|
You are reading an archived version of the ASHRAE Government Affairs Update. Please click here for the most recent update. Government Affairs Update07/06/2007
DOE to Invest $60 Million for Solar Energy Research
DOE announced that it will provide up to $60 million for solar energy research. Up to $2.5 million will go to 13 selected cities to promote the use of solar technologies in each city, under DOE's Solar America Cities cooperative agreements. The cities are Ann Arbor, Michigan; Austin, Texas; Berkeley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Madison, Wisconsin; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; and Tucson, Arizona. In addition, DOE released a funding opportunity announcement as part of its Solar America Initiative, offering universities up to $30 million to research near-term improvements in solar cell technologies. DOE will also award up to $27 million to ten competitively selected, cost-shared Photovoltaic Module Incubator projects at businesses located in California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. These ten businesses will address the challenges related to reducing cost, improving performance, and expanding manufacturing capacity of innovative solar photovoltaic technologies to move from small-scale to pilot production. See the DOE press release (http://www.energy.gov/news/5137.htm), the Solar America Initiative Web site (http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america), and the funding opportunity announcement (http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=14504&mode=VIEW).
Global Annual Investment in Renewable Energy Hits $100 Billion
The investment capital flowing into renewable energy technologies reached $100 billion in 2006, according to an analysis by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Of that, a record $71 billion was invested in companies and new sector opportunities, up 43% from 2005, while roughly $30 billion was due to mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and asset refinancing. Wind power, solar energy, and biofuels are drawing most of the investments, including roughly $28 billion invested in new generating capacity. In addition, venture capital and private equity investors poured $2.3 billion into biofuels, $1.4 billion into solar energy, and $1.3 billion into wind power, mainly to increase manufacturing capacity. According to the report, renewable energy investment is nearly evenly split between the United States and Europe.
While some may be tempted to compare the renewable energy investment boom to the earlier dotcom boom, the UNEP report notes that the renewable energy boom is underpinned by real demand, growing regulatory support, the considerable backing of tangible assets, and increasing revenues. Most if not all of these factors were lacking during the dotcom boom, which ultimately became a burst bubble. See the UNEP press release (http://www.unep.org/pdf/PR-GlobalTrendsInSustainableEnergyInv07.pdf) and the full report (http://www.unep.org/pdf/SEFI_report-GlobalTrendsInSustainableEnergyInverstment07.pdf).
China Now Leads in Total Carbon Dioxide Emissions
According to a new analysis by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, China surpassed the United States in total carbon dioxide emissions in 2006. While China's emissions were about 2% below the U.S. emissions in 2005, the U.S. emissions decreased slightly in 2006, while China's emissions increased by 8.7%, making them 8% greater than the U.S. emissions. According to the report, China produces about 44% of the world's cement, and the high energy use of this industry is a key factor in the country's high carbon dioxide emissions. See the agency's press release.
The Dutch agency later tried to place these figures in perspective, noting that on a per capita basis, the United States still produces roughly four times as much carbon dioxide as China, at about 20 tons per person. The agency also noted that a substantial part of China's emissions are due to its production of goods for export to industrialized countries. Current greenhouse gas agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol, do not address which country is ultimately responsible for the emissions generated in one country while manufacturing a product for use in another country.
NIST/EPA Report on Retrofits for Protection Against Chemical and Biological Releases
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a report offering building owners and managers information on retrofit options to improve the safety of buildings against airborne chemical and biological hazards. The new guide (NISTIR 7379/EPA/600/R-06/157) can be used to determine whether or not -and how- to harden existing buildings against accidental chemical releases or possible terrorist threats.
NIST researchers evaluated 14 alternative retrofit techniques based on data from simulated airflow and contaminant transport computer modeling, as well as a case study in which retrofits were designed for a high-rise and single-story building. In conjunction with the report, NIST also developed a life-cycle cost analysis tool for chemical and biological protection of buildings that helps building owners and managers to compare life-cycle costs of installation, operation, and maintenance to determine the most cost-effective combination of retrofit options for their structure.
View the NIST/EPA report at http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build07/PDF/b07006.pdf.
U.S., Mexico, Canada Promote Green Buildings
Highlighting their shared commitment to environmental progress in North America, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson joined Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, Mexican Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and John Baird, Canadian Environment Minister to launch new collaborative environmental initiatives on green building and tracking pollution in North America. The officials were gathered in Morelia, Mexico for the 14th Council Session of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States to address regional environmental concerns.
The Council: (1) agreed that the CEC should lead initiatives to promote green building throughout the continent, and should also help foster greater cooperation on air quality in North America; and (2) formally lent support to conservation initiatives for the monarch butterfly and the vaquita porpoise.
The CEC was established by the governments of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to improve the coordination of environmental and trade policy in North America. This partnership complements the environmental provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
For more information, see the CEC website: http://www.cec.org.
EPA Releases Report on HCFC Consumption and Emissions EPA is making available to the public information concerning the potential changes in hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) consumption and emissions from the proposed adjustments to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) submitted by the United States for consideration at the 19th Meeting of the Parties (MOP–19) to be held in Montreal beginning on September 17, 2007. HCFCs are already subject to controls under the Protocol, and the proposed adjustments would accelerate the application of those controls. While HCFCs are less damaging to stratospheric ozone than the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) they replaced, they still deplete the ozone layer. EPA is making available the report Changes in HCFC Consumption and Emissions from the U.S. Proposed Adjustments for Accelerating the HCFC Phaseout, prepared by ICF Consulting.
The information gathered and presented in the report concerns the United States’ proposal to adjust the HCFC phaseout schedule under the Montreal Protocol. Because EPA plans to use this information in preparation for MOP–19, EPA wants to provide the public with an opportunity to review the information and submit comments. Readers should note that EPA will only consider comments about the information presented in Changes in HCFC Consumption and Emissions from the U.S. Proposed Adjustments for Accelerating the HCFC Phaseout and is not soliciting comments on any other topic. In particular, EPA is not soliciting comments on the HCFC phaseout established in EPA’s December 10, 1993, rulemaking (58 FR 65018). EPA will accept comments on the data through July 27, 2007.
For more details see the Federal Register (72 FR 35230) at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr.
|
