Building Energy Experts' service improves energy efficiency and comfort, cuts home utility bills and helps protect the environment, according to the release.
As a participating contractor in the utility rebate program, Building Energy Experts received specialized training and is equipped with high-tech diagnostic tools to inspect buildings and determine where improvements are needed. Rather than focusing on a single problem, like an old heating or cooling system, not enough insulation in the attic, or leaky windows, Building Energy Experts look at how improvements throughout a home can work together to give homeowners the best results. Depending on the improvements selected by the homeowner, annual utility bill savings, improved comfort and better home air quality are possible.
(Source: Building Energy Experts, PR, 24 June, 2020) Contact: Building Energy Experts,
Anthony Stonis ,
888.623.3769, 312.656.4705
242338@email4pr.com, www.buildingenergyexperts.com; ENERGY STAR, www.energystar.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency, ENERGY STAR,
"According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency, fossil fuels will continue to power our world well into the future. Therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure these fuels are utilized as cleanly and efficiently as possible," said Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. "DOE's Carbon Utilization Program is investing in cutting-edge technologies to allow us to capture carbon oxides, which will reduce emissions, and then recycle them into economically valuable services like enhanced oil recovery or products like plastics and carbon fibers."
Projects resulting from this FOA will validate the concept, estimate the technology cost, and demonstrate that the carbon life cycle of the products offers a path toward an environmentally sustainable and economically viable product. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the selected projects.
Additional information, including a full list of the 11 funded projects is HERE. (Source: US DOE , PR, 16 June, 2020) Contact: US DOE Office of Fossil Energy Carbon Utilization Program, www.energy.gov/fe/carbon-utilization
More Low-Carbon Energy News DOE Office of Fossil Energy news, CCU news, Carbon Emissions news,
The program includes 32 Fortune 100 companies, 12 pct of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint and 13 pct of the nation's commercial building space. The program challenges businesses, manufacturers, cities, states, universities and school districts to improve building energy efficiency by at least 20 pct over a decade.
Download the full report HERE. (Source: US DOE, June, 2020) Contact: US DOE, Better Buildings Initiative, www.betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News DOE Better Buildings Initiative, Energy Efficiency,
The project will focus on enhancing coordination between utilities and consumers and finding ways to connect distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar panels to local distribution networks by using digital identity and hardware created by NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF).
NREL plans to leverage blockchain to create a scalable solution for electricity feeders, which can be customized as desired. Currently, they are running a virtual pilot that connects electric vehicles, smart appliances, batteries, and other components, to a blockchain.
NREL is a member of Blockchain for Optimized Security and Energy Management (BLOSEM), and provides expertise on accelerating blockchain adoption in the energy sector.
The BLOSEM project is led by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and is funded by the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium. (Source: NREL, COINGEEK, 30 May, 2020) Contact: NREL, Dane Christensen, dane.christensen@nrel.gov, www.nrel.gov;
Excelon, www.exeloncorp.com; Web Foundation, www.energyweb.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News National Renewable Energy Laboratory , NREL, Renewable Energy, Exelon, ,
In addition to roughly $1 million in US DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), grant funding , Enphase will provide test platforms and invest approximately $420,000 over the project's three-year timeline.
Enphase will run specialized test scenarios and gather data at the Company's single- and three-phase, on- and off-grid rooftop solar R&D facility in Austin, Texas. The test array is equipped with Enphase microinverters featuring the Company's custom ASIC, which powers the software-defined architecture that allows Enphase to reprogram a test fleet of microinverters with control architectures and algorithms developed by the University of Washington. The control architectures and algorithms will be tested to validate controller performance under real-world weather variability.
The Enphase Encharge storage system features embedded grid-forming Enphase microinverters that enable always-on functionality and will be compatible with both new and existing Enphase IQ solar systems with IQ 6™ or IQ 7™ microinverters, providing a simple upgrade path for existing Enphase solar customers.
(Source: Enphase Energy Inc., PR, 26 May, 2020) Contact: Christian Zdebel, 484-788-2384, pr@enphase.com, www.enphase.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Enphase, Renewable Energy, Renewables Grid.Rooftop Solar,
The data obtained from the $22 million effort will be used to prepare, submit and obtain a permit to construction a Class VI well to store CO2 captured from the power plant if Enchant Energy successfully retrofits San Juan Generating Station with carbon capture technology. The Class VI wells are intended to store carbon dioxide in a safe and secure manner for at least 990 years.
