August 19, 2010

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today award selections for approximately 120 organizations across the country that will receive nearly $120 million to drive innovation under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Weatherization Assistance Program. These investments will enable successful weatherization agencies to expand their programs and will support new pilot projects to demonstrate innovative weatherization delivery and financial models and new technologies. Secretary Chu also announced that the program reached a new milestone in June—weatherizing more than 31,600 homes across the country.

“The weatherization program under the Recovery Act is successfully creating jobs in local communities, saving money for families, and reducing carbon pollution across the country,” said Secretary Chu. “The funding announced today builds on the Department’s existing investments in energy efficiency to continue to expand and drive innovations in the weatherization program that will provide even greater energy and cost savings to low-income families.”

After ramping up last year, the Weatherization Assistance Program is now weatherizing homes at its optimal run rate—approximately 25,000 homes per month. And in June, states reported that more than 31,600 homes were weatherized with Recovery Act funding—the most ever in a month. This summer alone, more than 80,000 homes will be weatherized across the country. See the state breakdown of the homes weatherized through June.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=384

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released its “2009 Wind Technologies Market Report.” This report, authored primarily by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, provides a comprehensive overview of trends in the rapidly-evolving U.S. wind power market.

For the first time, this year’s Wind Technologies Market Report estimates the amount of wind turbine and component imports from other countries. The study finds that a growing percentage of wind turbine equipment is being sourced domestically, as both domestic and foreign companies seek to minimize transportation costs and currency risks by establishing local manufacturing capabilities. When presented as a fraction of total wind turbine equipment-related costs, the overall U.S. content is found to have increased from about 50% in 2008 to roughly 60% in 2009.

According to the report, 2009 was another record-breaking year for U.S. wind power additions. The 10 gigawatts of capacity additions represent a $21 billion investment in new wind power projects, and enough capacity to power the equivalent of 2.4 million homes. Wind projects accounted for 39% of all new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2009, and wind energy is now able to deliver 2.5% of the nation’s electricity supply.

This report analyzes trends in wind power capacity, industry, manufacturing, turbines, installed project costs, project performance, and how wind power prices compare to conventional generation. It also describes trends among wind power developers, project owners, and power purchasers, and discusses financing issues.

Other key findings of the report include the following:

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=376

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced 15 research and deployment partnerships to help dramatically improve the energy efficiency of American homes. These highly-qualified, multidisciplinary teams will receive a total of up to $30 million for the initial eighteen months of the projects to deliver innovative energy efficiency strategies to the residential market and address barriers to bringing high-efficiency homes within reach for all Americans. A total of up to $20 million per year will also be made available for the partnerships for three potential one-year extensions. These research and deployment partnerships will provide technical assistance to retrofit projects and will leverage industry expertise and funding to support DOE’s energy efficiency retrofit programs. This effort will support the Department’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, announced by Vice President Joe Biden in April, which brings communities, governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations together to deliver energy-efficiency upgrades—or retrofits—to whole neighborhoods and cities.

“Home energy efficiency is one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost-effective ways to reduce carbon pollution and save money on energy bills, while creating new jobs,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “By developing and using tools to reduce residential energy use, we will spur economic growth here in America and help homeowners make cost-cutting improvements in their homes.”

The partnerships announced today will provide additional support to ongoing retrofit initiatives that are making cost-effective energy efficiency retrofits easily accessible to hundreds of thousands of American homes and businesses. These partnerships will research and deploy new technologies and demonstration projects, and provide systems engineering, quality assurance, and outreach for retrofit projects throughout the country.

Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting—such as air-tight ducts, windows and doors, heating and cooling systems, insulation and caulking—can reduce energy use by up to 40% per home and cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.

The following selections were made though the DOE Building Technologies Program, which forges research partnerships across the residential building industry to develop cost-effective solutions that dramatically reduce the average energy use of housing while improving comfort and quality. To find out more, visit the Buildings Technology Program Web site.

To further support the broad deployment of energy efficiency building retrofits, DOE is hosting the Residential Building Energy Efficiency Meeting 2010 in Denver, Colorado from July 20-22, to present cutting-edge research results, identify key stakeholder and market transformation needs, and facilitate collaboration opportunities between conference participants. This conference is targeted to researchers, architects, contractors, manufacturers, builders, utilities, legislators, lenders, realtors, auditors, raters, installation technicians, HOA representatives, and anyone else interested in creating substantial connections with the field.

The following is a brief description of the selected teams, which will each receive between $500,000 and $2.5 million depending on their performance:

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=370

The Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the launch of a technical assistance program that will support projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through DOE’s State Energy Program (SEP) and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG). Funded with up to $25 million under the Recovery Act, the program will provide states, cities, and tribes with the tools and resources they need to implement successful and sustainable renewable energy projects, such as wind farms and solar systems, and deploy cost-effective, clean, and reliable energy-saving technologies in buildings and infrastructure nationwide. The Technical Assistance Program (TAP)—which is jointly-funded with EECBG and SEP Recovery Act funds—will accelerate project execution, improve program performance, and increase the return on Recovery Act investments. This effort is another way that the Department is creating green jobs, making homes and businesses more energy efficient, and installing renewable energy systems across America.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=367

Picture a neighborhood block somewhere in your town. It might have single-story homes for 10 families—complete with front porches, sidewalks, and green lawns. Or instead that block might have a single apartment building that houses 50 families over five floors. What we know is that each of the families—whether they’re living in a detached house or a mid-rise apartment—pays away some of their hard-earned dollars to pay for energy. And for many low-income Americans, these energy bills absorb a significant amount of the family income.

Now imagine that teams of trained experts come down that block and install measures to help those families save energy. Insulation, caulking, weatherstripping, windows, better furnaces, or water heaters. So families’ energy bills go down and their comfort goes up. We call this “weatherization”—and it’s happening in more than 82,000 homes as part of the Recovery Summer.

