$60 million in Recovery Act funding for energy efficiency efforts

More than $60 million in Recovery Act funding for energy efficiency efforts

Washington, D.C., June 14, 2010 — The Department of Energy announced today that 20 communities for more than $60 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to implement local energy efficiency and renewable energy programs that will reduce energy use by American homes, vehicles and businesses.

Local governments, nonprofit organizations and quasi-governmental organizations are among the recipients for the competitive grants, administered under the DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.

"These projects will stimulate the economy and create jobs on the main streets of local communities across the nation through innovative investments in energy conservation, efficiency and renewable power generation," said Under Secretary of Energy Kristina Johnson. "We already have proven technologies to reduce energy use at home and at work. These projects will provide access to those tools for more Americans, saving money for thousands of families and businesses."

These awards were open to local communities that were not eligible to receive the initial, population-based formula grants under the EECBG program.

The funding supports projects that deliver energy efficiency retrofits in residential and commercial buildings and establish financing programs for energy efficiency improvements.

Other activities will include transportation programs that conserve energy through trip reduction strategies and alternative transportation options, projects to increase recycling and reduce the energy demands of delivering and supplying clean water through water efficiency and conservation measures, the installation of energy efficient street lights, and the integrated deployment of renewable energy systems in conjunction with energy efficiency retrofits to existing buildings.

The award recipients were selected through a competitive review process that took into account the expected energy savings and reduced emissions impacts of the projects, leveraged investments from other non-federal sources, and whether the project could be replicated and expanded to contribute to a sustainable market for energy efficiency nationally.

Projects that proposed innovative approaches and identified and addressed ways to overcome institutional, regulatory, or market barriers were also favored.

As part of the accountability requirements under the Recovery Act, all grant recipients are required to submit quarterly reports on the number of jobs created or saved under the project, the energy saved, the renewable energy capacity installed, the greenhouse gas emissions reduced, and the funds leveraged.

The following communities have been selected for awards under the competitive EECBG program:

1. City of Tanana - Tanana, Alaska ($1,500,000)

2. Central Basin Municipal Water District - Commerce, California ($2,000,000)

3. County of Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara County, California ($2,401,309)

4. Eagle County - Eagle County, Colorado ($4,916,126)

5. Connecticut Innovations, Inc. - Rocky Hill, Connecticut ($4,171,124)

6. St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners - St. Lucie County, Florida ($2,941,500)

7. Indiana Municipal Power Agency - Carmel, Indiana ($5,000,000)

8. City of West Union - West Union, Iowa ($1,000,000)

9. Riley County - Riley County, Kansas ($3,000,000)

10. Town of University Park - University Park, Maryland ($1,425,000)

11. City of Wyandotte - Wyandotte, Michigan ($3,807,000)

12. Minnesota Municipal Power Agency - Minneapolis, Minnesota ($3,398,252)

13. Mid-America Regional Council - Kansas City, Missouri ($4,063,994)

14. New Mexico Recycling Coalition - Santa Fe, New Mexico ($2,795,261)

15. The Bedford-Northern Westchester Energy Action Coalition (Bedford-NWEAC) - Town of Bedford, New York ($1,267,874)

16. Columbia County - Columbia County, Oregon ($3,461,319)

17. Fayette County - Fayette County, Pennsylvania ($4,100,018)

18. Rutland West Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. - West Rutland, Vermont ($4,487,588)

19. Thurston Regional Planning Council - Olympia, Washington ($2,159,021)

20. Conservation Services Group, Inc. - City of Bainbridge Island and City of Bremerton, Washington ($4,884,614)

--
Scott's Contracting
314-243-1953
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Disaster & Senate Democratic Caucus

Dear Scotty, This afternoon, the Senate Democratic Caucus will decide how our country will respond to the Gulf Coast oil disaster. Will they seize the moment and support a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill? Will they be bold enough to create millions of jobs, strengthen our national security, end our addiction to fossil fuels and help solve the climate crisis? Or will they settle for a band-aid solution that will please the special interests and do nothing to change the status quo? The outcome of this meeting will have profound consequences for our movement and our nation's future. Demand that your Senator take bold action on climate and clean energy today! Call your Senator Now: Senator McCaskill: 202-224-6154 Report your call here. Once connected tell him or her: You are a constituent. We must take a bold stand in the wake of the Deepwater Oil Disaster. Only a bill that caps carbon will end our reliance on dangerous, dirty energy. Please, support a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill at today's caucus meeting. On this crucial decision day, you can be the voice that inspires your Senator to take a stand in support of the bold path our nation so desperately needs. Please ask your Senator to support comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation today. Report your call here. Today, America's clean energy and climate future will be written. Good luck to all of us. Thanks, Dave Boundy Campaign Manager The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America campaign

--
Scott's Contracting
314-243-1953
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com

Stand with us to show that the American people support holding BP accountable -- and we won't apologize for doing so.

