 Croatian Center of Renewable Energy SourcesNews and Events February 28, 2013 |
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Three New Businesses Join the Better Buildings Challenge
The Energy Department on February 21 announced
that Johnson Controls, Macy's, and Sprint are joining the Better
Buildings Challenge. Launched by President Obama in 2011, the Better
Buildings Challenge brings together corporations, universities,
municipalities, and other national leaders to make significant
commitments to energy efficiency to reduce waste and save on energy
costs. Johnson Controls, Macy's, and Sprint will collectively upgrade
more than 200 million square feet of building space to cut energy use by
at least 20% by 2020. These steps support the President's goal of
cutting energy waste from homes and businesses in half over the next two
decades, which was articulated in the 2013 State of the Union address.
The United States spends about $200 billion
annually to power commercial buildings and another $200 billion to power
industrial facilities. Better Buildings Challenge partners work with
the Energy Department to implement energy-savings practices that reduce
energy waste and save money. These new partners will also share
facility-level energy use data and successful strategies with Better
Buildings Challenge partners as well as other U.S. businesses and
organizations helping to lead a clean, sustainable energy economy. The
Better Buildings Challenge now has more than 110 partners, representing
two billion square feet of building space and more than 300
manufacturing facilities. See the Energy Department Progress Alert and the Better Buildings Challenge website.
ARPA-E Announces Projects Have Attracted over $450 Million in Private Sector Funding
The Energy Department's Advanced Research
Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) on February 26 announced that ARPA-E
projects have demonstrated major technical successes and shown
significant market engagement in the four years since the agency began
catalyzing energy breakthrough technologies. Overall, 17 projects have
attracted over $450 million in private sector follow-on funding after
ARPA-E's initial investment of approximately $70 million, 12 have
leveraged their technologies to form new companies, and more than ten
have partnered with other government agencies for later stage
investment. The innovations include improved batteries, electric vehicle
motors, solar thermochemical fuel production, and wind turbines among a
range of technologies.
Building on President Obama's call in his 2013
State of the Union address to further American energy independence
through innovation, key thought leaders from academia, business, and
government are coming together this week to discuss cutting-edge energy
issues at ARPA-E's fourth annual Energy Innovation Summit in National
Harbor, Maryland. See the Energy Department press release.
DOE's SunShot Announces $17 Million for Solar Reliability, Grid Integration
The Energy Department's SunShot Initiative
recently announced up to $17 million to support the development of
innovative, cost-effective solutions to boost the amount of solar energy
that utilities can integrate seamlessly with the national power grid.
This funding will help utilities develop adaptable and replicable
practices, long-term strategic plans, and technical solutions to sustain
reliable operations with large proportions of solar power on the grid.
It will also support projects aimed at improving the lifetime and
reliability of solar modules and electronics.
The funding is being offered through two
opportunities. The Solar Utility Networks: Replicable Innovation in
Solar Energy (SUNRISE) funding opportunity is making up to $12 million
available for projects to enable utilities to develop long-term
strategic plans that integrate high levels of renewable energy
generation and ensure reliable real-time power system operations under
high renewable penetration. Funding is also available for projects to
provide technical assistance for capacity-building activities regarding
utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) planning and installation. The
application deadline for the funding opportunity is April 24, 2013. See
the SUNRISE solicitation.
Also, the Physics of Reliability: Evaluating
Design Insights for Component Technologies in Solar (PREDICTS) funding
opportunity is making up to $5 million available for projects aimed at
improving the lifetime and reliability of PV modules, concentrating
solar power (CSP) components, and the electronic hardware used to
operate and connect to the grid. The funding covers two topic areas:
identification, evaluation, and modeling of intrinsic failure mechanisms
in PV and CSP subsystems and system components; and development of
standard testing procedures for the lifetime of microinverters and
microconverters. The application deadline is April 29, 2013. See the PREDICTS solicitation and the SunShot newsletter for more information.
