ASERTTI News
DOE Seeks Input on National
Energy Rating Program for Homes
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a
Request for Information (RFI) on Tuesday, June 8,
2010 inviting interested parties to submit comments
that will help to develop a National Energy Rating
Program for Homes. This rating program will offer
consumers easy-to-understand, reliable information
about the energy performance of existing homes, and
help them identify cost-effective energy efficiency
investments for their homes. This
RFI seeks public input on the guiding principles for
the program, options and approaches for key elements
of the program, the proposed DOE approaches, and
additional work that the Department is considering.
The deadline for comments is July 10, 2010.
The Department plans to have an initial program
design available by early fall 2010.
For more information on the proposed National
Energy Rating Program for Homes and how to submit
your comments through the RFI, please
click here.
DOE Announces Request for
Information for Offshore Wind Demonstration Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a
Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from the
public on the research, development, and deployment
of offshore wind demonstration projects.
DOE's Wind Program is planning a research and
development program to stimulate responsible,
cost-effective offshore wind energy deployment in
coastal and Great Lakes regions of the country.
Under this RFI, DOE seeks further information
specific to advanced technology demonstration
projects. Information must be
received by July 14, 2010. Please
click here for more information.
Senator Lugar’s Practical
Energy and Climate Plan
U.S. Senator Dick Lugar recently introduced
Practical Energy and Climate Plan, S.3464,
which attempts to prioritize targeted policies that
can bring real money and energy savings while
providing flexible frameworks that encourage
investment in a more secure energy future.
The legislation focuses on reducing foreign
oil dependence, energy efficiency, diverse domestic
power, and a measurement and review and energy and
climate programs. U.S. Department
of Energy Secretary Chu responded to the Senator’s
introduction of the legislation in a
letter of appreciation for the
Senator’s contribution to the overall effort of
moving toward a clean energy future.
Please
click here for a section-by-section
outline of the legislation.
Bill Gates Wants More Energy
R&D
Microsoft founder Bill Gates says the U.S.
government should triple spending on basic research
and development of alternative sources of energy.
Gates and the American Energy Innovation Council
want spending increased to $16 billion a year and
urge the creation of an independent body to oversee
national energy strategy, ABC News reported Sunday.
When asked about increased spending in a time
of economic uncertainty and budget deficits, Gates
said, "I would distinguish between spending and
investment. What we're talking about is about 1
percent of what the United States spends on energy
being devoted (instead) to R&D."
Please
click here for the full story.
The Power to Compete:
Benchmarking the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act
on Clean Energy Innovation and Competitiveness
A new policy brief released by the Breakthrough
Institute and Americans for Energy Leadership
provides the first independent analysis of how the
Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act would impact U.S.
competitiveness in the global clean energy industry,
benchmarking its provisions against key policy
components for technological innovation and
industrial development in the low-carbon power and
transportation sectors. The
policy brief, titled "The Power to Compete: Analysis
of Key Clean Energy Technology and Competitiveness
Provisions in the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act
of 2010," assesses the proposal's key technology
provisions, including research and innovation,
manufacturing, and domestic market demand -- the
central pillars of a national clean energy
competitiveness strategy -- as well as supportive
mechanisms in infrastructure, workforce development,
and industry cluster formation.
Please
click here for more information and a link to
the briefing.
DOE Offers Conditional
Commitment to Support Nevada Geothermal Development
with Recovery Act Funds
Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced a
conditional commitment to provide a partial
guarantee for a $98.5 million loan by John Hancock
Financial Services to the Nevada Geothermal Power
Company (NGP) for a 49.5 megawatt geothermal project
in Humboldt County in northwestern Nevada.
The NGP Blue Mountain ("Blue Mountain")
project consists of a geothermal well field, fluid
collection and injection systems that enable energy
to be extracted from rock and fluid below the
Earth's surface, and a power plant that converts
geothermal energy into electricity. The project has
a 20-year power purchase agreement to sell
electricity and renewable energy credits to Nevada
Power Company. Please
click
here for more information.
DOE Offers $102 Million
Conditional Commitment for Loan Guarantee to U.S.
Geothermal, Inc.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced
the offer of a $102.2 million conditional commitment
for a loan guarantee to U.S. Geothermal, Inc. to
construct a 22 megawatt geothermal power project in
Malheur County, in southeastern Oregon. U.S.
Geothermal estimates that the planned project will
create 150 jobs during the 20-month construction
period and employ 10 skilled full-time workers when
it begins operating in 2012. The
project will use an improved technology to extract
energy from rock and fluids in the earth's crust
more efficiently. The technology, referred to as a
supercritical binary geothermal cycle, is estimated
to be more efficient than traditional geothermal
binary systems, allowing lower-temperature
geothermal resources to be used for power
generation. Please
click
here for more information.
Scientists Create Nano-Patterned
Superconducting Thin Films
A team of scientists from Bar-Ilan University,
Israel, and ASERTTI member, the U.S. Department of
Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, has
fabricated thin films patterned with large arrays of
nanowires and loops that are superconducting -- able
to carry electric current with no resistance -- when
cooled below about 30 kelvin (-243 degrees Celsius).
Even more interesting, the scientists showed they
could change the material’s electrical resistance in
an unexpected way by placing the material in an
external magnetic field. Please
click here for the full story.
Brooklyn’s Broadway
Stages Goes Green with Solar Energy Project
ASERTTI member, the New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), is
partnering with Broadway Stages in Brooklyn, one of
New York’s premier sound stage facilities, on a
solar energy project that will reduce the film
stage’s energy costs by more than $70,000 annually.
Greenpoint Energy Partners, LLC is the
project developer, and will arrange financing for
the project on behalf of Broadway Stages.
The solar photovoltaic (PV) system, to be
installed by Solar Energy LLC., is expected to
produce enough electricity to power approximately
120 single family homes annually, or approximately
32 percent of its power needs per year.
Broadway Stages, the site for production of
feature films, television series, commercials and
music videos, received nearly $900,000 in financial
incentives from NYSERDA for this project.
Please
click here for the full story.
SAVE THE DATE: NH3 (Ammonia)
FUEL: The Key to Energy Independence
The 7th Annual NH3 Fuel Conference will be held
September 26-28, 2010 in Romulus, Michigan.
Participants can expect a technical agenda
covering all areas of NH3 as a solution to energy
independence. Topics will include production,
storage, delivery, end uses and safety.
The deadline to submit a title and half-page
abstract to present at the NH3 Fuel Conference is
June 30, 2010. The emphasis of the paper should be
on some aspect of ammonia as a fuel -- NH3
production, storage, distribution, safety, and end
uses. Abstracts on the technical, regulatory,
economic and policy aspects of ammonia are also
acceptable. For more information about
the conference as well as information on how to
submit an abstract for consideration, please
click here.
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