Deadline for offshore wind grants

Today marks the deadline for applicants to submit letters of intent to the U.S. Department of Energy seeking funding for offshore wind energy development.  On March 1, 2012, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a six-year $180 million initiative to deploy offshore wind projects in U.S. waters.  Subject to congressional appropriations, this program includes $20 million available this year to support up to four innovative offshore wind energy installations across the United States.

The U.S. Department of Energy believes that the U.S. is rich in offshore wind resources.  Some reports have identified over 4,000 gigawatts of potential capacity, which adds up to several percent of the U.S.'s existing electric generation capacity across all fuels and resources.

To speed the development of this resource, DOE has proposed a competitive solicitation for grant funding for "Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects".  The goal is to install innovative offshore wind systems in U.S. waters in the most rapid and responsible manner possible, and expedite the development and deployment of innovative offshore wind energy systems with a credible potential for lowering the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) below 10 ¢/kWh or the local "hurdle" price at which offshore wind can compete with other regional generation sources without subsidies.

Applications must include certain materials as specified in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (docketed as DE-FOA-0000410).  The Department has stated that it expects applications to come from world-class multi-sector consortia, including energy project developers, equipment suppliers, research institutions and marine installation specialists.  Grant funds may be used to cover up to 80 percent of a project’s design costs and 50 percent of the hardware and installation costs. Letters of intent are due on March 30 and applications are due on May 31, 2012.

April 11, 2011 - Northern Pass transmission

The Northern Pass project - a proposed high-voltage DC transmission line capable of sending about 1200 MW of power from Hydro-Quebec into New England - continues to be controversial.  The $1.1 billion line from the Canadian border has been proposed by Public Service of New Hampshire's parent Northeast Utilities, along with utility NSTAR and Hydro-Quebec.  These utilities promote the line as empowering New England markets to buy renewable power from Canada - primarily from Hydro-Quebec's nearly 40 gigawatts of hydro capacity.  Opponents raise concerns both about local siting issues related to the line - which runs through the White Mountain National Forest and a number of communities - as well as about the impact of importing gigawatts of Canadian renewable power on the development of renewable power projects in New England.

Now, two of New Hampshire's Congressional delegation, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Representative Charles Bass, have sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Chu expressing opposition to the project in its current form based on the public hearings that have been held.  They call on the Department of Energy to study alternatives to building towers along the Northern Pass's route through New Hampshire - alternatives like burying the lines or using existing rights-of-way.  The Congressional delegation points to a need to protect New Hampshire's north country lands as "prime economic assets and pristine landscapes."

If the Northern Pass project is to be developed, proponents may have to navigate the political waters as well as the regulatory process. 

3/31/10

It's a record: 11 inches of rain in Portland, Maine this March. The Portland Press Herald has some nice pictures of the effects of the Colcord Pond dam breach I mentioned yesterday. In Rhode Island, the flooding is bad enough -- 12 feet over the banks of the Pawtuxet River -- to greatly constrain the capacity of the Warwick wastewater treatment plant.

President Obama will announce more offshore oil drilling off the East Coast. Meanwhile oil prices are on the rise.

On Monday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $37.5 million in funding for the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, a virtual campus located at existing research sites in both countries. The Center will focus on energy efficiency, clean vehicles and carbon capture from coal-fueled power plants -- something China has a lot of.

A panel of British lawmakers investigating the "climategate" leaked email scandal have labeled British climate change research as "damaged" by the incident. The 59-page report by the Commons Science and Technology Committee says that climate change research must become more transparent.

In California, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center will start generating 10% of its power needs through 15 MW of solar photovoltaic arrays. Kaiser has entered into power purchase agreements with Recurrent Energy, who will own and operate the solar panels and sell the power to Kaiser, while Kaiser will retain the rights to the renewable energy credits. Meanwhile other projects in California are in a permitting backlog, jeopardizing their chances at earning the 30% cash grant in lieu of investment tax credit, which requires ground to be broken this year.

The Los Angeles City Council has backed a much smaller rate hike than proposed by Mayor Villaraigosa: 0.1-cent increase per kilowatt-hour in the rates paid by residential and commercial customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, with the initial money to go toward establishing a trust fund for renewable-energy production and energy efficiency.

Wisconsin wants in on the manufacturing associated with renewable deployment.