Secretary Chu Announces $37.5 Million Available for Joint U.S.-Chinese Clean Energy Research

Washington, DC – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today the availability of $37.5 million in U.S. funding over the next five years to support the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. Funding from the Department of Energy will be matched by the grantees to support $75 million in total U.S. research that will focus on advancing technologies for building energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles. The Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) will be located in existing facilities in both the U.S. and China and will include an additional $75 million in Chinese funding.

“Cooperation between China and the United States on clean energy is crucial to confronting the global climate crisis and presents an important opportunity to create American jobs and build U.S. leadership in a growing global industry,” said Secretary Chu. “By jointly developing new technologies and learning from China’s experiences, we can create new export opportunities for American companies and ensure that we remain on the cutting edge of innovation. This partnership will also be a foundation for broader partnerships with China on cutting carbon pollution.”

President Obama and President Hu Jintao formally announced the establishment of the CERC during the President’s trip to Beijing last November. At the time, Secretary Chu joined with Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang and Chinese National Energy Administrator Zhang Guobao to sign the protocol launching the Center. The CERC will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from both the U.S. and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country. Funding from the U.S. Government will be used to support work conducted by U.S. institutions and individuals only.

The U.S. and China are the world’s top energy consumers, energy producers and greenhouse gas emitters. They will play central roles in the world’s transition to a clean energy economy in the years ahead. Technology will play an important role in this transition, and the U.S. and China have a strong shared interest in advances in key technologies. The initial research areas under the CERC – building efficiency, clean coal and clean vehicles – are areas where the U.S. and China have complementary strengths, so that each country can benefit from internationally collaborative research.

DOE will provide one award for each of the CERC’s initial work areas – building efficiency, clean coal and clean vehicles. Universities, national labs, private companies and other relevant entities are eligible to apply through Grants.gov. Applications are due by Friday, May 14 with selections expected this summer. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is available on FedConnect's public opportunities page.

Secretary Salazar Announces $3.7 Million in Renewable Energy Project Grants for 13 Tribal Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development has awarded $3.7 million to tribes that are developing renewable energy resources for their communities. Access to these resources will allow these communities to develop jobs and additional economic opportunities on their reservations, while decreasing their reliance on fossil fuels.

“This President has made the development of renewable energy in America one of his highest priorities,” Salazar said. “Many tribes are in a unique position to benefit greatly from a variety of renewable energy sources and the Department is committed to helping these communities to achieve this goal.”

The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, in partnership with the Office of Trust Services in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has identified 13 tribes that have significant potential for quickly developing biomass, geothermal, or hydroelectric energy on their reservations. The tribes, resources and award amounts are listed in the attached table.

Salazar noted that tribal communities have shown exceptional interest in renewable energy development.

“This attests to the tribes’ desire to use their available energy resources for the benefit of its members,” he said. “It also indicates the willingness of tribes to help America reduce our dependence on foreign energy resources through domestic production.”

In addition to gaining access to the energy itself, all of these projects would also provide job opportunities for reservation residents. “The Department’s Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development is working hand-in-hand with tribes to provide technical assistance for energy, mineral, and economic development on reservations,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry EchoHawk. “The Office is using innovative and collaborative approaches to improve economic opportunities for the tribes, including renewable energy development, and to help promote new jobs, new businesses, and new capital on tribal lands.”

The proposed projects were identified by the individual tribes, which developed comprehensive proposals that were evaluated by the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development under a competitive process.

The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development is in the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs. Its mission is to foster stronger American Indian and Alaska Native communities by helping federally recognized tribes with employment and workforce training programs; helping tribes develop their renewable and non-renewable energy and mineral resources; and increasing access to capital for tribal and individual American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses. For more information about IEED programs and services, visit http://www.indianaffairs.gov/IEED.

Renewable Energy Projects and Funding Received

Geothermal (6)

• Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California - $350,000
• Benton Paiute Tribe - $350,000
• Cedarville Rancheria - $300,000
• Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe - $350,000
• Rosebud Sioux Tribe - $150,000
• Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe - $750,000

Biomass (4)

• Colville Confederated Tribes - $200,000
• Fond du Lac Reservation - $250,000
• Oneida Nation - $250,000
• Ho-Chunk Nation - $150,000

Hydroelectric (3)

• Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) of the Flathead Reservation - $260,000
• Cherokee Nation - $150,000
• Crow Tribe - Apsáalooke Nation - $200,000

Solar Industry To Hit US $77B in 2015

Boston, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

As the books close on what was a turbulent 2009 for the solar industry, Lux Research said that the solar market will soon see the lopsided supply and demand that characterized much of the last year return to equilibrium. According to the new report Solar's Shakeout: Europe Loses Leadership as China Rises," strong demand growth in Asia and the U.S. will push the market to 9.3 GW in 2010, hitting a dollar value of US $39 billion.

