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| A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The EERE Network News is also available on the Web at: www.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm January 06, 2010News and Events
Energy Connections
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News and EventsPresident Obama Spearheads a Climate Agreement in Copenhagen
President Obama visited Copenhagen, Denmark, on December 18, 2009, and met with the heads of state from Brazil, China, India, and South Africa to reach a climate agreement called the "Copenhagen Accord." The agreement emerged as the primary achievement of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The non-binding agreement calls for deep cuts in global emissions of greenhouse gases so as to hold the increase in global temperature below 2°C, and it calls for industrialized countries to determine their economy-wide emissions targets for 2020 and submit them to the United Nations by the end of January. A number of developing countries, including the major emerging economies, also agreed to list their voluntary pledges to reduce emissions by the end of January and agreed to communicate their efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions every two years. The Copenhagen Accord also calls for international support of a comprehensive adaptation program and of mitigation efforts by developing countries. The accord commits developed countries to provide new and additional resources approaching $30 billion for the 2010-2012 time period, balanced between adaptation and mitigation. Developed countries also committed to a goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries. The accord establishes a new Copenhagen Green Climate Fund to coordinate the distribution of a significant portion of this funding. According to the secretariat of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Copenhagen Accord was agreed to by a majority of countries, although the entire Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (consisting of 194 countries) agreed only to "take note" of the accord. The next Conference of the Parties will be held in Mexico, starting on November 29, 2010. See the UNFCCC press release (PDF 178 KB), pages 2-4 of the Copenhagen Accord (PDF 182 KB), and other products of the Copenhagen conference on the UNFCCC home page. Download Adobe Reader. President Obama called the agreement a meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough. "For the first time in history, all major economies have come together to accept their responsibility to take action to confront the threat of climate change," said the president, but he also acknowledged the agreement as a first step. "Going forward, we're going to have to build on the momentum that we've established here in Copenhagen to ensure that international action to significantly reduce emissions is sustained and sufficient over time. We've come a long way, but we have much further to go." See the President's comments on the White House Web site. DOE to Invest up to $366 Million in Energy Innovation HubsDOE outlined plans on December 22, 2009, to invest up to $366 million to establish and operate three new Energy Innovation Hubs, each of which will focus on accelerating research and development in a key energy area. The three hubs will focus on producing fuels directly from sunlight; improving energy-efficient building systems design; and developing advanced nuclear reactors. Each hub, to be funded at up to $122 million over five years, will bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers in an effort to speed research and shorten the path from scientific discovery to technological development and commercial deployment of highly promising energy-related technologies. The hubs are expected to begin work in 2010 and become fully operational by 2011. Of the two hubs that relate to renewable energy and energy efficiency, the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub will likely draw on the mechanisms of photosynthesis, mimicking the ability of plants to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into sugar. Meanwhile, the Energy Efficient Building Systems Design Energy Innovation Hub will focus on advances in core technologies, such as advanced refrigeration cycles, combined with building system design and modeling to develop a fully instrumented building infrastructure. Universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms are encouraged to form partnerships that will compete for an award to establish and operate a hub. A Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) has been issued for the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub, with a due date of March 29, and the FOAs for the other two hubs should be issued in January. Awards, based on evaluation by scientific peer review, will be announced next summer. See the DOE press release, the Hubs Web site, and the FOA for the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub. New Bill Funds Transit Projects, Home Retrofits, and Global Clean EnergyPresident Obama signed the fiscal year (FY) 2010 appropriations bill for a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Labor, on December 16, 2009. The DOT funding includes $2.5 billion for high-speed rail projects and intercity passenger rail projects. It also includes $8.3 billion in FY 2010 spending for transit formula grants, which support investments in transit systems throughout the country. In addition, the bill includes $75 million in grants for public transit agencies to make capital investments that reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission of their transit systems, such as buying more fuel-efficient buses or powering their transit systems with renewable energy. As part of the funding for HUD, the funding bill includes $50 million for an Energy Innovation Fund, which will enable the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the new Office of Sustainability to speed innovations in the residential energy efficiency. The fund is also designed to help create a market for home energy efficiency retrofits. Half of the funding is designated for an Energy Efficient Mortgage Innovation pilot program, directed at the