When BP CEO Tony Hayward testified before Congress this morning, many expected to hear him apologize for the disaster his company has caused. Instead, GOP Congressman Joe Barton was the one saying he was sorry -- to BP. In his opening statement, Barton, the top Republican on the committee overseeing the oil spill and its aftermath, delivered a personal apology to the oil giant. He said the $20 billion fund that President Obama directed BP to establish to provide relief to the victims of the oil disaster was a "tragedy in the first proportion." Other Republicans are echoing his call. Sen. John Cornyn said he "shares" Barton's concern. Rep. Michele Bachmann said that BP shouldn't agree to be "fleeced." Rush Limbaugh called it a "bailout." The Republican Study Committee, with its 114 members in the House, called it a "shakedown." Let's be clear. This fund is a major victory for the people of the Gulf. It's a key step toward making them whole again. BP has a responsibility to those whose lives and livelihoods have been devastated by the disaster. And BP oil executives don't deserve an apology -- the people of the Gulf do. Stand with us to show that the American people support holding BP accountable -- and we won't apologize for doing so. Rep. Barton and Republicans like him don't understand that the real tragedy is what's happening to the people in the Gulf Coast. They're the ones who deserve his apology -- not BP. But big oil knows exactly who its allies are. And if Republicans win control of the House, Rep. Barton could be chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee -- overseeing regulation of the oil and gas industry. Notably, companies like Halliburton -- the folks responsible for cementing the Deepwater Horizon rig -- are directing their political committees to deliver thousands of dollars to GOP candidates this cycle. Barton himself has received more than $100,000 from the oil and gas industry this election cycle. Barton should apologize to the people of the Gulf and he should step down as the highest-ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Adding your name to our open letter is one of the best ways you can show him and other Republicans that they weren't elected to defend big oil. Sign the open letter today: http://my.barackobama.com/NoApologies Thanks, David Plouffe

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

--
Scott's Contracting
314-243-1953
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com

Ethan Oil Gas Emissions

Analysis: Finds POET Cellulosic Ethanol Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 111 Percent

by Mike Gregory on 06/15/2010 17:52   2 comments , 596 views
Categories: Energy and Economy, Renewables, Alternative Energy
Tags: ethanol, project liberty, greenhouse offset, negative emissions

Ethanol produced by Project LIBERTY, POET's first planned commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, will reduce carbon emissions by 111 percent over gasoline, an independent lifecycle analysis shows.

This means POET's cellulosic ethanol actually has negative emissions; it will offset more greenhouse gas emissions than it produces.

"Not only is cellulosic ethanol a clean and safe alternative fuel, in cases such as Project LIBERTY, it can literally reverse some of the effects of our nation's dependence on fossil energy such as oil," POET CEO Jeff Broin said. "By expanding the number of sources for ethanol production, the entire nation can contribute to helping our nation's economy, security and environment through alternative fuel production."

Broin presented the results to reporters today at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in St. Louis, Mo. A lifecycle analysis tracks the emissions of ethanol production from "field to tank." It includes emissions from planting and harvest, feedstock transportation, conversion to ethanol, waste products, co-products and transportation of the ethanol. It also includes Environmental Protection Agency calculations for changes in land use and effects on agriculture inputs.

The analysis, compiled by Air Improvement Resource, Inc. out of Novi, Mich., highlights a number of characteristics of POET's process that lead to this large emissions reduction.

• Project LIBERTY produces ethanol from agriculture waste. Because it uses a waste product from an existing crop, there are no additional inputs for planting and growing the feedstock.
• The disputed theory of Indirect Land Use Change, which creates an emissions penalty for grain-based ethanol, does not have any penalty associated with POET's cellulosic ethanol.
• The waste stream from POET's process is fed into two anaerobic digesters to create biogas. Enough biogas is produced to completely power both Project LIBERTY and the adjacent grain-based ethanol plant. The natural gas that is displaced in this process is credited to the cellulosic ethanol plant.

"The production of biogas as a co-product is an exciting aspect of this process," Broin said. "We will use renewable energy to produce renewable energy."

The analysis found that all the inputs into Project LIBERTY will emit 41.8 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent units per megajoule of energy produced. The biogas exported as a co-product will offset 49.8 gCO2eq/MJ. EPA estimates for land use and agriculture changes offset an additional 1.7 gCO2eq/MJ, bringing Project LIBERTY's total emissions to -9.7 gCO2eq/MJ.

EPA's standard for gasoline emissions is 92.9 gCO2eq/MJ.

The Project LIBERTY lifecycle analysis was conducted using the most current design elements available. However, POET will continue to learn from laboratory work and its pilot cellulosic ethanol plant currently operating in Scotland, S.D. As changes occur, the analysis will be updated.

Air Improvement Resource, Inc. lifecycle analysis of Project LIBERTY - Executive Summary
--
Scott's Contracting
314-243-1953
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com