The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

EERE Network News -- 10/20/04

A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The EERE Network News is also available on the Web at: www.eere.energy.gov/news/ October 20, 2004 News and Events DOE Awards $75 Million to Support Hydrogen Fuel Research DOE and DTE Energy Open Michigan Hydrogen Technology Park EERE-Funded Research Garners Ten Prestigious R&D 100 Awards USDA Awards $2.1 Million to 16 Renewable Energy Projects California Postal Facility Installs Largest Federal Solar Array Site News Community Energy Opportunity Finder Energy Connections Electric Research Groups Unveil New Power Grid Architecture ------------------------------------------------------------------------- News and Events DOE Awards $75 Million to Support Hydrogen Fuel Research DOE announced yesterday 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. DOE and DTE Energy Open Michigan Hydrogen Technology Park Acting Under Secretary of Energy David K. Garman participated yesterday 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. EERE-Funded Research Garners Ten Prestigious R&D 100 Awards 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. USDA Awards $2.1 Million to 16 Renewable Energy Projects The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week 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. California Postal Facility Installs Largest Federal Solar Array The U.S. Postal Service's solar power installation generates electricity while providing shade. Credit: PowerLight Corporation The U.S Postal Service (USPS) announced last week 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 Monday and runs through tomorrow. See the SEIA press release and the conference Web site. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site News Community Energy Opportunity Finder 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy Connections Electric Research Groups Unveil New Power Grid Architecture A coalition of utilities, government agencies, and non-profits unveiled last week 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter is funded by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and is also available on the EERE news page. You can subscribe to the EERE Network News using our simple online form.