NATIONAL NEWS
President Obama's State of the Union Remarks
The White House | Office of Public Engagement
On Tuesday evening, January 25, during his State of the Union address,
President Obama emphasized the importance of reinvention and innovation,
focusing on clean energy development and manufacturing as a way to better
position the U.S. as a global leader. The President highlighted the
success of two Michigan brothers who after being hard hit by the recession used
U.S. State Energy Program (SEP) funding to transform the empty space in their
roofing plant to manufacture solar shingles, which are now being sold across the
country. President Obama issued a challenge to America's scientists and
engineers to invent new clean energy technologies that will lead the world.
To incentivize these innovations, the President called for 80 percent of
America’s electricity to come from clean energy sources by 2035, including wind,
solar, nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. He will also put forward
measures to ensure that the U.S. is the first country to have one million
advanced technology vehicles on its roads.
Also included in the President’s Budget, which will be released the second
week in February, is an expansion of the successful ARPA-E research program and
a doubling of the number of Energy Innovation Hubs operating around the country.
These Hubs, which create a venue for technological collaboration among
academia, the private sector and government, will allow America’s scientists and
engineers to gather the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest
problems in clean energy. The Budget will propose establishing three new Hubs
that will join three existing Hubs, which are exploring building efficiency,
liquid fuel from sunlight, and nuclear reactor modeling and simulation.
The White House released the following fact sheets which provide additional
detail on the policy proposals the President raised during his speech.
Departments of Energy and Commerce Announce New Partnership to Further
Cooperation on Renewable Energy Modeling and Forecasting
U.S. Department of Energy
The Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce announced a new
agreement to further collaboration between the agencies on renewable energy
modeling and weather forecasting, which will help enable the nation's renewable
energy resources to be used more effectively by business and entrepreneurs.
New DOE Bioenergy Information Resource for Data-driven Collaboration
U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the launch of a new online
collaboration tool and data resource focused on bioenergy. The "Bioenergy
Knowledge Discovery Framework" allows researchers, policymakers, and investors
to share large data sets, as well as the latest bioenergy research. The
Framework also facilitates collaborative production, integration, and analysis
of information. To access the Bioenergy Knowledge Discovery Framework
website, please click here. DOE
will host a Webinar on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST
to demonstrate the system. This Webinar is free to all participants, but
requires registration
in advance.
USDA Announces Investments to Study Renewable Energy Feasibility in Rural
Communities
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA Rural Development has
selected for funding 68 study grants nationwide to determine the feasibility of
renewable energy projects. The grants cover all five regions identified by the
Secretary in his October speech to the National Press Club. The regions include
the Northeast, Central/East, Southeast (including Hawaii), West and Pacific
Northwest (including Alaska). In all, studies will be funded in 27 states and
the Western Pacific. Funding is made available through the Rural Energy for
America Program under the 2008 Farm Bill.
USDA Announces Producer Payments to Promote Bioenergy Production in Rural
America
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new investments in 33 states to
support the production and usage of advanced biofuels. Vilsack highlighted these
projects as ways the Obama Administration is working to reduce the nation's
dependence on foreign oil by creating alternative energy sources and promoting
economic development and job creation.
States Take Lead in Efforts to Fight Climate Change
USA Today
Now that 2010 has gone down as one of history's hottest years; many states are
choosing not to wait for Congress to tackle global warming and are taking their
own steps to slash greenhouse gas emissions. States are increasingly
adopting stricter, energy-saving building codes, spending more money (partly
federal) on energy efficiency and prodding big polluters to cut heat-trapping
emissions.
EPA Grants E15 Fuel Waiver
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waived a limitation on selling
gasoline that contains more than 10 percent ethanol for model year (MY) 2001
through 2006 passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, and light pickup trucks.
The waiver applies to fuel that contains up to 15 percent ethanol – known as
E15.
STATE NEWS
Department of Energy Offers Support for Arizona Solar Project
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced the offer of a conditional
commitment to Agua Caliente Solar, LLC for a loan guarantee of up to $967
million. The loan guarantee will support the construction of a
290-megawatt photovoltaic solar generating facility located in Yuma County,
Arizona that will use thin film solar panels from First Solar, Inc. The
project sponsor, NRG Solar, estimates the project will be the largest
photovoltaic generation facility in the world when it is completed.
Iowa College Efficiency Projects to Create 31 Jobs and Save $260,000 Per Year
EnergyNewsWire, Iowa Office of Energy Independence
Wartburg College, a liberal arts school of nearly 4,000 students, has used a
$667,000 grant from the Iowa Office of Energy Independence to retrofit at least
3,970 lighting fixtures in buildings throughout the campus. In addition to
lighting, other energy efficient equipment is being installed, including a
campus wide building automation system, a new highly efficient condensing hot
water boiler and fire steam boiler. The multi-phase projects will save the
college an estimated $260,000 in annual energy-related costs, lead to the
creation of approximately 31 new jobs and help bring budget relief for the
college.
DOE Offers First Conditional Commitment for a Loan Guarantee for Advanced
Biofuels Plant
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced the offer of a conditional
commitment to
Diamond Green Diesel, LLC, the proposed joint venture between Valero Energy
Corporation and Darling International Inc., for a $241 million loan guarantee.
The loan guarantee will support the construction of a 137-million gallon per
year renewable diesel facility in Norco, Louisiana, about 20 miles west of New
Orleans. Valero Energy Corporation plans to direct the design,
construction and operation of the project and market all of its output, while
Darling International Inc. will supply feedstock to the project. The
project is expected to create over 700 jobs and nearly triple the amount of
renewable diesel produced domestically.
Solar Panel Leasing Company Starting Business in Maryland
The Baltimore Sun
SolarCity, a California-based solar energy company has announced it is expanding
to Maryland, where it plans to offer homeowners and businesses the option to
lease rather than buy photovoltaic systems. SolarCity said it plans to begin
offering zero-down, 20-year solar leases in Maryland and Washington, D.C., in
mid-February.
Investment Fund, Wind Energy Top Maryland Governor’s Agenda
The Washington Post
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) formally unveiled a
legislative package Monday that contained few surprises, is fairly modest in
scope and seeks to bolster the administration's job-creation efforts and "green
energy" credentials, including a relatively high-profile bill that would seek to
spur investment in offshore wind farms. The bill will direct state regulators to
require Maryland's five distribution utilities to award long-term contracts to
procure specified amounts of wind energy.
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