Other recently funded CCS projects include:
BrainBox AI technology combines deep learning, cloud-based computing and autonomous decision making to support a 24/7 self-operating building. BrainBox AI's solution enables a building's HVAC system to operate autonomously, in real-time, to generate up to a 25 pct reduction in total energy costs and a 20-40 pct reduction in carbon footprint.
In the 11 months since its launch to market in May 2019, BrainBox AI has installed its self-learning technology in over 15 million square feet of commercial properties, across 15 cities on 3 continents. The company has gained significant traction in its home market of Canada, and the recent raise will enable rapid expansion in both existing and new markets.
BrainBox AI works in collaboration with research partners including the US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO), Montral's McGill University and others.
(Source: BrainBox AI, PR , 28 April, 2020)
Contact: BrainBox AI, Sean Neely, CEO and Co-Founder , 888 585 2630, www.brainboxai.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency, Energy Monitoring,
PERFORM teams will design risk scores that communicate the delivery risk of an asset's offer, such as the reliability of electricity from a solar plant due to the weather on a given day. They will also develop grid management systems that internally capture uncertainty and evaluate the system risk to meet or exceed a set baseline. This risk-driven paradigm will enable grid operators to better maintain a supply-demand balance and system reliability, even with the intermittency of renewables. In turn, they can optimally manage the system and assess the true value of essential reliability services in real time, allowing for a more diverse energy mix.
Details and sampling of PERFORM projects HERE. (Source: US EPA, April, 2020) Contact: US DOE ARPA, www.arpa-e.energy.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE, Energy Management, Smart Grid,
The turbine devices can be designed with low visual profiles and minimal environmental impact. They are also uniquely suited for micro-grid applications, supplying energy to remote communities and other "blue economy" and utility-scale applications. Hydrokinetic energy can also be used for climatological observation, aquaculture, desalination, ocean floor and seawater mining, disaster recovery, powering isolated communities and autonomous underwater vehicle support.
Currently, significant technical and environmental barriers make current hydrokinetic turbine systems prohibitively expensive. SHARKS will fund the development of solutions for hydrodynamics, mechanical structures, materials, hydro-structural interactions, electrical energy conversion systems, control systems, numerical simulations and experimental validations.
SHARKS projects will work towards a reduction in Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of up to 61.5 pct compared to current state-of-the-art hydrokinetic turbine systems. (Source: US DOE, April, 2020) Contact: SHARKS, arpa-e-foa.energy.gov › FileContent
PDF
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE, Tidal Energy, Tidal Turbine, Run of River,
The development of biofuels over the past years is part of the strategy to decrease the demand for petroleum-based gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels. However, biofuels are yet to reach the level where they can compete with petroleum-based fuels in terms of cost production. Conventional biofuel production often involves genetically engineered plants that can produce essential chemical compounds, or bioproducts. These bioproducts are extracted from the plant, and the remaining plant parts are converted into fuel. This led scientists from the Berkeley Laboratory to investigate exactly how much bioproduct does a plant need to determine if the whole extraction process to be determined efficient, and how much bioproduct should be produced to reach the target ethanol selling price of $2.50 per gallon.
To do this, the researchers studied existing data of well-studied plant-based bioproduct production. They used this data to make simulations that will determine the factors involved in extracting bioproducts using the context of bioethanol refinery, which means that bioproducts will be extracted from the plant and the remaining plant materials will be converted to ethanol. Their results determined that the bioproduct levels needed to accumulate in plants to offset the production cost recovery is quite feasible. Using limonene as an example, they calculated that an accumulated 0.6 pct of biomass dry weight would already produce net economic benefits to biorefineries. To illustrate, it means harvesting 10 dry metric tons of sorghum mass from one acre will only need 130 pounds of recovered limonene from that biomass to say that the whole production process is efficient, according to the release.
The BNL researchers note this new finding can provide new insights into the role of bioproducts to improve biorefinery economics and offer the first quantitative basis for implementation of this cost-saving strategy for future studies on plant-based biofuel breeding and engineering. The scientists also recommended that crops need to be engineered to produce a broad range of bioproducts in order to provide options and diversify products in the market. (Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, April, 2020) Contact: LBNL,
Laurel Kellner, Media, 510-590-8034, LKellner@lbl.gov, www.lbl.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Berkeley National Laboratory, Biofuel,
Funding is being made available for: renewable energy generation and energy efficiency; community energy storage deployment; biomass, biogas, landfill or sewage gas, solid waste, waste gases fueled CHP systems. Eligible biomass projects must be able to demonstrate the sustainability of the biomass resource proposed for use.