Energy Department Names Two 2012 Wind Cooperatives of the Year
The Energy Department on February 21 recognized
the East River Electric Power Cooperative of South Dakota and the Golden
Valley Electric Association of Alaska as the 2012 Wind Cooperatives of
the Year. East River and Golden Valley were selected by a panel of
experts from the wind industry, utilities, government, national
laboratories, and cooperatives.
East River Electric Power Cooperative of
Madison, South Dakota, is a wholesale electric power supply cooperative
serving eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. The cooperative is
regarded as one of the earliest champions in installing the first
utility-scale wind turbines in the Dakotas. In 2009, the co-op created
South Dakota Wind Partners LLC, which is a model for community-based,
locally-owned wind development that is fully financed by South Dakota
residents.
The Golden Valley Electric Association is
focused on generating 20% of its peak load electricity—the power
supplied when customer demand is highest—from renewable energy by 2014.
As part of this commitment, Golden Valley developed the 25-megawatt Eva
Creek Wind Farm in Ferry, Alaska, in 2012. The remote site is located at
the end of a 10-mile dirt road, contributing to unique construction
challenges. The Eva Creek Wind Farm project is expected to help the
cooperative meet its renewable goals ahead of schedule, reduce
dependence on oil, and save Golden Valley members as much as $4 million
in annual electricity costs by the end of 2013. See the Energy
Department Progress Alert and the Wind Powering America website.
Survey Finds U.S. Rivers Could Provide 3% of Nation's Electricity
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
recently completed a mapping and assessment of hydrokinetic resources in
continental U.S. rivers and found that these undeveloped resources
could provide 3% of the nation's annual use of electricity. The
assessment is part of an effort by the Energy Department to characterize
U.S. hydrokinetic waterpower resources, including river, wave, tidal,
ocean thermal, and ocean current.
The assessment analyzed 71,398 river segments
across the 48 contiguous states and additional river segments in Alaska.
It yielded a total theoretical resource estimate of 1,381
terawatt-hours per year (TWh/yr) for the continental United States,
which is equivalent to approximately 25% of annual U.S. electricity
consumption. Because there are constraints on developing many sites, the
study found that the technically recoverable resource estimate for the
continental United States is 120 TWh/yr, or approximately 3% of annual
U.S. electricity consumption.
The results show that the Lower Mississippi
region contributes almost half (47.9%) of the technically recoverable
resource estimate; Alaska, 17.1%; the Pacific Northwest region, 9.2%;
and the Ohio region, 5.7%. See the EPRI press release.
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CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)special thanks to U.S. Department of Energy | USA.gov |
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Savings to Chew On: Wrigley Expands Commitment to Sustainability
Known for chewing gum and candy products,
Wrigley Manufacturing Company recently expanded its commitment to
sustainability and is collecting solar power to help run its Altoids
manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Using funds from the Energy Department's State
Energy Program, the company installed 240 rooftop solar panels (a
50.4-kilowatt array) on its Chattanooga facility in December 2010. The
solar panels cover about one-seventh of the plant's roof, leaving plenty
of room for expansion. The array generates more than 170,000 kilowatts
of clean energy per year—about 3% of the plant's energy use—and
eliminates 117 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. During the first year
of operation alone, the solar installation saved Wrigley more than
$16,000 in electricity costs.
The solar installation is a part of Wrigley’s
"Sustainable in a Generation" effort to eliminate fossil fuel energy use
and greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Wrigley is developing a strategy
to minimize its impact on the environment, focusing on reducing fossil
fuel energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste. From 2007 to 2011,
Wrigley's landfill waste decreased by 71.62%, greenhouse gas emissions
by 2.37%, and energy use by 7.75%. See the Energy Blog.
Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES) |
Thursday, February 28, 2013
News and Events by CCRES February 28, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Ara solar d.o.o.
Ara solar d.o.o.
U organizaciji Hrvatskog Centra Obnovljivih Izvora Energije (HCOIE)
nastavljeno je predstavljanje hrvatskih visokotehnoloških tvrtki i
poduzetnika na europskim i svjetskim portalima kojima je zajednički
predznak energetika, obnovljivi izvori energije i očuvanje okoliša.
