research Institute. See the E2I press release or go directly to the Intelligrid Architecture report and tools.
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