Download full DOE-FOA-0002317 details HERE. (Source: US DOE EERE, 27 Mar.,2020) Contact: US DOE EERE, eere-exchange.energy.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE, Bioenergy, Biomass, Biofuel, Renewable Energy,
For the Office of Science funding, DOE National Laboratories are invited to submit proposals for breakthrough research in materials and chemical sciences.
The Office of Fossil Energy funding opportunity focuses on both the applied development of new materials and the field testing of CC prototypes.
(Source: US DOE, GasWorld, 2 April, 2020)
Contact: US DOE Office of Fossil Energy, Steven Winberg, www.energy.gov/fe; US DOE Office of Science, Dr.Chris Fall, Dir., www.energy.gov/science
More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Capture, Office of Fossil Energy, DOE Office of Science ,
The single step CADO process is capable of converting vapor of wet ethanol into hydrocarbon blendstocks competitively priced at $2/gigajoule that can be blended with gasoline, diesel, or jet fuels to diminish emissions of greenhouse gases.
The conversion procedure of fuel uses zeolite, a kind of catalyst, to create actual loner chains of hydrocarbons from ethanol (alcohol). The process substitutes the traditional multi-step processes and uses less energy.
(Source: ORNL, PR, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
Daily Facts & Trends, 29 Mar., 2020) Contact: US DOE Office of Science, www.energy.gov/science; ORNL Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Brian Davison, Chief Science Officer, 865-576-7658, www.ornl.gov; Vertimass LLC, John Hannon, CEO, www.vertimass.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Alternative Fuel, Sustainable Fuel,
The new facility is designed to facilitate PNNL collaboration with Washington State's Clean Energy Fund, Battelle and others on sustainable energy solutions as well as showcase scientific energy discoveries and progress.
(Source: PNNL, Tri-City Herald, 23 Mar., 2020)
Contact: PNNL, Steven Ashby, Dir, www.pnnl.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News PNNL, Sustainable Energy,
Download DOE Energy Storage Grand Challenge program details HERE
(Source: US DOE, Mar, 2020) Contact: Energy Storage Grand Challenge Program, www.energy.gov
Under DOE's new rule, federal appliance energy efficiency upgrades must be "significant" -- defined under the rule as saving at least 0.3 quads of energy over 30 years or improving energy use by at least 10 pct above existing standards.
(Source: US DOE, Heartland Institute, 12 Mar., 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Appliance Efficiency, Energy Efficiency,
The DOE's "unlawful and ill-advised decision ignores direction from Congress to transition the nation to inexpensive, efficient, and widely available lighting sources. It would increase greenhouse gas emissions and consumers' energy costs," the suit claims.
According to the California AG release, approximately three billion lighting sockets -- nearly half of all lighting sockets in U.S. homes -- contain bulbs affected by this proposal. DOE's decision directly impacts consumers who stand to lose significant energy savings.
On December 27, 2019, DOE issued its final determination halting energy efficiency improvements to the lightbulbs in question, also known as General Service Incandescent Lamps (GSIL). It concluded that improved GSIL standards were not "economically justified." DOE's decision is part of an ongoing effort by the agency to stifle progress in energy efficiency. The agency's decision attempts to undermine a provision in federal law that moves retailers away from selling lightbulbs that do not meet the minimum standard of 45 lumens per watt. This decision would cost consumers $12 billion each year in lost electricity savings by 2025 -- a $100 loss per household per year, accoding the the California AG release.
DOE's decision amounts to a failure to enact a stronger standard in violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
Joining Attorney General Becerra in filing this lawsuit are the Attorneys General of New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the City of New York.
(Source: Office of California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, YubaNet, 26 Feb., 2020) Contact: Office of California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, www. oag.ca.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency.Light Buld Energy Efficiency,
The Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) National Laboratory consortium is jointly sponsored by the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office and Vehicle Technologies Office. Co-Optima focuses on developing new high-performance fuels that, when combined with advanced combustion approaches, can boost engine efficiency and cut emissions.
The Co-Optima DFO is seeking proposals that overcome key technical challenges to accelerating adoption of new fuel-biofuel blend stocks from renewable resources, enabling higher efficiency and lower emissions in on-highway vehicles. For this DFO, biofuel blendstocks, biofuel production, bio-blendstock/biofuel property R&D is of particular interest and importance.
Selected projects are anticipated to range from $200,000 up to $300,000 of Co-Optima National Laboratory assistance over the project duration of 12-18 months. Up to $2,000,000 will be available for this call and Co-Optima anticipates a total of 7-10 projects will be selected for funding. Industry partners will fund their own labor, materials, and other expenses directly, which contribute toward a 20 pct minimum cost-share requirement.