„Želim naglasiti da će hrvatske tvrtke i poduzetnici ovdje biti promovirane ne samo da bi prodavali svoje proizvode nego i da bi svoje znanje razvoja informacijskih i energetskih tehnologija podijelile s sličnim svjetskim tvrtkama, poduzetnicima iz razvijenih nacija kojima se Republika Hrvatska prilagođava i politički i gospodarski. Nadam se da će naše prezentacije hrvatskih tvrtki i poduzetnika dovesti do suradnje između država, kompanija i poduzetnika do razine koja nije samo prijateljstvo nego i partnerstvo", istaknuo je Željko Serdar , predsjednik Hrvatskog Centra Obnovljivih Izvora Energije.
„Želim naglasiti da će hrvatske tvrtke i poduzetnici ovdje biti promovirane ne samo da bi prodavali svoje proizvode nego i da bi svoje znanje razvoja informacijskih i energetskih tehnologija podijelile s sličnim svjetskim tvrtkama, poduzetnicima iz razvijenih nacija kojima se Republika Hrvatska prilagođava i politički i gospodarski. Nadam se da će naše prezentacije hrvatskih tvrtki i poduzetnika dovesti do suradnje između država, kompanija i poduzetnika do razine koja nije samo prijateljstvo nego i partnerstvo", istaknuo je Željko Serdar , predsjednik Hrvatskog Centra Obnovljivih Izvora Energije.
Tvrtka Ara-solar d.o.o. na čelu sa mr. sc. Damirom Vragovićem koja ima zastupništvo tvrtke TRITEC za jugoistočnu Europu uspješno plovi nemirnim morem obnovljivih izvora energije u Republici Hrvatskoj.
Ara-solar d.o.o. nudi:
Mrežne fotonaponske sustave do 10 kWp
Mrežne fotonaponske sustave do 10 kWp
Mrežne fotonaponske sustave do 30 kWp
Mrežne fotonaponske sustave iznad 30 kWp
Otočne fotonaponske sustave
Integrirane fotonaponske sustave
Ara-solar d.o.o. također nudi usluge:
Projektiranja FN sustava
Savjetovanje u ishođenju dozvola
Ara-solar d.o.o.
Tvrtka
Ara-solar d.o.o. zastupništvo tvrtke TRITEC održava i praktične radionice i predavanja za obrtnike zainteresirane za poslove
instalacije fotonaponskih sustava.
Radi se o grupama od četrdesetak polaznika radionica, od kojih
neki već imaju iskustva u radu s fotonaponskim sustavima, a neki se s
tom tehnologijom tek susreću.Na radionicama obrtnici i majstori vježbaju na montažnim konstrukcijama
TRI Stand Aero, koji su namijenjeni za ravne krovove.
Tijekom
praktične obuke polaznici imaju priliku upoznati softver TRI dizajn
koji je među rijetkim softverskim rješenjima na hrvatskom jeziku i služi
za dimenzioniranje fotonaponskih sustava.
Također rade na montažnim
sustavima i u softveru za dimenzioniranje TRI dizajna na hrvatskom
jeziku, a dobivaju i znanja i informacije o najnovijim tehničkim
dostignućima Bosch modula.
Teoretski
dio nastave, uz djelatnike tvrtke Ara-solar, održavaju i predavači tvrtke Bosch Solar iz Njemačke, koji
prezentiraju njihove najnovije visokoučinkovite fotonaponske
module. Polaznici na radionicama dobivaju i certifikat kojim se
produžuje garancija na proizvod TRI Stand Aero s pet na deset godina.
Ara-solar konstrukcije za montažu sustava omogućuju jednostavno i
brzo montiranje fotonaponskih modula na sve vrste krovova pa čak i na
pročelja zgrada.
Sve komponente montažnog sustava su testirane tako da posjeduju sve potrebne certifikate i dozvole za korištenje od proizvođača modula.
