Department Of Energy | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

Retrofitting Our Way Back to Economic Recovery

By Chris de Morsella on October 19, 2009 2 Comments American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, carbon dioxide, CEQ, Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Labor, DOE, energy efficiency, energy efficiency retrofitting, energy efficient home, energy efficient mortgages, Energy Retrofit Working Group, Energy Star, energy-efficient, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, global warming, greenhouse gas, Hilda Solis, Joe Biden, Karen Mills, Middle Class Task Force, municipal energy financing, Nancy Sutley, Recovery Through Retrofit Report, reduce home energy bill, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Labor, Shaun Donovan, Small Business Administration, Steven Chu, weatherization, White House Council on Environmental Quality

This country’s 130 million homes together generate more than 20% of the nation’s carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. This is one of the most significant contributing sources in the country to global warming. Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce home energy use by up to 40 percent per home on average which would also lower our national greenhouse gas emissions by 160 million metric tons annually by the year 2020. In addition doing so would reduce home energy bills by $21 billion a year and over time these savings would more than pay for the high up-front costs for energy efficiency retrofitting.

$750M in New Funding for Renewable Energy Projects from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

By Chris de Morsella on October 19, 2009 1 Comment American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, biofuel, biomass, clean energy, Department of Energy, DOE, Financial Institution Partnership Program, FIPP, Geothermal, hydropower, loan guarantees, power transmission, private sector, renewable energy, solar;, Steven Chu, U.S. Energy Secretary, Washington D.C., wind

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced in Washington that the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $750 million in new funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help accelerate the development of renewable energy generation projects. This funding will be targeted to cover the cost of loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and could support as much as $4 to 8 billion in lending to eligible projects, and the Department will invite private sector participation to accelerate the financing of these renewable energy projects.

Grant Alert: Recovery Act Local Energy Assurance Planning Grant

By Chris de Morsella on October 17, 2009 1 Comment American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, biofuel, city government, Department of Energy, Diane Franklin, DOE, electricity grid, emergency preparedness, energy assurance, energy portfolio, energy supply, energy supply system, grant, LEAP, Local Energy Assurance Planning, National Energy Technology Laboratory, renewable energy, smart grid

The National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Recovery Act – Local Energy Assurance Planning (LEAP) Initiative is offering grants to city or township governments for programs and initiatives that help them develop energy assurance and resilience plans. The deadline for application is 10/22/09 and awards will be in the range of $60,000 and $300,000.

DOE Awards $24M in Wind Energy Research Grants

By Chris de Morsella on October 16, 2009 Comments Off on DOE Awards $24M in Wind Energy Research Grants American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Chicago, deepwater wind energy, Department of Energy, DOE, floating offshore wind turbine, hybrid composite materials, Illinois, Illinois Institute of Technology, Isle of Shoals, Maine, Marseilles, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Obama administration, Orono, renewable energy, research grant, Rosemount, Siemens 2.3 MW turbine, Steven Chu, turbine wake interaction, University of Maine, University of Maine's Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site, University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Outreach Research, University of New Hampshire, wind career opportunity, wind energy, wind energy efficiencies, wind energy research, wind farm interaction, wind internship, wind research fellowship, wind turbine, wind turbine drive train control, wind turbine rotor control

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced grant awards for up to $24 million, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to three university-led wind energy research facilities that have been selected to support university research and development programs to improve land-based and offshore wind turbine performance and reliability and to provide career educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in wind energy technologies. The three universities are: Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Maine and University of Minnesota.

Fracking Geothermal

By Chris de Morsella on October 5, 2009 1 Comment Apex Petroleum Engineering Inc., atmospheric vortex engine, AVE, base-load electric power, base-load generating capacity, coal, Colorado, Department of Energy, DOE, dry cooling, Englewood, Fracking, Geothermal, heat mining, hot dry rock geothermal, hydraulic fracture, Idaho, Joe Moore, John McLennan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, microseismic activity, MIT, nuclear, oil & gas industry, Raft River power plant, renewable energy, solar;, thermoelectric, U.S. Geothermal Inc., University of Utah, wet cooling, wind

Seriously folks you read it right… fracking (an actual technical term for hydraulic fracturing) hot dry rock reservoirs has the potential to open up vast hot dry rock “heat” reservoirs for use as a reliable geothermal energy source. According to a 400 page MIT study The Future of Geothermal Energy sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and published in 2007 the economically recoverable potential for “Heat Mining” in the US could grow to a cumulative installed generating capacity of 100GW in less than fifty years.

