Unused ARRA Grant Funds Related to Electric Vehicles, Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Infrastructure Projects
Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition has announced that it has roughly $400,000 in unused ARRA grant funds available for alternative fuel vehicle and infrastructure projects.
Examples of eligible vehicles include:
- Vehicles using alternative fuels recognized by the Energy Policy Act (complete list here: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/epact/about/epact_fuels.html);
- Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles;
- Electric Hybrid Vehicles (including certain Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles);
- Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles;
- Neighborhood Electric Vehicles; and
- Certain Bio-Diesel Vehicles (if replacing gasoline powered vehicles).
Infrastructure projects must be related to the storage, distribution, dispensing of advanced fuels or electric vehicle supply equipment. Examples of eligible infrastructure projects include:
- New dispensing facilities, or additional equipment or upgrades to existing refueling sites;
- Facility upgrades or building modifications necessary to accommodate alternative fuels for fleet garages and other maintenance centers;
- Solar charging systems dedicated to providing on-site vehicle motive electrification
Funding requests must be between $100,000 and $400,000 with a minimum 10% non-federal match. Precise requirements of this grant are located at http://www.pugetsoundcleancities.org/documents/CleanCitiesFY09FOAModification007.pdf
REMINDER: Applications for SBIR and STTR Phase I Grants Due November 15th
Don't forget that the deadline for Phase I grant applications under the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR") and Small Business Technology Transfer ("STTR") programs is 8:00 p.m. Eastern, November 15, 2010. Qualified small businesses with strong research capabilities in science or engineering in any of the research areas identified in the September 28, 2010 Funding Opportunity Announcement are encouraged to apply. Phase I grants of up to $150,000 will be awarded in FY 2011 under the SBIR; and grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded under the STTR.
The Phase I Technical Topics document lists several areas of particular interest for the renewable energy industry. Note that the following is not an exhaustive list. The full list and descriptions can be found in the Phase I Technical Topics document.
- Advanced Cooling and Waste Heat Recovery: Advanced Cooling; Advanced Waste Heat Recovery; Geoexchange heat pump (GHP) component R&D; Innovative GHP System/Loop Designs.
- Production of Bioenergy and Biofuels from Cellulosic and Non-Food Biomass: Biomass Feedstock Stabilization and Drying; Biomass Torrefaction; Sugar Catalysis to Advanced Biofuels and Chemical Intermediates; Pyrolytic Thermal Depolymerization.
- Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Reducing the Cost of High Pressure Hydrogen Storage Tanks; Fuel Cell Balance-of-Plant; Demonstration of Alternative-Fuel Fuel CElls as Range Extenders.
- Innovative Solar Power: High Efficiency, Low Cost Thin Film Photovoltaics; Low Cost Building Integrated Photovoltaics; Static Module PV Concentrators; Solar-Powered Water Desalination; Distributed Concentrating Solar Power ("CSP").
- Advanced Water Power Technologies: Pumped Storage Hydropower; Advanced Hydropower Systems; Wave and Current Energy Technologies; Advanced Component Design for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Systems.
- Wind Energy Technologies: Transportation and Assembly of Extremely Large Wind Turbine Components for Land-Based Wind Turbines; Wind Energy Capture in Non-Conventional Wind Resources; Offshore Grid Infrastructure Hardware Development; Offshore Mooring and Anchoring Technology.
Detailed descriptions of each subtopic are included in the Phase I Technical Topics document.
Senators Propose Making Energy Storage Property Eligible for ITC & CREBs
Last week, Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), introduced legislation that would add grid-connected energy storage property to the list of technologies eligible for the federal investment tax credit (the "ITC"). Under the Storage Technology for Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2010 (the "STORAGE 2010 Act"), eligible energy storage property would include hydroelectric pumped storage and compressed air energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, batteries, superconducting magnetic energy storage, flywheels, thermal energy storage systems and hydrogen storage. Systems that can sustain a power rating of at least one megawatt for a minimum of one hour would be eligible for a 20% tax credit under the ITC program. Should the bill become law, the tax credit would provide significant assistance to intermittent energy resource developers that are seeking new ways to shape and firm their projects' output.
The STORAGE 2010 Act would limit the available credits to $1.5 billion, and no single project may be allocated more than $30 million.
Importantly, the bill creates special extended deadlines for hydroelectric pumped storage facilities. Whereas the majority of energy storage property considered under the bill would be required to be placed in service within two years of the date the ITC was allocated, pumped storage facilities would have three years to secure required licenses and permits, five years to begin construction, and eight years to be placed in service.
Compressed air energy storage systems would enjoy similar extended deadlines- i.e., would be reqired to begin construction within three years and be placed in service within five years.
The bill would also allow grid-connected energy storage property to qualify for Clean Renewable Energy Bonds under section 54C of the Internal Revenue Code. The full text of the bill can be viewed here.