U ponudi Ara-solar ima više vrsta krovnih konstrukcija:
TRI-STAND (za ravne i kose krovove i fasadne sustave)
TRI-STAND aero (za velike ravne krovove)
TRI-VENT (za krovove prekrivene trapeznim limom)
TRI-ROOF (montažni sustavi za integriranje modula u postoječi krov)
Solrif (montažni sustavi za integriranje modula u postoječi krov)
U ponudi su i solarni rasvjetni stupovi idealni za stambene površine, javne trgove,
ulaze zgrada, pješačke i biciklističke staze, mostove, parkove, vrtove,
igrališta i kampove, vodena pročelja, autobusne stanice, sport i
rekreaciju.
Praćenje rada sustava se prakticira kako bi se povećala količina energije koja se dobiva iz fotonaponskog sustava te kako bi se otklonile eventualne greške ili kvarove.
Za tu svrhu Ara-solar nudi veliki izbor mjernih instrumenata, kablova, pribora i pripadajućeg alata.
Kao vaši solarni stručnjaci i partneri, mi ćemo vas i dalje savjetovati i podržavati u planiranju vašeg solarnog sustava. Član uprave
Sve komponente montažnog sustava su testirane tako da posjeduju sve potrebne certifikate i dozvole za korištenje od proizvođača modula.
U ponudi Ara-solar ima više vrsta krovnih konstrukcija:
TRI-STAND (za ravne i kose krovove i fasadne sustave)
TRI-STAND aero (za velike ravne krovove)
TRI-VENT (za krovove prekrivene trapeznim limom)
TRI-ROOF (montažni sustavi za integriranje modula u postoječi krov)
Solrif (montažni sustavi za integriranje modula u postoječi krov)
Praćenje rada sustava se prakticira kako bi se povećala količina energije koja se dobiva iz fotonaponskog sustava te kako bi se otklonile eventualne greške ili kvarove.
Kao vaši solarni stručnjaci i partneri, mi ćemo vas i dalje savjetovati i podržavati u planiranju vašeg solarnog sustava. Član uprave
Damir Vragović
Ara solar d.o.o.
Ivana Mažuranića 84, 42000 Varaždin
Trgovački sud Varaždin
MBS: 070077747
RAIFFEISENBANK AUSTRIA d.d.
Ž.r.: 2484008-1105535927
OIB: 03655077637
Tel/fax: 042/204-888
Mail:
office@ara-solar.hr
web: www.ara-solar.hr
Velika nam je čast i zadovoljstvo bilo predstaviti Vam tvrtku Ara-solar d.o.o.
Sigurnost i pouzdanost, povoljne cijene i kvaliteta usluge, iskustvo i
poslovna strategija u osmišljavanju i realizaciji brojnih solarnih sustava
glavne su prednosti tvrtke Ara-solar d.o.o.
Željko Serdar
Hrvatski Centar Obnovljivih Izvora Energije (HCOIE)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
News and Events by CCRES February 21, 2013
 Croatian Center of Renewable Energy SourcesNews and Events February 21, 2013 |
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Clean Energy Highlighted in President's State of the Union
President Obama on February 12 highlighted clean
energy and challenged the nation to become even more energy efficient
during his State of the Union address to Congress. During the speech
marking the start of his second term of office, President Obama spoke
about a range of clean energy topics, including cars and transportation,
energy efficiency, manufacturing, and wind and solar energy. He called
for continued national investment into research, saying "now is the time
to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height
of the Space Race. And today, no area holds more promise than our
investments in American energy." He added, "We are finally poised to
control our own energy future."
President Obama cited recent advances in wind
and solar energy over the past four years, a period which began as
"other countries dominated the clean energy market and the jobs that
came with it." He noted that conditions in the clean energy market are
improving in the United States. "Last year, wind energy added nearly
half of all new power capacity in America. So let's generate even more.
Solar energy gets cheaper by the year—so let's drive costs down even
further."
