As the energy storage industry continues on its trajectory of near-exponential growth, in the course of assisting our clients we are seeing a wide variety of battery energy storage system (BESS) offerings in the market, and we don’t always like what we see from a project finance and risk perspective.
Battery system offerings are all
Today, the Wall Street Journal’s Russel Gold reported that entrepreneurs are looking into massive algae blooms in the Gulf of Mexico that create "dead-zones" for sea life as a potential feedstock of algae for biofuel production. The dead zones are a result of run-off of fertilizers and other agricultural waste creating nutrient rich areas for algae to grow. Eventually, the
Stoel Rives, LLP has decided to sponsor the 2009 Algae Biomass Summit ("2009 ABS"). The Algal Biomass Organization ("ABO") is hosting the 2009 ABS in San Diego this October 7-9th. The event will take place at the Marriot San Diego Hotel & Marina.
This year’s ABS will discuss the emerging issue of algae as
Last week, U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") Secretary Steven Chu and U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA") Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the winning candidates for up to $6.3 million in awards for research leading to improved use of plant feedstocks for biofuel production. The seven projects announced follow the green jobs and renewable energy Rural Tour event hosted by
From InsideEPA.com (reproduced essentially verbatim with the permission of the publisher Inside Washington Publishers):
EPA will measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of algae-based biofuels in its final rule to implement the renewable fuels standard (RFS) in response to growing interest in the renewable feedstock, including recent announcements by Exxon-Mobil (as noted in an earlier article) and Dow Chemical that they are undertaking separate projects to help commercialize the technology. Algae is a particularly tempting feedstock choice because it can be engineered to sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and because algae-based biofuel has a similar molecular structure to gasoline, allowing it to be used in the existing transportation infrastructure. These qualities could help the fuel sidestep controversy associated with corn-based ethanol, which some say cannot meet the CO2 reduction goals of the RFS and which, due to its corrosivity, can impact engines, pipes and fuel pumps.
EPA fuels official Sarah Dunham said the agency considers algae “a promising feedstock” that will be included in the final RFS rule. EPA issued its RFS proposal earlier this year to expand biofuels use in line with congressional mandates, and is taking comment on the proposal through Sept. 25. Dunham was speaking to a July 16 meeting of a National Academy of Sciences panel on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Algae-based fuels could be considered under the advanced biofuel or bio-based diesel portion of the RFS, according to the proposed rule.Continue Reading EPA Shows Positive Interest in Algae
Similar to the July 21, 2009 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ("EPA") Region 5 award, EPA’s Region 10 has awarded over $1.6 million to reduce emissions from Portland municipal fleet vehicles and construction contractor equipment. The funds are provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 ("ARRA") National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Under
Today, the US. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") Region 5 has awarded millions of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA") dollars to the Wisconsin Department of Commerce and the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest for the reduction of diesel emissions. The funds are provided under the ARRA National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance
Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest and richest publicly traded oil company, is making a major jump into renewable energy with a $600 million investment in algae-based biofuels. Exxon is joining Synthetic Genomics Inc., a biotechnology company founded by the genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter, to research and develop next-generation biofuels from sunlight, water
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the "Treasury") and the U.S. Department of Energy (the "DOE") announced an estimated $3 billion for the development of renewable energy projects around the country. Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA"), the program will provide direct payments in lieu of tax credits in support of
On June 29, 2009, the Office of Nuclear Physics, Office of Science, and Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced a Funding Opportunity Announcement (“FOA”) providing for $6 million for collaborative research projects between universities, non-profit organizations, and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, including the DOE National Laboratories, to focus on theoretical research topics of