Directed Funding Opportunity for Collaboration with National Laboratories details
More Low-Carbon Energy News Clean Fuel, Low-Carbon Fuel, Renewable Fuels, Biofuel,
The ENERGY STAR is awarded based on actual, verified energy performance.
(Source: Sioux City Community School District, SiouxLand, KCAU, 15 Feb., 2020) Contact: Sioux City Community School District, www.siouxcityschools.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News ENERGY STAR, Energy Efficiency,
Of the total, $39 million is earmarked for one or two projects seeking to develop a test site to speed up the commercialization of supercritical carbon dioxide power cycles used by concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Up to 11 projects will qualify for a total of $30 million for developing community microgrids and boosting the cybersecurity for solar inverters and power plants.
An additional $15 million will be shared by between * and 12 projects aimed at prolonging the lifespan of PV systems and cut hardware costs for plants using traditional silicon solar cells, as well as thin-film, tandem and perovskite cells. Innovative solar manufacturing projects, emerging technologies, solar farm siting and
artificial intelligence applications for the solar sector will also qualify for funding under this offering. (Source: US DOE, Feb., 2020) Contact: US DOE, www.energy.gov › eere › office-energy-efficiency-renewable-energy,
energy.gov/solar-office
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE, Solar, ,
The development of "grid-forming" controls will allow wind and solar inverters to form voltage and frequency levels like traditional generators, creating an opportunity for greater and more resilient integration of these resources into the grid.
(Source: GE Research, PR, 7 Feb., 2020)
Contact: DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office, energy.gov/solar-office; GE Research, www.ge.com › research
More Low-Carbon Energy News GE Research, PV, US DOE SETO,
The project focuses on developing cost-effective manufacturing process for better lithium-ion batteries for various applications.
The project is being led by assistant professor Dr. Qingliu Wu of WMU's Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering.
(Source: Western Michigan University, WKZ, 10 Feb., 2020) Contact: Western Michigan University, Dept. of Paper and Chemical Engineering, (269) 276-3500 www.wmich.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News Battery, Energy Storage,
The study also suggests the local economy might be able to avoid fallout from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to achieve carbon neutrality, in part, by managing the decline of California's Kern-centric oil industry and Kern's previously recognized geologic underground carbon storage capacity.
The LNL report -- Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California -- also notes the entire effort would cost less than $10 billion per year, or less than .05 pct of the state's economic output.
According to the report, 84 megatons per year of CO2 emissions can be rerouted by creating biofuels from biomass and that carbon associated with such activities could then be buried.
Another 25 megatons per year could be avoided by restoring woodlands, grasslands and wetlands, among other land-management practices.
Additional savings could be pulled right out of the air using energy-intensive technology.
(Source: Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Bakersfield.com,3 Feb., 2020) Contact: Lawrence Livermore National Lab, www.llnl.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California, Lawrence Livermore National Lab ,
The first topic aims to build on the success of the Geothermal Technologies Office's Play Fairway Analysis (PFA) initiative. The PFA technique is a method for discovering hidden hydrothermal systems in the Basin & Range region of the western U.S using known geologic factors associated with geothermal systems. By reducing the uncertainty of discovering geothermal systems in such settings, development and investment in the area can become more attractive.
The second topic aims to enhance the resilience of energy systems through the use of Reservoir Thermal Energy Storage (RTES) technology particularly in low-temperature geothermal systems. Deep-Direct Use (DDU) for space heating is being considered as the best application of this technolgoy, as excess thermal energy during summer could be stored as a reserve for winter heating.
Interested applicants may submit a letter of intent until February 28, 2020, 5 PM. Only those who have submitted the letter will be eligible for full applications, which will be accepted until April 6, 2020, 5 PM.
(Source: U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, 6 Feb., 2020) Contact: U.S. DOE Geothermal Technologies Office, geothermal@ee.doe.gov, egs@ee.doe.gov,
www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-technologies-office-contacts-0
More Low-Carbon Energy News Geothermal, US DOE EERE,
As defined by the US DOE, EEaaS is a pay-for-performance, off-balance-sheet type of finance structure that enables customers to implement energy and water efficiency projects with no up-front capital expenditure. The provider of the upgrades pays for project development, construction, and maintenance costs while the customer -- building owner -- makes service payments based on actual energy savings on a long-term basis.
Access the Better Buildings Financing Navigator
HERE.
(Source: Various Media, Nsadaq News, 31 Jan., 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency, General Electric, CBRE, Johnson Controls,
"Most importantly, the agency will henceforth forbid standards that fail to deliver significant energy savings. Efficiency standards typically raise the upfront cost of the appliance, but presumably pay the consumer back in the form of lower energy bills -- unless the energy savings are too trivial.
