US Solar Targets Reduce Emissions 80% Below 1990 Levels

According to the research done in University of California at Berkeley, carbon emissions can be reduced 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Achieving the SunShot tartget for solar photovoltaics can make it possible to provide more than a third of electric power in the region. It will reduce the need for nuclear and carbon capture and sequestration technologies and displace natural gas. 




If the Department of Energy's SunShot initiative succeeds, the transition to a solar-based electrical system could save consumers 14% off their bills, approximately %20 billion annually by 2050. SunShot's main goal is to invest in transformative solar energy research and stimulate American economic growth. The initiative started off by funding solar startups, increasing solar reliability and grid integration, supporting high-efficiency solar technologies and lowering the costs of solar energy. 

In order to reach America's solar-powered future, governmental policies play an important role. "Given strategic long-term planning and research and policy support, the increase in electricity costs can be contained as we reduce emissions," said Dan Kammen, who was leading the group for this study. He also commented that "Using such a comprehensive strategy could substantially reduce the actual consumer cost of meeting carbon emission targets." 

India Sets 10GW Solar Target by 2017

(Carin Hall, energydigital.com)

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of 10GW by 2017. This ambitious goal outweighs current American solar power capacity, which is 9370 MW of solar capacity in the US (http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data). One of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has produced 1685 MW of generated solar power, higher than the initial target of 1100 MW. The minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdulla said although large tracks of land had been identified for solar potential, the distribution of power to other parts of the country remains challenging.

The Indian government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National solar Mission in 2010 with the goals of deploying 20 GW of solar power by 2022. The initiative made a goal to generate 1GW within three years of its launch and to reach an installed power capacity of 10 GW by 2017. If it becomes successful, it could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power in the country. Gujarat is now planning to add 20 MW of additional canal-top solar capacity by developing a project on the Narmada branch canal network in Vadodara. In addition to the residential rooftops, the second phase of the mission includes about 20 MW of solar power to be used for Narmada irrigation canal and high-speed pumps. 

Recently, India has introduced the plan to use solar power in government buildings. The ministry also planned to sue mobile towers to generate through solar and wind energy. Ratan P. Watal, New and Renewable Energy Ministry secretary emphasized the significance of solar development to meet the increasing demand of energy. Currently, approximately 40% of Indian population lacks access to energy resources. Even providing one unit of power to such homes throughout the year would would require 15 GW of solar power due to lack of power distribution technologies.

Gas Chromatography with Carbon Nanotubes

C. Y. Lee and M. S. Strano J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 1766–1773; 2008

Recent advance in nanotechnoloy and nanomaterials can make a very small gas chromatography possible using Carbon Nanotubes. Michael Strano's group in Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been developing a sensitive and nano-sized gas chromatography instrument based on carbon nanotubes. The main goal for this device was to make it so sensitive that it can detect analytes in the part-per-million range. To achieve the goal, single-walled carbon nanotubes were aligned between the electrodes. And a chromatography column was etched on a chip using a 100-micrometer trench.  As a desired molecule binds to carbon nanotubes, the change in electrical signals are analyzed. You can use mean basicity to target whether desired molecules will bind very strongly.  

Federal Government Agencies Agree Energy Efficiency is "Most Effective" Tool

Washington D.C., September 25, 2013 - A new survey of federal agency decision makers demonstrates that 74% of the agency agree energy efficiency is among the most powerful means of meeting increasing energy needs, achieving cost savings and, most importantly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The survey was sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy and Schneider Electric. 

(The survey was conducted among 204 U.S. federal agency decision makers with purchasing authority from July 8-11, 2013. The margin of error is +/- 7.0 percentage points.)

Specific findings from the survey include:

• 87% say energy is important to fulfilling their agency's core mission.
• 29% consider energy efficiency among the agency's top five priorities, with 36% listing it as a second tier priority. 
• 56% of respondents say their current culture encourages energy efficiency.
• 70$ believe the current economic environment and potential tightening of their agency's budget affects their ability to pursue energy efficiency projects. 
• The most significant obstacles to meeting energy efficiency goals include the lack of funding (37%), organizational barriers such as procedures (20%) and a lack of internal enthusiasm to execute (18%).

Ellen Kotzbauer, segment manager, U.S. Federal Government, Schneider Electric said "It's no secret that energy is essential to the core missions of federal agencies. However, that energy is costly, placing a significant burden on agency budgets and a sizeable footprint on the environment through greenhouse gas and other emissions." Additional findings from the survey point to progress made on the use of private sector financing to overcome capital constraints, facility auditing and metering, and areas of focus to improve energy efficiency initiatives moving forward:

• Leveraging private sector financing to achieve efficiency goals:
• 14% of respondents say their agency has entered into an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) or utility energy savings contract (UESC) following the 2011 White House Memorandum, which expires at the end of 2013. 
• 30% plan to enter into an ESPC/UESC before the end of 2013.
• Facility auditing and metering:
• 32 percent say their agency or site has audited/metered most facilities in order to understand energy consumption trends. 12% have audited all facilities and 11% have nto audited any facilities. 
• Changing human behavior:
• 46% believe "changing human behaviors" is the most important solution for helping federal agencies achieve energy efficiency goals.
• Vulnerability to Power Disruptions:
• 71% say their agency or facility is vulnerable to power disruptions that would impact mission effectiveness due to their dependency on the commercial electrical grid. 

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Federal Energy Efficiency Program Funding

blagh. The Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill for FY 2014 was reported and the Alliance to Save Energy developed a table identifying budget item for energy efficiency. The table shows how much of the budget was spent for each energy efficiency program compared to how much was requested to be spent on. And if the program required budget for consecutive years, how much ahs been changed compared to the previous year's spending on the program. 

Power Plant Deal Between Ebay and Israeli Renewable Energy Firm

(photo:news.cent.com)

The Israeli renewable energy firm Ormat Technologies Inc. signed a 20-year contract with eBay to provide with a 5-megawatt recovered energy generation (REG) power plant to be constructed in Utah. Ormat now has installed REG capacity of more than 160 megawatts in the United States. Ormat Technologies announced that REG offers energy efficiency and these benefits align with President Obama's national goal set by Executive Order to deploy 40 gigawatts of energy efficiency in the US by the end of 2020.

This agreement was made possible by the law called SB12 which enables non-utility energy consumers to buy and transmit power directly from developers (passed in 2012).

Lack of Energy Efficiency Holds Back Entire Economy

(Hardesty, Energy Manager Today (2013))

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy disclosed that US economy is not so energy efficient. 

Only 14% of the total high-quality energy was converted to useful work in 2010. It is important to look at both available energy (exergy) and the unavoidable loss of energy (anergy). The rate of exergy conversion grew only two percentage points in the previous three decades, as it started at 9% rate of exergy conversion in 1950. 

Taking both into account, the lack of energy efficiency may be one of the significant reasons that hold back the economy. Without investment policies to improve exergy efficiency , the report suggests that the annual productivity of the economy may weaken, and further growth in GDP as well.