single-family housing market, and the other half will support a pilot program directed at the multifamily housing market. To help provide labor for those programs and other clean energy efforts, the Labor Department will receive $40 million to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Last but not least, the bill provides funding for international efforts, including $300 million for a U.S. contribution to the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund, which is primarily focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The bill also provides $1.26 billion for a variety of international programs related to climate change and the environment, of which $108.5 million will go toward clean energy programs, as specified in the conference report for the bill. The bill stipulates that at least $10 million of that funding will support microfinance renewable energy programs, which help finance renewable energy systems for the poor. See the White House press release on the signing; pages 23-24, 29, 30, 56, 194, and 364-366 of the legislation, H.R. 3288 (PDF 1.0 MB); and page 31 of the international section of the conference report (PDF 4.6 MB). Download Adobe Reader. Boeing Launches the Maiden Flight of the Fuel-Efficient 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner took to the sky for the first time in mid-December, successfully completing the maiden flight of the new fuel-efficient airplane. The new airliner uses 20% less fuel per passenger than other similarly sized airplanes, thanks to an innovative combination of fuel-efficient engines, aerodynamic design, and lightweight composite materials. By weight, half of the airplane is composed of composite materials, including the fuselage and wings. The aircraft will also provide passengers with innovations that include a new interior environment with cleaner air, larger windows, more stowage space, improved lighting, and other conveniences. The flight marks a turning point for Boeing, as the Dreamliner's maiden voyage was delayed by more than two years due to issues with parts supplies, software, and system integration, as well as the need to replace certain fasteners and to reinforce a section of the aircraft. But the company is now moving ahead full speed and has already completed the first flight of its second 787 Dreamliner. The company will employ six of the aircraft in its flight-test program, leading to the first commercial delivery in the fourth quarter of this year. Boeing has 840 orders for the 787 Dreamliner, and in October 2009, the company announced plans to build a second assembly line for the aircraft in North Charleston, South Carolina. See the Boeing press releases on the first flight, the second flight, and the new assembly line; the list of all press releases for the 787 Dreamliner; and the Boeing Web sites for the 787 Dreamliner and its first flight. RETECH and Renewable Energy World Highlight a Busy Conference SeasonMomentum is building for two major renewable energy conferences scheduled for February. Coming to Washington, D.C. on February 3-5, the Renewable Energy Technology Conference & Expo (RETECH 2010) will feature more than 300 exhibitors and 250 speakers, including Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Dan Arvizu, director of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The conference is hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy. And for the seventh year, Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo North America, formerly called POWER-GEN Renewable Energy & Fuels, will bring together an array of clean energy professionals. This year, the event will pitch its tent in Austin, Texas, on February 23-25. Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Roger Duncan, general manager of Austin Energy, will be the keynote speakers. The conference is sponsored in part by DOE and is co-located with Photovoltaics World Conference & Expo. Meanwhile, builders are gearing up for the 2010 International Builders' Show, coming to Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 19-22. Backers of large-scale solar power will also descend on Las Vegas at about the same time, January 20-21, for Solar Power Generation USA. Solar followers will then head to San Diego, California, on February 2-3 for the 2nd Concentrated Photovoltaic Summit USA. The National Biodiesel Board then hosts the 2010 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Grapevine, Texas, on February 7-10. And if your travel budget is limited, there's at least one conference you can attend from home: the Virtual Energy Forum, which will be held online on January 27-28. Another batch of clean energy conferences is coming in May—we'll update you on those as the date draws near! | ||||
Energy ConnectionsNASA Employs Satellite Data to Calculate California's Carbon BudgetCalculating the greenhouse gas emissions from a city, state, or country is a tricky business, as the calculations must include comprehensive tabulations of energy use, land-use changes, industrial emissions, and other factors. However, a recent project from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) may point the way towards a future, simpler way. NASA employed its Terra satellite to measure the "greenness" of California's vegetation, then turned to an ecosystem simulation model to estimate monthly variations in the accumulated biomass of wood and other plant materials. Unfortunately, the agency still had to draw on inventory data from the California Energy Commission to model the greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion and from agricultural lands throughout the state. The study found that in 2004, the state's natural ecosystems absorbed as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as was emitted by burning fossil fuels, with significant amounts of carbon dioxide being trapped in forests and soils during periods of above-normal rainfall. The bad news for California is that such periods of above-normal rainfall have become rare, as the state has been suffering under drought conditions since the fall of 2006. See the NASA press release and the current status of the drought from the California Department of Water Resources. | ||||
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