President Obama also heralded new manufacturing
efforts by announcing the launch of three more manufacturing hubs where
businesses will partner with the Departments of Energy and Defense "to
turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of
high-tech jobs." He said he is asking Congress to help create a network
of 15 of these hubs to ensure that the United States remains a leader in
manufacturing. As an indicator of progress, President Obama affirmed
that now "we buy more American cars than we have in five years, and less
foreign oil than we have in 20." Furthermore, he noted that those cars
are more fuel efficient. "We have doubled the distance our cars will go
on a gallon of gas," he said.
As he cited the benefits of reduced dependence
on foreign oil, particularly the decline in carbon pollution as result
of increased renewable energy usage, he challenged the nation to become
even more energy efficient. "I'm also issuing a new goal for America:
let's cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the
next 20 years." See the full text of the State of the Union address on the White House website.
DOE Announces New Investment in Hydrogen Fuel Technologies
The Energy Department on February 14 announced a
$1 million investment to analyze potential cost-competitive pathways
for producing and transporting hydrogen fuel. The project selected will
identify cost-effective and efficient materials and processes to produce
hydrogen from renewable energy sources. This investment supports the
Energy Department's broader goal to lower the cost of hydrogen fuel to
$2-$4 per gallon gasoline equivalent (gge) by 2020 to make hydrogen fuel
cost-competitive with gasoline.
The project, led by Strategic Analysis in
Arlington, Virginia, will help accelerate commercialization of
cost-competitive, U.S.-made hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The
project will conduct thorough cost analyses of hydrogen pathways to
identify the most economical hydrogen production and delivery methods
and highlight remaining research and development challenges. With the
help of this Energy Department investment, Strategic Analysis will
examine a range of hydrogen production pathways, including electrolysis
from the electrical grid and renewable energy sources, converting
biofuels to hydrogen, biomass gasification, solar thermochemical
hydrogen, photoelectrochemical hydrogen, and biological hydrogen. See
the Energy Department Progress Alert.
DOE Announces Winners of Next Generation Luminaires Design Competition
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on February
14 announced the winners of the fifth annual Next Generation Luminaires™
Design Competition for outdoor lighting. The competition was launched
in 2008 to promote excellence in the design of energy-efficient
commercial lighting fixtures, or "luminaires," that employ
light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The "best-in-class" winners for four
categories of outdoor lighting include The Lighting Quotient of West
Haven, Connecticut, for its façade-lighting fixture, the fraqti™
Outdoor-Style S170 luminaire; Relume Technologies of Oxford, Michigan,
for its Oxford decorative acorn fixture for streetscapes and walkways;
GE Lighting of East Cleveland, Ohio, for its roadway lighting fixture,
the Evolve™ LED Scalable Cobrahead luminaire; and Edge Lighting of
Chicago, Illinois, for its decorative wall sconces, the "TV" and "Dial"
LED luminaires.
The competition was sponsored by the Energy
Department, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and
the International Association of Lighting Designers. A panel of eight
judges from the architectural lighting design community evaluated 120
outdoor lighting entries from 42 manufacturers based on lighting
quality, appearance, construction, serviceability, efficacy, and value.
In addition to the four "best-in-class" winners, 33 entries were judged
as meeting the stringent requirements of the competition. These
recognized winners represented a wide range of manufacturers and
applications, including lighting for roadways, streetscapes, walkways,
parking lots, parking garages, canopies, façades, and landscapes, as
well as decorative lighting and wall-mounted area lighting.
Design competitions are a key part of the Energy
Department's national strategy to accelerate solid-state lighting
technology advances from laboratory to marketplace. Solid-state
lighting, which includes both LED and organic light-emitting diode
(OLED) technologies, has the potential to save Americans $30 billion per
year in energy costs by 2030. See the Energy Department Progress Alert and Solid-State Lighting website, and see the Next Generation Luminaires website for photos and details about all the winners of this year's competition.
