Competitive keep America: reduce the cost of small wind turbines

How we stay global wind competitive on the energy market? An important component is the leadership in the production of small wind turbines – these are rated at 100 kilowatts or less.

In the past, the leading manufacturer of small wind turbines, was the United States contribute, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. U.S. small wind manufacturer report with 80-85 percent domestic content in their turbines and the small wind industry provides an estimated 1,600 American jobs. Still, in the increasingly competitive global wind market - our leadership in this area is long is not guaranteed.

Maintain its leading international position for United States manufacturer of small wind turbines, the Department of energy we invest in two projects, led by Maine in Pika energy and Oklahoma Bergey Windpower company - small wind turbine competitiveness improvement project. This initiative supports manufacturers in their efforts to reduce the cost of energy from small turbines by improving their components and upgrade their production processes. To read the full report, see the energy blog.

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New Energy Department Funding to Reduce Cost of Drop-in Biofuels

The Energy Department on December 14 announced up to $12 million in new funding for projects that aim to drive down the cost of producing gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels from biomass. These advanced biofuels can be blended with conventional petroleum fuels for use in traditional cars, trucks, and airplanes—giving U.S. consumers and businesses more options and helping to diversify the nation's energy economy.

The announced funding will support up to five research and development projects that will boost biofuel yields from non-food-based lignocellulosic feedstocks such as agricultural residues, fast-growing poplar trees, and switch grass. These projects will help improve the carbon, hydrogen, and separation efficiencies in bio-oil production. Successful applicants will provide a research and development plan to produce a hydrocarbon fuel blendstock at $3/gallon or less (gasoline equivalent). This funding opportunity is open to universities, national laboratories, industrial entities, and nonprofit organizations. See the Energy Department Progress Alert and the full funding opportunity announcement.

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DOE Awards $7 Million to Reduce EV Charger Costs

This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.

DOE announced on December 21 awards totaling nearly $7 million in research and development funding that will help to reduce the current costs of electric vehicle chargers by 50% over the next three years. With DOE support, manufacturers in California, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania will work to improve the development and design of charging equipment. This research will promote "smart" charging capabilities that can help ensure electric vehicles enhance, rather than strain, existing electrical grid capacity.

Two of the four selected projects will focus on improving electric vehicle chargers that attach to consumers' homes and are used by the owners to charge their vehicles while they are at home. Two other projects will focus on chargers used at commercial and public locations to charge large numbers of vehicles, including commercial fleets of delivery vehicles.

The four projects selected for awards are listed below. These research and development investments will leverage additional investments from the industry grantees. See the DOE press release and the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability website.

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