By  Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.

DOE’s EERE announced an FOA of up to $35 million for bioenergy feedstock technologies and algae R&D. This FOA supports the White House’s priority to advance the domestic bioeconomy and DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BTO) goal to improve the performance and lower the cost and risk of technologies that can be used to produce biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts. Topic areas include the characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) to enable production of conversion-ready feedstocks and algae productivity exceeding expectations (APEX). The application process requires a concept paper and a full application. While concept papers must be submitted to DOE by February 1, 2021, the full applications are due on April 5, 2021.

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By  Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.

Researchers at Swansea University’s Energy Safety Research Institute have developed a new method that produces spheres that have strong capacity for carbon capture and work at a large scale. Described as “[a] fast, green and one-step method for producing porous carbon spheres, which are a vital component for carbon capture technology and for new ways of storing renewable energy,” the method was developed by a research team that adapted an existing method known as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This adapted method involves the use of heat to apply a coating to a material using pyromellitic acid as both carbon and oxygen source. Research scientists involved in the development of this new method report that the new approach brings certain advantages over existing methods of producing carbon spheres, including:

• It is alkali-free;

• It does not need a catalyst to trigger the shaping of the spheres;

• It uses cheap and safe feedstock that is readily available on the market;

• There is no need for solvents to purify the material; and

• It is a rapid and safe procedure.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson

On October 19, 2020, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that, in 2019, renewable energy consumption levels in the United States increased for the fourth year in a row, reaching a record 11 percent of total energy consumption. Wood and waste energy, wood pellets, and biomass waste from landfills accounted for approximately 24 percent of U.S. renewable energy use. According to EIA, industrial, commercial, and electric power facilities use wood and waste as fuel to generate electricity, manufacture goods, and produce heat. Biofuels, which includes fuel ethanol, biodiesel, and other renewable fuels, accounted for approximately 20 percent of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2019. A detailed chart prepared by EIA further outlines the breakdown, including percentages for hydropower, solar, and wind energy consumption in 2019.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson

On September 23, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed by a record vote of 229-187 to the passing of a bill titled “Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act.” The bill aims to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy to address climate change. The Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act creates R&D programs to reduce fossil fuel production through various energy sources. It also incentivizes innovation through grant programs in energy efficiency, clean transportation, grid modernization, and workforce development.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson 

On July 31, 2020, DOE announced more than $97 million in funding for 33 projects to support research and development (R&D) of high-impact technology to accelerate the U.S. bioeconomy. The aim is for the selected projects to improve the performance and lower the cost and risk of technologies that can be used to produce biopower, biofuels, and bioproducts from biomass and waste resources. Selected projects will address the following R&D areas:

• Scale-up of bench applications to reduce scale-up risks for biofuel and bioproduct processes;

• Waste-to-energy strategies, including strategies for municipal solid waste; wet wastes, like food and manures; and municipal wastewater treatment;

• Cost reduction of algal biofuels by improving carbon efficiency and by employing direct air capture technologies;

• Quantification of the economic and environmental benefits associated with growing energy crops, focusing on restoring water quality and soil health;

• Development and testing of low-emission, high-efficiency residential wood heaters;

• Innovative technologies to manage major forms of urban and suburban waste, with a focus on using plastic waste to make recycled products and using wastes to produce low-cost biopower; and

• Scalable carbon dioxide electrocatalysis technologies.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.

This June, the House Select Committee on Climate Crisis released a report titled “Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.” Providing a road map for Congress to follow, the action plan has three main goals:

• Reaching 100 percent clean, net zero emissions economy-wide in the U.S. by 2050;
   
• Establishing ambitious interim targets to assess progress and reduce pollution in environmental justice communities; and
   
• Achieving net-negative emissions during the second half of the century.

