Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program

Posted on | March 8, 2010 | No Comments

WASHINGTON–In his State of the Union address, the President called on Congress to pass a program of incentives for homeowners who make energy efficiency investments in their homes. Today, while touring a training facility at Savannah Technical College, the President outlined more details of a new “HOMESTAR” program that would help create jobs by encouraging American families to invest in energy saving home improvements. Consistent with the President’s call for a HOMESTAR program, the Senate Democratic leadership included a proposal of this kind as part of their Jobs Agenda released on February 4, 2010. The President looks forward to continuing to work with Members of Congress, business, environmental and labor leaders to enact a HOMESTAR program into law.

Background on the HOMESTAR program

With unemployment in the construction sector near 25% and with substantial underutilized capacity in our manufacturing sector, the HOMESTAR program has the potential to jumpstart our economic recovery by boosting demand for energy efficiency products and installation services. For middle-class families, this program will help them save hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs while improving the comfort and value of their most important investment – their homes. In addition, the program would help reduce our economy’s dependence on oil and support the development of an energy efficiency services sector in our economy. Key components of the HOMESTAR Program include:

•Rebates delivered directly to consumers: Like the Cash for Clunkers program, consumers would be eligible for direct HOMESTAR rebates at the point of sale for a variety of energy-saving investments in their homes. A broad array of vendors, from small independent building material dealers, large national home improvement chains, energy efficiency installation professionals and utility energy efficiency programs (including rural utilities) would market the rebates, provide them directly to consumers and then be reimbursed by the federal government.
•$1,000 – $1,500 Silver Star Rebates: Consumers looking to have simple upgrades performed in their homes would be eligible for 50% rebates up to $1,000 – $1,500 for doing any of a straightforward set of upgrades, including: insulation, duct sealing, water heaters, HVAC units, windows, roofing and doors. Under Silver Star, consumers can chose a combination of upgrades for rebates up to a maximum of $3,000 per home. Rebates would be limited to the most energy efficient categories of upgrades—focusing on products made primarily in the United States and installed by certified contractors.
•$3000 Gold Star Rebates: Consumers interested in more comprehensive energy retrofits would be eligible for a $3,000 rebate for a whole home energy audit and subsequent retrofit tailored to achieve a 20% energy savings in their homes. Consumers could receive additional rebate amounts for energy savings in excess of 20%. Gold Star would build on existing whole home retrofit programs, like EPA’s successful Home Performance with Energy Star program.
•Oversight to Ensure Quality Installations: The program would require that contractors be certified to perform efficiency installations. Independent quality assurance providers would conduct field audits after work is completed to ensure proper installation so consumers receive energy savings from their upgrades. States would oversee the implementation of quality assurance to ensure that the program was moving the industry toward more robust standards and comprehensive energy retrofit practices.
•Support for financing: The program would include support to State and local governments to provide financing options for consumers seeking to make efficiency investments in their homes. This will help ensure that consumers can afford to make these investments.
The program will result in the creation of tens of thousands of jobs while achieving substantial reductions in energy use – the equivalent of the entire output of three coal-fired power plants each year. Consumers in the program are anticipated to save between $200 – $500 per year in energy costs, while improving the comfort and value of their homes.