"The process rule contains a new bright-line requirement that a new or amended standard must save an estimated 0.3 quadrillion BTUs over 30 years (or improve current efficiency by at least 10 percent). According to the agency, if this threshold had already been in place, 40 pct of the appliance rules would have never been enacted. These 40 pct are so useless that, in aggregate, they account for a mere 4 pct of the program's estimated energy savings. Thus, this provision would eliminate those standards most likely to impose more pain than gain for consumers.
"Other provisions in the process rule allow for a more open and interactive regulatory process, rather than one that limits the manufacturers' input while the rule is being fashioned by the agency. The process rule is also judicially enforceable." (Source: US DOE, Competitive Enterprise Institute - Blog, 29 Jan., 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency, Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards,
Steven Wilhelm, the Kenneth and Blaire Mossman Professor of Microbiology, is part of a team led by Jean-Philippe Gibert, a food web expert and assistant professor of biology at Duke University. Wilhelm's co-investigators include David Weston and Dale Pelletier, staff scientists in the Biosciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Jonathan Shaw, professor of biology at Duke. In the three-year project, the group will study and model the effects of warming on the complex network of bacteria, protists, and viruses that interact with peat moss.
Peat moss plays a key role in slowing climate change by keeping 370 million metric tpy of CO2 out of the atmosphere -- equivalent to the emissions from nearly half the car traffic in the US.
Though peatlands cover just 3 pct of the Earth's surface they store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests. Over hundreds or thousands of years, Sphagnum and other peatland plants pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as they grow, trapping the carbon inside layers of partially decayed plant material up to 20 feet deep. But warming trends could put that carbon storage at risk. Rising temperatures could thaw or dry out peat wetlands, making them more prone to decay and wildfires. Decomposing or burning plants mean the heat-trapping gas long locked up in peatlands could be released, accelerating the global warming process.
To better predict the impacts of warming on peatlands and the carbon they contain, the team is studying a set of players they say are largely overlooked: microbes. Their previous work suggests that under future warming, the community of microbes and other tiny organisms that grow in and around peat mosses could shift balance, which could affect the ability of peatlands to sequester carbon. (Source: University of Tennessee, Knoxville, PR, 27 Jan., 2020) Contact:
University of Tennessee, Karen Dunlap, 865-974-8674, kdunlap6@utk.edu,
Amanda Womac , 865-974-2992, awomac1@utk.edu, www.utk.edu; Duke University,
Robin Smith, (919-681-8057, robin.a.smith@duke.edu, www.duke.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News Peatland, Carbon Storage, Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Emissions, University of Tennessee,
Funded through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the three FOAs will be issued on behalf of the three transportation offices: Vehicle, Fuel Cells, and Bioenergy Technology Offices. Brief summaries of the FOAs follow:
According to the MSU report, if enough green algae could be produced to cover half the state of Maine, for example, it could supply enough "green oil" to replace all of the petroleum used in the United States right now. According to the US DOE, the U.S. has the capacity to produce 5 billion gallons of fuel from algae per year by the year 2030, at a cost of $2.50 per gasoline gallon equivalent. To that end, "algal biomass will need to be produced from large-scale farming operations, similar to agricultural crops," the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy said in a statement.
Cheng, a researcher with the Interdisciplinary Plant Group and director of Bioinformatic at MU, is adapting artificial intelligence to map the shapes and amino acids of proteins to help bioengineers change the structure of the algae and make it more less costly and more efficient for biofuel production.
Cheng's project Deep Learning Prediction of Protein Complex Structures was supported by $167,797 from the US DOE. (Source: University of Missouri, The Columbian, 23 Jan., 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Algae, Algae Biofuel,
Qualifying Universities, industry and non-profit research institutions will collaborator with DOE national laboratories and other federal agencies. (Source: USA DOE, PR, Jan., 2020)Contact: US DOE BETO, energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/bioenergy-technologies-office
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE BETO, Bioenergy Crop, Bioenergy R&D,
The awards are given on an annual basis. This is Richardson's fifth year in a row to win the Fleet Recognition Award, according to the city.
Download US DOE Clean Cities Coalition program details HERE.
(Source: Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities , Community Impact, 31 Dec., 2019) Contact: Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities, cleancities@nctcog.org,
www.dfwcleancities.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Alternative Fuel, Clean Cities Coalition,
"IFB also urges USDA to move quickly on an infrastructure package to accommodate higher blend levels."
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) represents 75 pct of the state's farmers with membership of more than 386,291 and a voting membership of 79,159. Illinois is the nation's third-largest producer of ethanol with roughly 75 pct of it corn production being converted into ethanol.
