Show me the Money: $564 Million Awarded to Integrated Biorefinery Projects
In an earlier blog post, Debra Frimerman reported that the U.S. Department of Energy was seeking applications for grants to help promote the construction and operation of pilot, demonstration, and commercial scale integrated biorefinery projects. Today, DOE announced the selection of 19 projects to receive up to $564 million in grant money authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Notable awards include the following:
· $81 million to Bluefire LLC for a Mississippi project to produce up to 19 million gallons of ethanol fuel annually from woody biomass, mill residue, and municipal solid waste.
· $50 million to Sapphire Energy, Inc. for a New Mexico project to produce algal fuels using the Dynamic Fuels refining process.
· $23 million to Clearfuels Technology Inc. for a Colorado scale project to produce renewable diesel and jet fuel from woody biomass.
A complete list of awards is available here.
Show me the Money: $11.8 Million Awarded for Solar Energy Grid Integration
Today, in recognition that solar energy is a critical factor in the President's clean energy agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that $11.8 million ($5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) will be deployed to five projects related to the development of solar energy grid integration systems (SEGIS). This follows our earlier client alerts regarding funding opportunities for solar technologies.
SEGIS activity began in 2008 with a partnership between DOE, Sandia National Laboratories, industry, utilities, and universities interested in complete system development. Funded projects are related to the integration of solar technologies into the U.S. electrical grid while maintaining or improving power quality and reliability.
DOE announced funding of the following projects:
PVPowered of Bend, Oregon. Up to $3 million is available to fund a project that optimizes interconnections across the full range of emerging PV module technologies through innovative systems integration. This project includes the following partners: PVPowered, Portland General Electric, South Dakota State University, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, and SENSUS.
Petra Solar of South Plainfield New Jersey. Up to $2.9 million is available to fund a project that supports improving reliability and resiliency so that high levels of PV integration can be adapted. This project includes the following partners: Petra Solar, University of Central Florida, and fifteen electric utilities.
Princeton Power of Princeton, New Jersey. Up to $2.8 million is available to fund a project that focuses on lowering manufacturing costs through integrated controls for energy storage and the development of new inverter designs. This project includes the following partners: Princeton Power, Transistor Device Inc, LaGuardia Community College, Idyllwild Municipal Water District, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Premier Power, SPG Solar, and Spire.
Apollo Solar of Bethel, Connecticut. Up to $1.5 million is available for the creation of innovative inverters using energy storage and two-way communications between solar electrical systems and utilities. This project includes the following partners: Apollo Solar, Saft Batteries, the Electric Power Research Institute, and California Independent System Operator.
Florida Solar Energy Center / UCF. Up to $1.3 million is available to solve technical challenges that impede the deployment of higher PV penetration levels in larger scale systems. This project includes the following partners: Florida Solar Energy Center, Satcon Technology Corporation, SENTECH, Inc., Cooper Power Systems EAS, Northern Plains Power Technologies, and Lakeland Electric Utilities.
Show me the Money: $54 million in Funding for State Energy Programs
From our colleague Christina Asavareungchai:
Today, the Department of Energy announced more than $54 million in Recovery Act funding to four states under its State Energy Program ("SEP"). Here is how the funds will be used in Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin:
Nevada will use its SEP funds to create a revolving loan fund, which will help finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Nevada will also perform energy efficiency retrofits in state buildings and schools, in addition to installing more energy-efficient street and traffic lights statewide. After demonstrating success in the execution of its plan, Nevada will receive additional funds of over $17 million, for a total of almost $35 million.
Vermont will use its SEP funds to establish programs that advance energy efficiency across multiple sectors. Specifically, Rhode Island will support businesses and homes in their effort to reduce energy consumption, in addition to updating the state’s building energy codes. After demonstrating success in the execution of its plan, Rhode Island will receive additional funds of nearly $12 million, for a total of almost $24 million.
Wisconsin will use its SEP funds to help improve the energy efficiency of existing industrial facilities, in addition to investing in businesses that manufacture clean energy technologies and components. The state will also offer loans to a broad audience. After demonstrating success in the execution of its plan, Wisconsin will receive additional funds of nearly $28 million, for a total of over $55 million.
Rhode Island will use its SEP funds to offer financial assistance for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the public, private, and residential sectors, in addition to facilitating the installation of thermal solar renewable energy systems in low-income households. After demonstrating success in the execution of its plan, Vermont will receive additional funds of nearly $11 million, for a total of almost $22 million.