BACKGROUND ON PARTICIPANTS IN TODAY’S PRESIDENTIAL EVENT

•Business Leaders
?Larry Laseter, President of Masco Home Services. Masco is a Fortune 150 company specializing in products and services for the home building and home improvement business, including windows and doors, installation, and contracting. After being hit particularly hard by the recession (40% reduction in workforce over a several year period), Masco created Masco Home Services (MHS) a year ago with the intent to provide residential energy efficiency retrofits to American households. Laseter is a Georgia resident, and MHS will open a Home Performance branch in Atlanta in May.
?Mike Lawrence, Vice President and General Manager for Insulation Systems, Johns Manville. Johns Manville is a leading manufacturer and marketer of insulation and roofing materials for commercial, industrial, and residential applications. Johns Manville is based in Denver, CO and has manufacturing facilities in Georgia as well as California, Montana, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Texas, and New Jersey.
?Mark Andrews, CEO, North America, Knauf Insulation. Knauf Mark was named to a newly created North American CEO position in January 2010. Knauf’s US headquarters is in Shelbyville Indiana, and Knauf has manufacturing facilities in Indiana, Alabama, and California.
•Local Efficiency Contractors
?Patrick Shay, Green Swap. Patrick is an architect and co-founder of Green Sweep, an energy efficiency company that works with residential, commercial and industrial customers on cost saving clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades. Pat is also a Chatham County Commissioner and chair of the Chatham Environmental Forum, which is addressing energy, climate and other sustainability issues in the Savannah Chatham area.
?Howard Feldman, Costal Green Building Solutions. Howard is a co-founder of Coastal Green Building Solutions. He is a builder, renovator and a certified RESNET HERS rater, which means he evaluates homes and businesses for energy efficiency opportunities and upgrades. Howard’s company works in both Georgia and South Carolina. In addition to Patrick Shay and Howard Feldman, several other Savannah-area contractors and small businesses who would create jobs if this program were passed are in attendance.

Coal

Posted on | March 6, 2010 | No Comments

What is the role of coal in the United States?
Due to its relatively low cost and abundance, coal is used to generate about half of the electricity consumed in the United States. Coal is the largest domestically-produced source of energy. Coal use, however, results in higher amounts of carbon dioxide per unit of energy than the use of oil or natural gas.

Coal is an Abundant U.S. Resource with Multiple Uses
The United States is home to the largest recoverable reserves of coal in the world. In fact, we have enough coal to last more than 200 years, based on current consumption levels. Coal is produced in 25 States spread across three coal-producing regions, but approximately 75% of current production originates in just five States: Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Montana.

About 93% of U.S. coal consumption is in the electric power sector, but coal also has certain industrial applications such as cement making and conversion to coke for the smelting of iron ore at blast furnaces to make steel. A small amount of coal is also burned to heat commercial, military, and institutional facilities, and an even smaller amount is used to heat homes.

Over the past 10 years, about 5% of the coal produced in the United States, on average, has been exported. The United States also imports a small amount of coal; some power plants along the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast find it cheaper to import coal by sea from South America than to have it transported from domestic coal mines.

The United States has more than 1,400 coal-fired electricity generating units in operation at more than 600 plants across the country. Together, these power plants generate almost half of the electricity produced in the United States and consume about one billion short tons of coal per year. (Annual coal consumption in the electric power sector is expected to drop below one billion short tons in 2009 for the first time since 2002.)

The share of our electricity generated from coal is expected to decrease by 2035. However, our growing demand for electricity is expected to lead to an increase in the actual amount of coal used, in the absence of new policies to limit or reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Such new policies could significantly change the outlook for coal use.

Coal Is a Relatively Inexpensive Fuel
Although some natural gas plants are more efficient than coal plants at generating electricity, the fuel cost of generating one kilowatthour of electricity from natural gas generally is higher than that of coal. In addition, coal prices have historically been much less volatile than those of natural gas due, in large part, to the existence of long-term coal supply contracts.

Environmental Effects from Using Coal
Coal is plentiful and fairly cheap relative to the cost of other sources of electricity, but its use produces several types of emissions that adversely affect the environment. Coal emits sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury, which have been linked to acid rain, smog, and health issues. Coal also emits carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that has been in the news because of its link to climate change. Coal accounted for 37% of the total U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide released into the Earth’s atmosphere in 2008. Without proper care, coal mining can have a negative impact on ecosystems and water quality, and alter landscapes and scenic views.

Outlook for Future Coal Use
The economics of burning coal may change if the U.S. Congress approves legislation that restricts or otherwise controls carbon dioxide emissions. For example, a cap-and-trade program to regulate carbon dioxide emissions would likely increase the cost of burning coal because of its carbon content, and thereby cause power companies to consider using less carbon-intensive generating technologies such as nuclear, renewables, and natural gas.

Efforts are now underway to develop new technologies to burn coal without emitting as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Scientists are exploring the possibility of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), which seeks to capture up to 90% of the carbon dioxide from coal plants before it is emitted into the atmosphere and then store it below the Earth’s surface. CCS would theoretically address much of coal’s carbon dioxide emissions but faces many economic and technological hurdles.