DOE Doles Out $300 Million in Clean Cities Grants to Support Clean Fuels, Vehicles, and Infrastructure Development

By Tracey de Morsella on September 1, 2009 1 Comment advanced vehicle technologies, alternative fuel, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Egg Harbor Township, and HEV Vehicles and Fueling Stations Initiative, Atlantic City, Austin, Autogas refueling stations in the following major metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Baton Rouge, biodiesel, biofuels, biogas, Camden, Chicago, City of Chicago, Clean Cities program, clean energy, Clean Energy Coalition’s CEC Michigan Green Fleets Initiative, Clean Fuels Ohio’s Ohio Advanced Transportation Partnership, Clean School Bus/Vehicle Incentive & Green Jobs Outreach Program, CNG, CNG dump trucks, compressed natural gas fueling stations, compressed natural gas vehicles, Dallas, Dallas-Fort Worth, DeKalb County’s DeKalb County/Metropolitan Atlanta Alternative Fuel and Advanced Technology Vehicle Project, Denver, Department of Energy, Department of Environment’s Chicago Area Alternative Fuels Deployment Project, DOE, electric vehicles, electricity, energy efficient vehicles, energy security, ethanol, EV, flex-fuel vehicles, garbage trucks, Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition’s Long Island Regional Energy Collaborative Promoting a Green Economy through Clean Alternatives, Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition, green transportation, Houston, hybrid school buses, hybrid technologies, hybrid truck, hybrids, hydraulic hybrids, Inc.’s Connecticut Clean Cities Future Fuels Project, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition’s Hybrid Electric School Buses Provide New Horsepower for Kentucky, Lake Charles, landfill gas, LFG, local governments, Los Angeles, LPG, Maryland Energy Administration’s Maryland Hybrid Truck Goods Movement, Metropolitan Energy Information Center’s Midwest Region Alternative Fuels Project, Michigan, Minerals and Energy’s Paving the Way with Propane: The AutoGas Corridor Development Program, Nassau, natural gas, New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition’s New Jersey Compressed Natural Gas Refuse Trucks, New Orleans, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)’s Statewide Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program for CNG, Newark, North Carolina, North Central Texas Council of Governments’ North Central Texas Alternative Fuel and Advanced Technology, NYSERDA, OATP, Oklahoma City, Orlando, petroleum, petroleum consumption, Phoenix, plug-in electric hybrids, pollution, propane, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Puget Sound Clean Cities Petroleum Reduction Project, Railroad Commission of Texas’ Texas Propane Fleet Pilot Program, refueling infrastructure, refueling locations, refuse collection vehicles, renewable gas, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Bernardino, San Bernardino Associated Governments’ J.B. Hunt LNG Truck Project: Made in America Initiative, San Diego, SCAQMD, Seattle, Secretary Chu, Shuttle Buses and Infrastructure, SOuth Carolina, South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Drayage Truck Replacement Initiative, South Coast Air Quality Management District’s UPS Ontario-Las Vegas LNG Corridor Expansion Project, South Gate, South Los Angeles, Southern CA Association of Governments Clean Cities Coalition’s Expanding California’s E85 Ethanol Fueling Infrastructure, Southern California, Southern California Association of Governments Clean Cities Coalition, St. Louis, state governments, State of Indiana’s: Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance Comprehensive Alternative Fuels Implementation Plan, State of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Clean Transportation Program, Steven Chu, Suffolk, Texas State Technical College’s Development of a National Liquid Propane (Autogas) Refueling Network, The Treasure Valley Clean Cities Coalition’s Idaho Petroleum Reduction Leadership Project, transportation authorities, Trenton, Triangle J Council of Governments’ Carolinas Blue Skies & Green Jobs Initiative, University of Michigan, Utah Clean Cities Coalition’s Clean Cities Transportation Sector Petroleum Reduction Technologies Program, Virginia Department of Mines