EPA Releases Latest Quarterly Green Power Partnership Rankings
The latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Green Power Partnership’s Top Partner Rankings show that two more
companies have now purchased enough green power to account for 100% of
each of their total U.S. electricity use. Since the EPA's last quarterly
Green Power Partnership update in October 2012, Intel expanded its use
of green power from 88% to 100% of its total electricity use by
purchasing 300 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power, while
Staples increased from 80% to 101% green power use by adding 120 million
kWh of green power. Intel and Staples join 15 other Top 50-ranked Green
Power Partners in obtaining 100% or more of their electricity from
renewable energy sources. The recently-released totals are up to date as
of January 9, 2013.
Intel, which currently ranks first in the total
amount of purchases on the Green Power Partnership Top 50 list, uses
electricity generated from biogas, biomass, small hydro, solar, and
wind. Staples, ranked sixth overall on the Top 50 list, sources its
electricity from biogas, solar, and wind energy.
The Green Power Partnership works with a variety
of organizations including major companies, colleges and universities,
as well as local, state, and federal governmental agencies to promote
the use of green power. Organizations can meet EPA Green Power
Partnership requirements using any combination of three different
product options: renewable energy certificates; on-site generation; and
utility green power products. Combined, the top 50 largest purchases of
green power by EPA Green Power Partners amount to more than 17 billion
kWh annually, which represents nearly 70% of the green power commitments
made by all EPA Green Power Partners. Usage amounts in the rankings
reflect U.S. operations only and are sourced from U.S.-based green power
resources. See the EPA Green Power Partnership Top 50 webpage and DOE's Green Power Network website.
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CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)special thanks to U.S. Department of Energy | USA.gov |
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What's Your PEV Readiness Score?
Removing early market barriers is essential to
increasing the number of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) on the road.
To help cities, counties and states cut red tape, save time and improve
drivers’ experiences, the Energy Department's Clean Cities initiative
created the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Readiness Scorecard.
The Scorecard is an interactive online tool that
allows community managers to measure their regions' current
"PEV-friendliness"—the ability to meet the needs of electric vehicle
drivers. To calculate their scores, community representatives answer a
series of multiple-choice questions covering diverse topics ranging from
the time required to issue a residential charger permit to incentives
available to PEV drivers. The Scorecard questions, which are based on
best practices and input from key stakeholders, require real,
on-the-ground data from the community. Because PEV community readiness
often involves a number of city agencies, non-governmental
organizations, and even local businesses, multiple users can enter
information for the same region on one account. For the complete story,
see the Energy Blog.
CCRES BIOFUELS FROM ALGAE
EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) is an initiative of the European
Commission that first took place in 2006 with hundreds of organisations
and individuals participating each year.
The next edition of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) will take place from 24 to 28 June 2013.THIRD GENERATION BIOFUELS FROM ALGAE Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES) have a new technology with major potential to contribute to the fight against climate change.As with all new technologies, careful consideration of potential impacts on the environment and human health is important. The international community has acknowledges that global warming needs to be kept below 2˙C (3,6˙F) compared with the pre industrial temperature in order to prevent dangerous climate change.This will require significant reductions in the world´s emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) over the coming decades.CCRES have one of the technologies that can help to achieve this. The EU, which is responsible for around 11% of global GHG emissions today, has put in place binding legislation to reduce its emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020.Europe is also offering to scale up this reduction to 30% if other major economies in the developed and developing world´s agree to undertake their fair share of a global reduction effort. This is why the EU must support alternative fuels, in particular biofuels, with the triple objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, diversifying fuel supply and developing longterm replacements for fossil fuels. Third generation biofuels from algae will have an important role to play as soon as they are ready for the market. They should be more sustainable, boasting both a lower enviromental impact and lower costs.Biofuels must become a commercial and competitive product using the broadest range possible of raw materials from both Nord and South Europe. Biofuels from algae have a big role to reduce CO2 emmisions. The sustainability of algae biofuels and their potential impacts on other sectors, including land use, are will remain critical issues.Algae biofuels provide an important contribution towards climate change mitigation and security of supply.They are only part of the solution, and must be considered in a wider context, in which efforts are also being made to reduce transport demand, improve transport efficiency and encourage the use of environmentally friendly modes of transport. Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES) |
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
UNEP's 1st Universal Session
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Saturday, February 9, 2013
News and Events by CCRES February 09, 2013
 Croatian Center of Renewable Energy SourcesNews and Events February 09, 2013 |
Thirteen Major Companies Join Energy Department's Charging Challenge
The Energy Department announced on January 31
that 13 major U.S. employers and eight stakeholder groups have joined
the new Workplace Charging Challenge to help expand access to workplace
charging stations across the country. The Workplace Charging Challenge
is a collaborative effort to increase the number of U.S. employers
offering workplace charging by tenfold in the next five years. The first
13 employers have signed the Workplace Charging Pledge as partners,
including 3M, the Chrysler Group, Duke Energy, Eli Lilly and Company,
the Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Google,
Nissan, the San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Siemens, Tesla Motors,
and Verizon. The pledge commits each partner organization to assess
workforce charging demands for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and to
develop and implement a plan to install workplace charging
infrastructure for at least one major worksite location.