The action plan consists of a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for Congressional action aggressively to reduce carbon pollution as quickly as possible while making communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change and building a clean energy economy. Successfully implemented, the Select Committee’s action plan would at minimum:

• Reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions before 2050;

• Reduce net U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 37 percent below 2010 levels in 2030 and 88 percent below 2010 levels in 2050;

• Avoid 62,000 premature deaths annually by 2050; and

• Provide almost $8 trillion in cumulative climate and health benefits through 2050.

The Climate Crisis Action Plan calls on Congress not only to grow the U.S. economy and put Americans to work in clean energy jobs, but also to protect family health, protect U.S. land and waters for the next generation, and ensure that communities and farmers can withstand climate change impacts. The full report is available here.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.

On February 26, 2020, the city of Helsinki announced the opening of applications for the Helsinki Energy Challenge (HEC), which aims to address challenges associated with urban heating produced with coal. According to its press release, Helsinki is one of the leading cities in the transition toward a sustainable future. Its aim is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. Currently, however, Helsinki needs solutions to meet its heat demand. Given Finland’s coal ban starting in 2029, Helsinki is seeking heating solutions that go beyond coal and beyond burning biomass. Helsinki Mayor, Jan Vapaavuori, stated that “[s]olving the urban heating challenge is crucial to reach global climate goals. Cities have a key role to play in the transition to a low carbon economy, and Helsinki is now taking an initiative to lead the way.” The city is inviting innovators from around the world to use Helsinki as a test bed to develop fossil-free and sustainable solutions in the fight against global warming.

Proposed solutions will be evaluated based on:

• Climate impact;

• Impact on natural resources;

• Implementation schedule and feasibility;

• Reliability and security of supply; and

• Capacity.

HEC is open globally to consortiums, start-ups, established companies, research institutions, universities, research groups, and individual experts. Applications will be accepted until May 31, 2020. Finalists will be invited to a co-creation phase in early July 2020, which will include a 3-day boot camp, where they will be provided support to develop their proposals. After the boot camp, finalists will present their proposals to an international jury of experts, who will name the winner or winners. To be presented in November 2020, the winning solution will be awarded one million euros.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson

On December 9, 2019, 22 Senate Democrats released a letter supporting the expansion of green energy tax credits. This letter was drafted in response to the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act discussion draft that was circulated in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 19, 2019. The Senators agree with the priorities of the GREEN Act and pledge to similarly prioritize and include:

• Offshore Wind Investment Tax Credit,
   
• Storage Investment Tax Credit,
   
• Solar and Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit Extension,
   
• Energy Efficiency Tax Credit,
   
• Clean Vehicles, and
   
• Onshore Wind.
   

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By Lynn L. Bergeson

On October 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that 35 projects have been selected to receive funding for bioenergy research and development (R&D). Totaling $73 million in funding provided by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the selected projects aim to:

• Reduce the price of drop-in biofuels;
• Lower the cost of biopower; and
• Enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources.

According to DOE, the United States has the potential to produce 1 billion dry tons of non-food biomass without the disruption of agricultural markets for food and animal feed. These domestic resources, however, are currently underutilized. Given these circumstances, the main goal of the 35 selected projects will be to produce affordable biofuels that are compatible with the existing fueling infrastructure and vehicles in a range of transportation modes.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson

On September 18, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced a $3 million prize competition to power ocean observing platforms with marine renewable energy. To generate innovation, the Powering the Blue Economy Ocean Observing Prize will offer a series of contests to demonstrate marine renewable energy use for observing platforms. DOE hopes that this prize will help spur technological innovation through a path from concept to design to construction. Part of DOE’s Powering the Blue Economy initiative, the prize consists of two competitions. The first competition, “Discovery,” calls for novel concepts that pair ocean observing technologies with marine energy systems in five broad themes:

• Charging unmanned systems;
• Communications and underwater navigation;
• Extreme environments;
• Buoys, floats, and tags; and
• Innovative ideas.

Following the first competition, will be the “Build” competition to bring innovators’ ideas to reality. The prize is led by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and NOAA’s Integrated Ocean Observing System Program.

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