ASERTTI News
E12, E13, E15 – Senators Call
for Rapid Blend Approvals, Governors Call for
Approval or Compromise Action
As reported by 25'x25', the recent announcement
from EPA that it is delaying again a decision on a
request to increase ethanol blend limits in gasoline
is raising concerns among conventional and
cellulosic ethanol advocates. It marks the second
delay in the agency's response to a request that
ethanol blends in gasoline be increased from 10
percent (E10) to 15 percent (E15). The agency
delayed a decision that ostensibly was due last
fall, claiming a ruling on the blend increase would
come this summer. The industry has already collided
with a blend "wall" created by the E10 limits,
causing U.S. ethanol exports to soar. Allowing
higher ethanol blends would produce a new ethanol
demand that could displace more than 200 million
barrels of imported oil.
Following the announcement, a group of prominent
Republicans -- Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John
Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Kit Bond
(R-Mo.) -- asked President Obama to speed up
approval of higher blends of ethanol in gasoline.
The lawmakers said the ethanol waiver should be a
priority for the administration given Obama's push
to lessen dependence on fossil fuels in response to
the oil spilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
25x'25 also reported that absent a speedy
government decision on the higher mix, a reasonable
alternative for the Obama administration is adoption
of a
proposal from the Governors
Biofuels Coalition that offers a logical and
balanced solution for breaking through the E10 blend
wall. The proposal calls for EPA to approve what the
Clean Air Act calls a "substantially similar" waiver
for E12 or E13. The "sub-sim" designation can be
expedited, while federal researchers continue their
testing of higher blends. By immediately approving
an intermediate ethanol blend such as E12, the
industry would get a 20-percent bump in potential
market share, providing biofuel manufacturers with
some relief while testing goes on.
Please
click here
to read more.
New USDA Report Provides
Roadmap to Achieve America's Renewable Energy Goals
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently
released a report outlining both the current state
of renewable transportation fuels efforts in America
and a plan to develop regional strategies to
increase the production, marketing and distribution
of biofuels. The report provides information on
current production and consumption capacities as
well as projections to meet the Renewable Fuels
Standard (RFS2) mandate to use 36 billion gallons of
biofuel per year in America's fuel supply by 2022.
Please
click here for the full story and a link to the
report.
Commercial Buildings
Consortium (CBC) Briefing
ASERTTI Executive Director, David Terry,
represented ASERTTI, NASEO, and the Commercial
Buildings Consortium (CBC) during a luncheon
briefing on June 18, 2010 hosted by the High
Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition
during the Caucus's High-Performance Building Week.
Mr. Terry, along with Brad Hollomon,
the ASERTTI CBC Lead, provided the audience with an
overview of the history and background of the CBC,
CBC progress to date, and an outlook of CBC in the
coming years. Please
click
here to view the presentation.
DOE Announces More Than $76
Million for Advanced Energy-Efficient Building
Technologies and Commercial Building Training
Programs
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently
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 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. Please
click
here for the full story.
EPRI and SolarCity to Install
Photovoltaic Rooftop Research System
ASERTTI member, the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI), and SolarCity®, a national leader
in solar financing, design, installation, monitoring
and related services, recently announced a project
that will install a 187-kilowatt solar photovoltaic
(PV) research system at the institute's
headquarters. The SolarCity PV
rooftop system is expected to produce more than 7.3
million kWh over the next 30 years and offset about
11 percent of EPRI's annual power usage at its
four-building research campus. When completed in
mid-August, it will be the second largest solar
installation in Palo Alto. The PV
array will facilitate EPRI's research on a
low-carbon generation portfolio in which solar and
other renewables, such as wind and biomass, will
play an increasing role in the future. It is
expected to provide real-time data on electricity
generated that will be used to measure the impact of
variability on a distribution system.
Additionally, it will supply power-quality
data that could be used for distribution circuit
analysis and assessment of optimized performance
levels. Please
click here for the full story.
LIPA Celebrates Major
Milestone for its Refrigerator Recycling Program
ASERTTI member, the Long Island Power Authority
(LIPA), President and CEO Kevin S. Law and Appliance
Recycling Centers of America, Inc (ARCA) Vice
President of Resource Efficiency Programs Bruce J.
Wall recently announced that LIPA's Refrigerator
Recycling Program has reached 1,000 customers
highlighting both of the company's commitment to
energy efficiency, recycling and environmental
awareness. "This is a significant
milestone for us," said Law. "The only way we can
truly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is to
become smarter about the way we use energy. This
program will continue to allow our customers to
lower their electric bills, save money and be
proactive in protecting the environment."
Please
click here to read more.
National Grid and NYSERDA
Announce Joint Initiative to Help Hospitals Reduce
Energy
Usage, Control Costs and Minimize Environmental
Impacts
National Grid and ASERTTI member, the New York
State Energy Research and Development
Authority, recently launched "Energy Efficiency For
Health," a powerful new partnership to help National
Grid's hospital customers across New York State
reduce their energy usage, save on operating costs
and cut greenhouse gas emissions through more
efficient use of electricity and natural gas.
Under the new initiative, National Grid and
NYSERDA will work together to provide hospitals with
individualized and targeted technical assistance as
well as up to $10 million in funding for energy
efficiency initiatives that will generate as much as
$5 Million in annual energy savings.
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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