(Source: Illinois Farm Bureau, 21 Dec., 2019) Contact: Illinois Farm Bureau , t Richard Guebert, Jr, Pres. www.ilfb.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News RFS, Biofuel, Ethanol Blend, USDA, US DOE, Renewable Volume Obligation ,
The team used corn stover-derived molecules as the starting point for a range of potential fuel candidates. From here, the researchers relied on predictive models to determine which molecules would be best to blend with and improve traditional diesel. With the goal of developing drop-in biofuels that work with existing infrastructure. The intention is to blend the 4-butoxyheptane molecule into diesel fuel at a mixture of 20 - 30 pct Initial results suggest the potential to improve ignition quality, reduce sooting and improve fuel economy of the base diesel at these blend levels.
NREL is working with Yale University, Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of the US DOE Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Co-Optima) initiative which is funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Bioenergy Technologies.
Performance-Advantaged Ether Diesel Bioblendstock Production by a Priori Design, the initiative's research paper was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Source: NREL,PR, Dec., 2019) Contact: NREL,
Derek Vardon, Senior Research Engineer, (303) 384-7763, Derek.Vardon@nrel.gov, www.nrel.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
The research is aimed at developing new bio-based jet fuel manufacturing technology and crop feedstocks with vegetable oil compositions tailored for this technology.
The research team will use camelina as an oilseed platform to develop vegetable oil formulations with shorter carbon chains that are better suited for the processing technology. These genetic strategies will be transferred to other vegetable oil feedstocks, such as soybean and oil-rich sorghum, which are currently being developed by university faculty for the U.S. DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI).
Research at UNL builds on prior US DOE and Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research'funding.
(Source: University of Nebraska, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, UNL IANR NEWS, 17 Dec., 2019)
Contact: UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
402-472-2081, www.unl.edu;
National Institute for Food and Agriculture, www.nifa.usda.gov; U.S. DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, www.cabbi.bio
More Low-Carbon Energy News Camelina, Oilseed, USDA, National Institute for Food and Agriculture,
Multi-sensor, drone data-collection tech enables breeders to scale research operations and empowers them with precise, repeatable analytic solutions for high throughput phenotyping in the field.
GRYFN is using the technology licensed through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.
(Source: GRYFN, Drone Life, Dec., 2019) Contact: Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization,
www.prf.org; GRYFN, Matt Bechdol, (260) 553-9993, info@gryfn.io, www.gryfn.io
More Low-Carbon Energy News Sorghum Biofuel,
To advance the project, the University Energy Resources Council is seeking proposals for the construction of coal-based generation technology that can collect carbon emissions.
Proposals until be accepted until 5 p.m. Feb. 14, 2020. (Source: University of Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune, News Observer, AP, 4 Dec., 2019)
Contact: University of Wyoming Energy Resources Council, Trish Steger,
Executive Administrative Assistant, 307-766-6897,
Fax: 307-766-6701,
psteger@uwyo.edu, www.uwyo.edu/ser/about-us/energy-resources-council, www.uwyo.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News University of Wyoming , CO2, Carbon Capture,
With SHEMS, ENERGY STAR has "gone from defining products that are energy-efficient to defining a service and smart home service providers that will result in energy savings."
(Source, ENERGY STAR, Home Accest, HAT, 5 Dec., 2019)
Contact: EPA ENERGY STAR, www.energystar.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News ENERGY STAR, Energy Efficient Ligh,
ORNL worked with technology licensee Vertimass and researchers at 10 other institutions on a technoeconomic and a life cycle sustainability analysis of the process -- single-step catalytic conversion of ethanol into hydrocarbon blendstocks that can be added to jet, diesel, or gasoline fuels to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. This new technology is called Consolidated Dehydration and Oligomerization (CADO).CADO.
The analysis, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that this single-step process for converting wet ethanol vapor could produce blend-stocks at $2/gigajoule (GJ) today and $1.44/GJ in the future as the process is refined, including operating and annualized capital costs. Thus, the blend-stock would be competitive with conventional jet fuel produced from oil at historically high prices of about $100/barrel. At $60/barrel oil, the use of existing renewable fuel incentives result in price parity, the analysis found.
The conversion makes use of a type of catalyst called a zeolite, which directly produces longer hydrocarbon chains from the original alcohol, in this case ethanol, replacing a traditional multi-step process with one that uses less energy and is highly efficient. The conversion operation could be integrated into new biofuels plants or installed as bolt-on technology to existing ethanol plants with minimal new capital investment, the researchers noted.