Take a Nanooze Break

Posted on | March 2, 2010 | Comments Off

A new long-term exhibition at the Walt Disney World Resort® in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will bring visitors face to face with the nanoworld.

Housed at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®, the exhibition Take a Nanooze Break features a series of interactive, continually updated displays that allow visitors to manipulate models of molecules, study everyday items at the nanoscale, and interact with scientists and engineers who conduct the latest nano research.

“The experience is immersive and gives guests a number of ways to view a world that is too small to see,” says Carl Batt of Cornell University, the lead researcher for the project. “It also gives guests a view of nanotechnology from real scientists”

Based upon the National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported children’s magazine and Web site Nanooze (http://www.nanooze.org/), the exhibition was developed with further NSF support by collaborators from Cornell University and Tamarack Design of Ithaca, N.Y.

“Nanotechnology will bring multiple, fundamental changes to the way we work to create goods, develop sustainable approaches, advance medicine and improve quality of life.,” says Mike Roco, senior advisor for nanotechnology at NSF. “About $80 billion worth of products incorporated nanoscale components in the United States in 2010, and one can envision mass use of nanotechnology by 2020. The Nanooze exhibition informs and inspires the public about this fast-arriving future society.”

The exhibition opened on Feb. 22, 2010. The work was funded by NSF awards 0725230 and 0937179.

$1.4 Billion in Loan Guarantees to BrightSource Energy

Posted on | March 1, 2010 | 2 Comments

DOE announced on February 22 its conditional commitments for more than $1.37 billion in loan guarantees to BrightSource Energy, Inc. in support of the construction and start-up of three utility-scale concentrated solar power plants (CSP) in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California. The loan guarantee is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is predicated on BrightSource meeting financial and environmental requirements before closing on the loan. The Bureau of Land Management is leading a federal review of the project with support from DOE. Pending local, state, and federal regulatory approval, the new plants will generate approximately 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity using the company’s proprietary technology. This output would nearly double the existing generation capacity of CSP facilities in the United States.

The three-plant Ivanpah Solar Complex will be located on federally owned land near the Nevada border and will be the world’s largest operational concentrated solar power complex. BrightSource will employ solar power tower technology, which uses thousands of flat mirrors, or “heliostats,” to concentrate the sun’s heat onto a receiver mounted at the top of a tower. Water pumped to the receiver is boiled into steam, which drives a turbine to produce electricity. Solar power towers allow the capture of a greater percentage of solar energy than other solar thermal technologies. The first Ivanpah plant is expected to begin construction in the second half of 2010 and come on line in 2012. Commercial operation for the second plant is slated for mid-2013, with the third plant following later that year. Once operational, the project will supply power to approximately 140,000 California homes. The BrightSource loan guarantee is the sixth conditional commitment for a loan guarantee for clean and renewable energy projects entered into by DOE’s Loan Programs Office. See the DOE press release and DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program Web site.

BrightSource filed a proposal on February 11 to shrink the footprint of the Ivanpah Solar Complex, reducing its environmental impact. The alternative design—submitted to the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of Ivanpah’s final permit process—came in response to public comments about the project. The proposed changes would reduce the footprint of the third Ivanpah plant by 23% and trim the overall project by about 12%, while avoiding the area identified by environmental groups as posing the greatest concern. The new plans call for dropping the number of solar towers in the third Ivanpah plant from 5 to 1, which brings the overall total number of towers in the power plant to 3. It also cuts the number of heliostats by about 40,000. If approved, these changes would lower the site’s total gross capacity from 440 MW to 392 MW. See the BrightSource press release (PDF 41 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

Although solar power towers were originally developed by DOE and U.S. industries, the technology has so far been deployed mainly on the plains of Spain, where sunlight seems to fall more often than rain. Last September, Abengoa Solar inaugurated its PS20 solar plant, which is the largest solar power tower plant in the world. Located in Seville, PS20 has more than 1,000 mirrors and is designed to produce 20 MW of power.

The Ivanpah solar project will rely on solar power tower technology, which employs a field of flat mirrors to concentrate the sunlight on a receiver, mounted at the top of a central tower.

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