Building from there, continuing price reductions for all types of solar technology are expected to open new markets and help the solar industry reach $77 billion in revenue and 26.4 GW in capacity by 2015.

A large portion of the growth is expected to come from China, which in the last few years has become large manufacturer of solar modules and materials, but not yet a large buyer of them. Lux said it expects China to be the world's largest solar market in 2015.

The report underscores, however, that the renewed balance between supply and demand will arrive only after a wave of company failures and lower utilization rates.

Lux analyzes economic competitiveness and other drivers for the industry's six major technologies, crystalline silicon (x-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), thin film silicon (TF-Si), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), high concentrating photovoltaics (HCPV) and concentrating solar power (CSP).

"We found that solar's short-term pain will enable it to exceed growth expectations over the very long-term," said Ted Sullivan, a senior analyst for Lux Research, and the report's lead author. "The volume of solar installations will grow at a 23% annual rate from 2010 to 2015, but revenue will grow by just 14%, as prices fall due to remaining over-capacity. While current subsidies in China and elsewhere will help soak up some of that capacity, there will be widespread company failures throughout the value chain first."

The report updates earlier market size and demand forecasts, extends Lux Research's outlook through 2015, and adds three new geographies -- Czech Republic, New Jersey, and Ontario -- due to their high levels of subsidies and rapidly developing markets.

Among the key findings are that capacity remains well above demand -- signaling violent changes ahead.

Lux expects the supply and demand curves to move abruptly together over the next few years due to company failures. Demand will also increase in producing regions such as China, prompted by government subsidies and other factors.

Low-cost x-Si technologies will continue to dominate the marketplace, but thin-film and CSP will gain market share.

Lux said that as financing begins to return to solar in 2010, crystalline silicon players will continue to use low price as a weapon against new technologies that don't share its "bankability" or scale. However, new technologies such as CSP, CIGS, and even HCPV technologies are expected to gain at the margins.

The biggest take away from the report is that solar adoption will be a multi-decade story. Lux said that solar will wildly beat its expectations in the long-term. When it comes down to deploying solar the industry will rely on an energy and construction business model rather than a consumer-oriented one. As a result the report said that solar's adoption will rely in large part on replacement cycles for residential and commercial roofs and for natural gas power plants.

For more on the report, click here.

Prototype Solar Power-Assist for Buses

Sunpods Inc. is California-based manufacturing company. They produce modular, fully integrated and tested solar power generation systems. Recently they have come out with an idea of the first solar power-assist system for buses. They should be applauded for developing it in a mere six weeks. Their partner is Bauer Intelligent Transportation. The system developed by Sunpods will help Bauer to meet strict anti-pollution standards laid down by the State of California. California state law since 2008 has disallowed diesel vehicles to remain idle for more than five minutes. Now more than 25 states across the United States have anti-idling laws.

Gary Bauer, founder and owner of Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation says, “We support the state’s strong commitment to reducing pollution. At the same time, as a transportation provider, we wanted to meet our customers’ requirements for comfort and connectivity. SunPods was able to make our vision a reality in less than 6 weeks. We’ve been testing the bus for the past 4 weeks and we’re impressed with the reliable performance.”

SunPod’s solar power-assist system has already been tested on a Bauer IT bus since January 2010. Bauer IT finds the performance of the solar power-assist system quite impressive. SunPods’ modular solar power assist system is made up of four thin film solar panels. They will be mounted across the length of the bus. These panels will help in charging an on-board deep cycle battery bank. When the bus engine is inactive the work of the batteries would be to power the air-conditioning and wireless connectivity equipment. This will facilitate the bus companies to meet anti-idling standards without putting passengers to discomfort.

Dan Jaeger, president and co-founder of SunPods expresses his thoughts, “We are really pleased to collaborate with an innovative company like Bauer IT. As a company, our focus is on reducing installation costs to make solar power more cost-effective and, thereby, increase adoption. With Bauer IT’s support, we have created a solar power assist system for luxury buses across the US.”

Bauer IT is an environmentally friendly transportation company. They have already taken many steps to reduce pollution. They possess a fleet of bio-diesel, EGR and propane vehicles. Bauer IT has installed in its buses the clean burning Series 60 engines. Series 60 engines use exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology and diesel particulates filters. They way they fully fulfill all EPA emission requirements. The requirements laid down conditions for a 90% reduction in particulate matter. Another condition is they should observe more than 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx). EGR technology circulates cooled exhaust gas back into the engine air intake. This helps in lowering combustion temperatures and ultimately reducing the formation of NOx.

The buses have another mechanism working for them i.e. ZF Astronic transmission. It is a 12-speed manual transmission but its beauty is it behaves like an automatic version. ZF Astronic transmission takes into account the load, speed and road conditions. Then it analyzes these parameters and the transmission decides which is appropriate “shifting.” Fuel economy tests demonstrate a more than 6% increase in performance.