On June 30, 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") launched its Technology Commercialization Portal (the "Portal").  The Portal is an online resource that provides a mechanism for investors, entrepreneurs and companies to identify new technologies coming out of DOE laboratories and other participating research institutions.  Relevant technologies include:

  • Advanced Materials
  • Biomass and Biofuels
  • Building Energy Efficiency
  • Electricity Transmission and

To follow up on my colleague Janet Jacobs’ blog on this exciting topic, here’s some more detailed information about the MOU, especially as it relates to marine and hydrokinetic ("MHK") technologies:

 

The United States Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (“EERE”) and the United States Department of the Interior’s

The DOE has issued a Request For Information ("RFI") to get the public’s input on the development of a Wind Energy Workforce Roadmap, which will provide details on the current workforce landscape in the wind industry as well as future steps necessary to train and develop a green workforce for the sector.  Ultimately, the

 

On Monday, the DOE announced that is had awarded up to $24 million to three research consortiums for the commercialization of algae-based biofuels. The three consortia include partners from academia, national laboratories, and private industries located across the country. Projects are expected to continue for three years.

 

The three awardees are:

  • The

Yesterday, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) and the Department of Energy (“DOE”)  entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to bring together resources and expertise from both agencies as the US develops commercial-scale offshore wind and water energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

 

The

Morten Lund reports:

The California Solar Initiative Handbook was updated June 8, 2010. The new version can be found by clicking here.

Of particular interest are changes to Section 2.4 (warranty requirements). These changes are not necessarily substantively significant, but may require some manufacturers and contractors/installers to conform their warranty language in order to

The U.S. Treasury Department today released on its website additional guidance regarding the "begin construction" requirement for qualifying for the 30% ARRA cash grant. To qualify for the grant, a project either must be placed in service in 2009 or 2010 or, if construction begins on or before December 31, 2010, must be placed in

From our colleague Sarah Johnson Phillips:

Much to the relief of wind developers in the Midwest, the Midwest ISO has backed off a plan to charge new and existing generators 20% of the cost of new transmission needed to meet renewable energy development goals.

Yesterday, the Midwest ISO released its final cost allocation proposal, which it will file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 15, 2010. In the final proposal, the cost of Multi-Value Projects (MVPs) will be spread evenly to load throughout the MISO footprint on an energy basis. MVPs are transmission projects needed to support renewable energy development, other policy drivers, or have multiple benefits such as reliability and market efficiency. Previous cost allocation proposals would have allocated 20% of the cost of MVPs to new and existing generators. That potential cost burden and resulting cost uncertainty had caused some wind industry observers to speculate that wind projects would abandon the Midwest for other parts of the country where transmission is cheaper.Continue Reading Midwest ISO Final MVP Cost Allocation Proposal Won’t Charge Generators for New Transmission Needed for Wind Energy