Eight stakeholder organizations also have signed
the Ambassador Pledge to develop and execute plans to support and
promote the workplace charging initiative, including: the California PEV
Collaborative, CALSTART, the Electric Drive Transportation Association,
the Electrification Coalition, the International Parking Institute,
NextEnergy, Plug In America, and the Rocky Mountain Institute. The
Energy Department will provide technical assistance and establish a
forum for partners and ambassadors to share information.
The Workplace Charging Challenge supports the broader efforts of the Department's EV Everywhere Grand Challenge,
announced by President Obama in March 2012, to make PEVs as affordable
and convenient for American families as gasoline-powered vehicles within
the next 10 years. As part of the announcement, the Department released
the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge Blueprint, which describes PEV technology and deployment barriers, as well as steps to move forward in achieving the EV Everywhere goal. See the Energy Department press release and the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge Blueprint
 and webpage.Energy Department Invests $9 Million in Data-Driven SunShot Projects
The Energy Department announced on January 30
its selection of seven data-driven projects to unearth new opportunities
for reducing solar energy costs and accelerating solar energy
deployment in the United States. The Department will invest about $9
million in the seven projects, located in six states: California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Texas. The
projects are part of the SunShot Initiative, a collaborative national
effort to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of energy
by the end of the decade.
For four of the projects, the Energy Department
will provide $7 million to research teams led by Sandia National
Laboratories, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Yale
University, and the University of Texas – Austin (UT-Austin). These
teams will partner with public and private financial institutions,
utilities, and state agencies to apply statistical and computational
tools to solve industry problems and lead regional pilot projects across
the country to test the impact and scalability of their innovations.
For example, Yale University researchers will
partner with SmartPower's New England Solar Challenge to design and
implement innovative strategies that can increase the effectiveness of
community-led bulk purchase programs for solar power. The team from the
UT-Austin will work with complex datasets from six Texas utilities to
better understand customer needs and identify opportunities to
streamline installation and interconnection. Similarly, NREL will
develop a computational model to analyze data from a network of U.S.
solar installers and help identify new types of community- and
regional-scale strategies to drive down financing and deployment costs.
The Department will also invest $2 million in
three projects led by the University of North Carolina – Charlotte (UNC
Charlotte), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and SRI
International to analyze decades of scientific publications, patents,
and cost and production data. SRI International will develop advanced
software that reads and analyzes thousands of scientific publications
and patents to discover new ways to speed solar energy technology
innovation and commercialization. Meanwhile, MIT and UNC Charlotte will
apply computational tools to patent, cost, and production data to speed
up solar technology cost reductions and better forecast future cost
reductions for new energy technologies. See the Energy Department press release and the full list of projects
.AWEA: Wind Power Leads New U.S. Generating Capacity in 2012
The U.S. wind energy industry had its strongest
year ever in 2012, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced
on January 30. The industry installed a record 13,124 megawatts (MW) of
U.S. electric generating capacity last year, achieving over 60,000 MW
of cumulative wind capacity, enough to power almost 15 million homes.