The project was supported by the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at ORNL, which in turn is supported by the DOE Office of Science. Scale-up R&D were supported in part by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and by Vertimass. (Source: ORNL, PR, NewsWise, Nov., 2019) Contact: US DOE Office of Science, www.energy.gov/science; DOE Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) at ORNL , Brian Davison, Chief Science Officer,
Vertimass LLC, John Hannon, CEO, www.vertimass.com; DOE EERE Bioenergy Technologies Office, www.energy.gov › eere › bioenergy
More Low-Carbon Energy News ORNL, Biofuel, Ethanol, Vertimass,
The team matches the ERC's expertise in power generation and energy with appropriate expertise in civil engineering within Lehigh's Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Engineering Research Center.
Other project partners include: Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc., Dominion Energy-Virginia, Slaw Precast (concrete), Nycon (steel fiber), Hanson Cement and others.
The research group recently received a three-year, $2 million grant from the US DOE Transformative Power Generation Program to support the design, engineering, optimization, and testing of the Lehigh team's heat Thermal Energy Storage (TCM-TES) concept.
(Source: Lehigh University Energy Research Center, PR, Nov., 2019) Contact: Lehigh University, Energy Research Center, Carlos E. Romero
Director and Principal Research Scientist,
(610) 758-4092, cerj@lehigh.edu, www.lehigh.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Storage, Battery,
Over the next two years, the project will evaluate the compatibility of certain catalysts and solvents, design and build and test a reactor a project that would advance the development of Integrated CO2 Capture and Conversion to Methanol (ICCCM). SoCalGas has spent more than $10 million on the research and development of low or zero carbon technologies in the last three years.
(Source: SoCalGas, Energy Global, 26 Nov., 2019) Contact: SoCalGas, Yuri Freedman, Senior Director of Business Development, www.socalgas.com; PNNL, Dr. David Heldebrant, www.pnnl.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Methanol, Carbon Capture, , Southern California Gas , Methanol, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
HPE expects the three-year collaboration to train machine learning models to detect anomalies so that energy efficiency issues can be predicted and prevented.
(Source: HPE, Storage Review, 18 Nov., 2019) Contact: HPE, www.hpe.com; NREL, www.nrel.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Hewlett Packard, Energy Efficiency, NREL ,
The two-year project scope includes the conceptual design, preliminary design, and feasibility assessment of the fixed-bottom, suction-bucket support structure and heavy-lift-vessel alternative for the US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 15MW reference turbine.
According to its website, RCAM Technologies was "founded to develop concrete additive manufacturing technologies initially for wind energy technologies -- RCAM's vision for wind energy is to develop land-based and offshore wind turbine towers and substructures up to 200-meter tall at half the cost of conventional tall tower technologies."
(Source: RCAM Technologies, PR,
19 November, 2019) Contact:
RCAM Technologies, Jason Cottrell, CEO, www.rcamtechnologies.com;
National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, www.energy.gov/eere/wind/national-offshore-wind-rd-consortium
More Low-Carbon Energy News Offshore Wind Foundation,
The concept for AirBEM originated at Syracuse University with initial seed funding from SyracuseCoE. Subsequently, AirBEM collaborators developed the concept using additional support from the Office of Research, the Campus as a Laboratory for Sustainability program and others.
(Source: Syracuse University, 14 Nov., 2019) Contact: Syracuse University,
Assoc. Prof. Senem Velipasalar, Assoc. Prof., Edward Bogucz, (315) 443-1870, www.syracuse.edu
More Low-Carbon Energy News Syracuse University, Energy Efficiency, Build Energy,
HPC4EI is seeking industry partners to work collaboratively with DOE's National Laboratories on projects that use high performance computing (HPC) to solve key technical challenges in the areas of manufacturing and mobility:
Qualifying industry partner must contribute at least 20 pct of the funding for the project. Partners that have been previously funded under HPC4EI must provide at least 33.3 pct of the funding for the project.
Since its inception in 2015, HPC4EI has funded 90 projects with more than 40 companies. (Source: US DOE EERE, PR, Green Car Congress, 5 Nov., 2019) Contact: US DOE EERE, www.energy.gov/eere
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE EERE, Energy Efficiency,
Existing US ethanol production plants currently have the capacity to produce approximately 16 billion gpy, a level that saturates current use as 10 pct blends with gasoline. However, the new Vertimass catalyst breaks that barrier by producing a hydrocarbon that can be blended at much higher levels. In addition, while ethanol has been traditionally considered too low in energy density for use as a jet fuel, the Vertimass catalyst can overcome that issue.