Last week, Secretary Chu announcen nearly $300 million in Clean Cities grants to support clean fuels, vehicles, and infrastructure development. The projects are designed to create jobs, limit pollution, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

The Green Economy’s Living Skin

By Chris de Morsella on August 24, 2009 3 Comments "Energy Saving Potentials and Air Quality Benefits of Urban Heat Island Mitigation", "Thermal Performance of Green Roofs through Field Evaluation", air pollution, brownfield restoration, Climate Change, CO2, concrete jungle, Department of Energy, DOE, energy, energy efficiency, environmental footprint, evapotranspiration, global warming, green design, green economy, green parking lots, green roofs, green walls, heat wave Europe 2003, heat waves, insulation, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Research Council of Canada, natural environment, natural habitat, peak energy demand, potable water, shade trees, shading, smog, South Coast Air Quality Management District, sustainable economy, thermal mass, urban design, urban forest, urban habitat, urban heat island, water pollution, water quality, Water Scarcity, wetland restoration

Green roofs, green walls, green parking lots, shade trees, the greening of urban spaces in general, the restoration of urban waterways, wetlands and the re-greening of brownfield areas; can all be thought of as different techniques to nurture a green living skin over regions of urban development. While there are many important differences between each of these separate techniques as well as their underlying technologies they all share a common overarching goal of bringing an analog of the natural living green skin that characterizes the natural landscape back into our urban areas. They all promote the restoration and re-integration of these heavily populated areas back into the surrounding natural environment.

Study Says Energy Efficiency Can Save The United States $1.2 Trillion

By Tracey de Morsella on August 2, 2009 1 Comment American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Climate Change, conservation, de-coupling, Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Urban Development, DOE, EEM, efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, energy consumption.The Obama Administration, energy costs, energy efficiency, Energy Efficient Mortgage program, energy savings, energy usage, energy-efficiency programs, energy-efficiency strategy, FHA, greenhouse gas emissions, home energy efficiency industry, homebuyers, homeowners, HUD, incentive programs, J. William Ichord, McKinsey & Co, nationwide standards, natural gas, peak electricity demand, per-customer consumption, ratemaking, SDG&E, Sempra, Shaun Donovan, SoCalGas, Southern California businesses, State Energy Program, Steven Chu, Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy, upgrade equipment, utility bills, weatherization, Weatherization Assistance Program

The United States has the potential to save more than $1.2 trillion in energy costs and cut consumption by 23 percent by 2020, according to a report released last week by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The comprehensive energy-efficiency strategy cited in the report removes approximately 1.1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually — the equivalent of taking the entire U.S. fleet of light trucks and passenger vehicles off the roads. It also could produce savings that exceed California’s total annual energy consumption.

Some Smart Grid Companies Are Linking Up

By Chris de Morsella on July 1, 2009 Comments Off on Some Smart Grid Companies Are Linking Up ABB group, Advanced Metering Infrastructure, Ambient Corporation, AMI, AT&T, Cooper Power Systems, Current Group, Department of Energy, Distribution Automation, DOE, DSL, Internet Protocol, IP, Itron Inc., Quest Communications, SCADA, Silver Spring Networks, smart grid, Smart Grid communications, Smart Grid platform, smart grid sensor, smart meter, utility companies, wireless data network

Partly in response to the Department of Energy having placed interoperability high on its criteria for evaluating projects applying for some of the $3.9 billion in federal stimulus grants and also because the large utility and integrated energy companies prefer to work with fewer partners, there has been a fair bit of movement towards forming partnerships amongst some of the players in the Smart Grid space. Companies that have strengths in certain key sectors of the Smart Grid arena are linking up with players who are strong in different segments in order to be able to promote and market broader integrated solutions.