The annual total far surpasses the previous record of 10,000 MW
installed in 2010. For the first time, wind energy became the number one
source of new U.S. electric generating capacity, providing 42% of all
new generating capacity.
In last year's fourth quarter alone, 8,380 MW
were installed, making it the strongest quarter in U.S. wind power
history. AWEA noted that this was due in large part to impending
expiration of the federal Production Tax Credit. It was slated to end on
December 31, 2012, but was extended by Congress as part of the American
Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
The top 10 states for new capacity installations
in 2012, in order, were Texas (1,826 MW), California (1,656 MW), Kansas
(1,440 MW), Oklahoma (1,127 MW), Illinois (823 MW), Iowa (814 MW),
Oregon (640 MW), Michigan (611 MW), Pennsylvania (550 MW), and Colorado
(496 MW). The Golden State regained its position as the second largest
state in installed wind capacity, surpassing Iowa, which had been number
two since 2008. California achieved the 5,000-MW milestone in wind
capacity, following Texas, and alongside Iowa. See the AWEA press release.
DOE Announces New Funding to Develop Biomass Supply Chain Technologies
The Energy Department on January 28 announced
about $6 million for projects that will develop and demonstrate
supply-chain technologies to affordably deliver commercial-scale
lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks such as woody plant tissue to
biorefineries across the country. This funding will help accelerate the
development of integrated, cost-effective supply-chain systems that
reduce time and costs to produce biofuels for cars, trucks, and
airplanes.
The Department will make available about $6
million this year for one to two multi-year projects. All selected
projects will require a cost share contribution by the grant recipient,
including 20% for research and development activities and 50% for
demonstration activities. See the Energy Department Progress Alert and the full funding announcement.
Energy Department Expands Technical Assistance for Tribal Energy Projects
The Energy Department on January 30 announced
the second round of the Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team
(START) Program, which provides federally recognized Tribal governments
with technical assistance to accelerate clean energy project deployment.
Additionally, the Energy Department plans to seek information from
tribes interested in launching or expanding utility services in their
own communities, which will help establish a new START Utility Program
(START-UP). Additional details on this effort will be available on the
Office of Indian Energy website in the coming weeks.
Over the past year, the START program has helped
nine Tribal communities advance their clean energy technology and
infrastructure projects, from solar and wind to biofuels and energy
efficiency. The second round of technical assistance awards will build
upon the initial successes of the START program and further help Native
American and Alaska Native communities increase local generation
capacity, enhance energy-efficiency measures, and create local
entrepreneurial and job opportunities. In the contiguous United States,
Energy Department and national laboratory experts will provide technical
assistance on tribes' clean energy project development. In Alaska, the
Energy Department and the Denali Commission will help rural Alaska
Native communities conduct energy awareness and training programs and
pursue new renewable energy and energy efficiency opportunities.
Applications are due by March 15, 2013. See the Energy Department press release and the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs webpage.
|
CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)special thanks to U.S. Department of Energy | USA.gov |
Letter from Secretary Steven Chu to Energy Department Employees Announces His Decision Not to Serve a Second Term
In a letter to Energy Department employees on
February 1, Energy Secretary Steven Chu highlighted the tremendous
progress of the last four years and announced his decision to not serve a
second term as Secretary. Text of the letter is below.
Dear Colleagues:
Serving the country as Secretary of Energy, and
working alongside such an extraordinary team of people at the
Department, has been the greatest privilege of my life. While the job
has had many challenges, it has been an exciting time for the
Department, the country, and for me personally.
I’ve always been inspired by Dr. Martin Luther
King, who articulated his Dream of an America where people are judged
not by skin color but “by the content of their character.” In the
scientific world, people are judged by the content of their ideas.
Advances are made with new insights, but the final arbitrator of any
point of view are experiments that seek the unbiased truth, not
information cherry picked to support a particular point of view. The
power of our work is derived from this foundation.
For the rest of Secretary Chu's letter, see the Energy Blog.
 Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES) |
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