Initial tests indicate the Vertimass fuels (Vertifuels) are compatible for blending with gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels with no engine modifications, but further tests are underway for ASTM certification.
Vertimass is working with the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), TechnipFMC, and the University of California, Riverside (UCR).
(Source: Vertimass LLC, EngineerLive, 7 Nov., 2019)
Contact: Vertimass LLC, John Hannon, CEO, www.vertimass.com; DOE EERE Bioenergy Technologies Office, www.energy.gov › eere › bioenergy
More Low-Carbon Energy News DOE EERE Bioenergy Technologies Office, Vertimass, Jet Biofuel, Aviation Biofuel, Biofuel,
Recipients list and other details are HERE.(Source: US DOE EERE, PR, reve, Nov., 2019) Contact: US DOE EERE, www.energy.gov/eere
More Low-Carbon Energy News DOE EERE, DOE EERE, Solar, Concentrated Solarr,
In 2007, Republican President George W. Bush signed bipartisan legislation to phase out inefficient incandescent and halogen light bulbs by 1 January 2020. The first tier of standards (phased in between 2012 and 2014) required light bulbs to use 25 to 30 pct less energy than old-style incandescent bulbs. The second tier was due to become effective in 2020, requiring everyday "general service" light bulbs to use about 65 pct less energy.
The lawsuits contend the Trump administration's DoE acted illegally in reversing its 2-year-old rules expanding the types of bulbs required to become more energy efficient as of 1 January 2020, under a law passed by Congress in 2007.
DOE announced this year that it was reversing that decision even though almost 64,000 comments were registered against the rollback, including 37 major electric utilities serving 55 million customers in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Five lighting companies, and their trade association support the DoE's rollback.
(Source: NRDC, Smart Energy, Nov., 2019) Contact: NRDC, Kit Kennedy, Snr. Dir. Climate and Clean Energy Programme, 212.727.2700, nrdcinfo@nrdc.org, www.nrdc.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News NRDC, Earthjusice, Light Bulb Efficiency, Energy Efficiency,
Collins also cosponsored an act to reauthorize and expand the DOE Office of Wind Energy and to award competitive grants to improve the energy efficiency, reliability, and capacity of wind energy generation.
If enacted, the measure would direct the U.S. Energy Secretary to award competitive grants to improve land-based and offshore blade, generator, tower, and support designs and transformational technologies for harnessing wind energy, including airborne wind energy generators; increase recycling and reuse of wind-energy components; and reduce the costs of permitting, construction, and operation and maintenance of wind energy systems, among other provisions, according to a bill summary.
(Source: Office of Sen. Susan Collins, Ripon Advance News Service , 30 Oct., 2019)
Contact: US DOE Office of Wind Energy, www.energy.gov/eere/wind/wind-energy-technologies-office; Sen. Susan Collins, www.collins.senate.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE Office of Wind Energy, Wind,
Of the total, as much as $10 million will go to two offshore wind technology demonstration projects -- Lake Erie Energy Development Corp (LEEDCo) will deploy innovative sensing technologies for tracking bird activity near wind turbines, while the University of Maine will develop a floating substructure design for a 10 MW -- 12 MW wind turbine and install it at a project off Maine.
Roughly $7 million will support the testing of innovative offshore wind technologies at national-level testing facilities, with the funding to be shared by six projects including Clemson University which is aiming to improve offshore wind turbine nacelle testing. In another project, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Centre in Boston is seeking to upgrade its testing facility to make possible the structural testing of wind turbine blades with lengths of between 85 metres and 120 metres.
Other recipients include Oregon State University of Corvallis for tests on the combined effects of wind and waves on floating offshore wind turbines.
Four of the 13 selected projects will receive a total of $6 million to support rural utilities by developing technologies that integrate wind with other distributed energy resources. (Source: US DOE, 23 Oct., 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE, Wind,
OxEon is proposing an efficient method of producing biofuel from dairy-yogart manufacturing process biological wastes from a yogurt plant in Idaho. OxEon instruments will break down biogas released by decomposing waste into carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, the building blocks of hydrocarbons, then put these blocks together into usable hydrocarbon fuels.
OxEon Energy LLC was started in 2017 and has had significant success in attracting commercial, state, and federal government business utilizing its core capabilities in energy transformation technologies. The company expects further growth in its core technologies of high temperature electrolysis, hydrocarbon reforming, synthetic fuel production and power generation by high temperature fuel cells, according to the company website.
(Source: OxEon Energy Llc, Utah Public Radio, 16 Oct., 2019)Contact: OxEon Energy, Lynn Frost, CEO, 801-677-3000, www.oxeonenergy.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Biofuel, Biogas,