So picture that—what does 82,000 homes look like? That’s a lot of houses. And how do the 82,000 families with lower energy bills and improved comfort feel? I’ll bet given these challenging economic times they’re resting a bit more easily. This could not be achieved without the determined and committed hard work of more than 900 community action agencies and state weatherization agencies nationwide. Twelve states have now weatherized more than 30% of the homes they planned to complete under the Recovery Act, marking a major milestone in this effort to make American households more energy efficient. This video expresses my personal gratitude for the hard work that has made our remarkable progress to weatherize America possible.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=365

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced awards totaling more than $76 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support advanced energy-efficient building technology projects and the development of training programs for commercial building equipment technicians, building operators, and energy auditors.

The 58 projects selected today will help make the nation’s buildings more energy efficient and cost-effective. They will also support programs to train workers to service and operate new and existing buildings, to develop and deploy best practices resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and to establish a green workforce with technical expertise to reduce energy costs for consumers.

“These projects will help the United States lead the world in advancing energy-efficient technologies,” Secretary Chu said. “Energy-efficient commercial buildings will help our country cut its carbon emissions and energy costs while the training programs will upgrade the skills of the current workforce and attract the next generation to careers in the emerging clean-energy economy.”

The Department of Energy also released today a new video that showcases the story of Greensburg, Kansas, a town devastated by a tornado in 2007, which came back to be one of the nation’s most energy-efficient, sustainable communities. Many of the town’s government buildings use cutting-edge energy-saving technologies, such as high-efficiency windows, lighting, and heating and ventilation systems, saving local taxpayer money. Greensburg has shown that any city can reach its energy efficiency and renewable energy goals today using widely available technologies. View the video to see how Greensburg was able to “build green.”

The nation’s 114 million households and more than 74 million square feet of commercial floor space account for approximately 40% of U.S. primary energy consumption, as well as 39% of carbon dioxide, 18% of nitrogen oxides, and 55% of sulfur dioxide emissions. These projects will help lower the energy demands and emissions of commercial buildings and promote a specialized, energy-efficient buildings workforce.

Advanced Energy-Efficient Building Technology Projects

These 45 awards for advanced energy-efficient building technology projects will receive over $68.4 million and will be leveraged with more than $31.4 million in funding from private industry, for a total project value of nearly $100 million. Projects have been selected in the following five areas:

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=356

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that 20 communities have been selected for more than $60 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to implement local energy efficiency and renewable energy programs that will reduce energy use by American homes, vehicles, and businesses. Local governments, nonprofit organizations, and quasi-governmental organizations are among the recipients for the competitive grants, administered under the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.

“These projects will stimulate the economy and create jobs on the main streets of local communities across the nation through innovative investments in energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable power generation,” said Under Secretary of Energy Kristina Johnson. “We already have proven technologies to reduce energy use at home and at work. These projects will provide access to those tools for more Americans, saving money for thousands of families and businesses.”

These awards were open to local communities that were not eligible to receive the initial, population-based formula grants under the EECBG program. The projects announced today will continue to build on the Recovery Act’s historic down-payment for a clean energy future, empowering local communities to address their clean energy priorities through projects such as residential, commercial, and municipal energy efficiency retrofits, efficiency improvements to transportation systems, and installations of renewable energy systems to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=352

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that 34 projects in 27 states have been selected to receive $29 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to develop and expand weatherization training centers across the country. These projects will provide green job training for local workers in energy efficiency retrofitting and weatherization services. With this training, skilled workers can help expand the use of energy efficient practices in America’s homes and businesses.

“A well-trained workforce will be a crucial part of America’s clean energy economy in the years ahead,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. “These investments in efficiency training programs will help build a foundation for long-term growth in America. Energy efficiency improves the competitiveness of our economy, benefits the environment, and puts Americans back to work.”

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=350

The National Wind Coordinating Collaborative (NWCC), a partnership funded by DOE that builds stakeholder consensus on issues confronting wind power development, today released a paper examining bird and bat interactions with land-based wind turbines. The paper, “Wind Turbine Interactions with Birds, Bats, and their Habitats: A Summary of Research Results and Priority Questions,” provides a literature review of previous NWCC research and peer-reviewed studies on the subject.

Technical experts conducted the literature survey and wrote the paper in conjunction with a review panel including representatives from the wind industry, academia, conservation and environmental protection organizations, and federal agencies. The paper discusses the current state of information regarding bird and bat interactions with wind turbines by examining what studies show about these interactions, what aspects of these interactions are only partially understood or documented, and what opportunities exist for continued research.

The paper notes that impacts on birds and bats have been demonstrated at many wind power facilities but that these impacts vary among facilities and regions. Also, the paper reports that the impact of collisions with wind turbines is several orders of magnitude lower than impacts from other human-related causes of songbird mortality.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=347

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $11 million in funding over three years for research and development in the area of thermochemical conversion of biomass into advanced biofuels that are compatible with existing fueling infrastructure. The objective of this funding is to improve the conversion of non-food biomass to liquid transportation hydrocarbon fuels via pyrolysis, a process that decomposes biomass using heat in the absence of oxygen to produce a bio-oil that can be upgraded to renewable diesel, gasoline, or jet fuel. This funding opportunity is part of the Department’s effort to accelerate development and deployment of sustainable, renewable biofuels that significantly reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Previous research has shown the potential of upgrading biomass pyrolysis oil to a form that is stable for six months under ambient conditions. DOE is seeking projects that will further upgrade stabilized bio-oil into a refinery-ready intermediate, and demonstrate production of a final hydrocarbon fuel. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is requesting applications for projects that will:

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=344