Smart Grid: Honeywell awarded grant to implement transition to reliable energy grid

Honeywell Will Also Help Other Grant Recipients Implement Programs as the Country Transitions to a More Efficient, Reliable Energy Grid

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced it has been awarded an $11.4-million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history. The grant, one of several awarded from a smart grid funding package under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), solidifies Honeywell's position as a key player in helping the U.S. transition to a more efficient, reliable and secure electric system.

"Honeywell has long been supportive of investing in our country's energy independence and these grants are essential to that end," said Roger Fradin, president and chief executive officer of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions. "However, the hard part comes next -- rebuilding the energy infrastructure. Honeywell has the project management experience to help utilities successfully deploy their programs and forge a tighter link with customers. And we have the technology to help homeowners and businesses take control of their energy use and maximize the benefits of a smart grid."

One of only four non-utility companies to receive funding, Honeywell will use the grant to support a critical peak pricing response program that will help commercial and industrial facilities in the Southern California Edison (SCE) service territory automatically implement energy management strategies to reduce costs and improve efficiency. The program will support nearly 700 customers as SCE and other California utilities move to critical peak pricing -- a program that offers rate discounts during the summer months to customers who can reduce or shift power during periods of peak electrical consumption.

The new rate structure will see prices spike during periods of peak demand, approximately 10 to 15 days per year. SCE will send a notice prior to any increase and Honeywell will install technology that allows customers to automate load-shedding strategies that reduce energy use during these periods. Based on open automated demand response (OpenADR) standards and powered by Tridium's Niagara(AX) Framework® and JACE® controller, the system will receive the utility's signal, communicate with the facility's building automation system and make changes based on parameters the customer sets. This could include turning off banks of lights, cycling equipment on and off, or temporarily increasing temperature set points in the facility.

In addition to installing the technology, Honeywell will provide customer outreach, education and engineering services, as well as ongoing support.

"Honeywell's program integrates business customers with a smarter grid," said Larry Oliva, director, Tariff Programs and Services, Southern California Edison. "Our customers will have the ability to decide how they want to respond to pricing changes, and the subsequent reduction in energy use will help us provide affordable, clean power over the long term."

Honeywell is also helping other organizations implement projects tied to the smart grid investment grants, including an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) program for the city of Quincy, Fla. Honeywell will manage the installation of smart meters throughout the city and provide technology to automate commercial load-shedding strategies, similar to the SCE program.

Honeywell also won ARRA grants for the research and development of technology that ties into the smart grid. For example, the company is testing solutions that will significantly reduce down time and failures for the growing fleet of wind turbines in the United States. Researchers are also developing a controls infrastructure for optimizing renewable energy micro-grids.

The DOE funding, as well as Honeywell's involvement in other grants, reflects the company's expertise in smart grid services and technologies. Honeywell Utility Solutions, part of the Building Solutions business, has delivered demand response programs for almost 20 utilities in the United States and Canada. It specializes in all aspects of demand response from program design and load-control technology to customer recruitment and support.
www.honeywell.com/utility

Industrial Energy Efficiency Projects Get Financing

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy is awarding more than $155 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for 41 industrial energy efficiency projects across the country. These awards include funding for industrial combined heat and power systems, district energy systems for industrial facilities, and grants to support technical and financial assistance to local industry. The industrial sector uses more than 30 percent of U.S. energy and is responsible for nearly 30 percent of U.S. carbon emissions.

“To remain globally competitive, American industry needs to be energy efficient. The funding for industrial energy efficiency technologies announced today will support a robust American industrial sector and help to usher in a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “Many companies already realize that improving efficiency saves money while helping the environment. These projects will make energy efficiency technologies more widely available, cutting energy use and reducing carbon pollution across the country.”

Nine projects announced today will promote the use of combined heat and power, district energy systems, waste energy recovery systems, and energy efficiency initiatives in hospitals, utilities, and industrial sites. Combined Heat and Power and District Energy Systems generate both the heat and power needed for industrial processes on-site, instead of using electricity from the grid, and can be nearly twice as efficient as conventional heat and power production. These 9 awards – totaling approximately $150 million – will be leveraged with $634 million in private industry cost share for a total project value of up to $785 million. These industrial efficiency projects will result in almost 14 trillion Btu in estimated energy savings, which is equivalent to over 112 million gallons of gasoline per year.

The remaining 32 awards will provide local technical support for the industrial sector through university-based Industrial Assessment Centers, state agencies, regional partnerships, and a national technical assistance provider. This funding will enable DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program to provide technical and financial support for local businesses and manufacturing facilities to save energy and reduce their energy costs, obtain financing to realize significant gains in efficiency and productivity, and save and create manufacturing and industrial sector jobs across the country.

These 32 projects are an extension of DOE’s successful Save Energy Now initiative, which provides plant energy assessments and technical assistance to energy intensive industrial facilities. Since the program’s inception in 2006, more than 2,300 assessments have been completed. Over 1,500 industrial facilities implemented the identified energy measures, which have saved $218 million, 35 trillion Btu and 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.

The projects announced today are selections for financial award. The final details for each project award are subject to final contract negotiations between DOE and the grantee.

Today’s awards include:

Industrial Technologies ($149.3 million total)
* Texas Medical Center Central Heating and Cooling Services Company
* Seattle Steam Company
* Rhode Island LFG Genco, LLC
* Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
* Ridgewood Renewable Power, LLC
* ArcelorMittal USA
* Verso Paper Corporation
* The Dow Chemical Company
* Clean Tech Partners

Industrial Assessment Centers ($1.87 million total)
* Bradley University
* Georgia Institute of Technology
* Lehigh University
* Mississippi State University
* North Carolina State University
* Oklahoma State University
* San Diego State
* Tennessee Technological University
* Texas A&M University
* University of Alabama
* University of Dayton
* University of Delaware
* University of Louisiana at Lafayette
* University of Michigan
* West Virginia University

State Agencies ($3.84 million total, approximately $350,000 awarded to each state)
* Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
* Idaho Office of Energy Resources
* Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence
* Louisiana State Energy
* Maryland Energy Administration
* Minnesota Department of Commerce
* Mississippi Development Authority-Energy Division
* New Jersey Industrial Energy Program
* Ohio Energy Office, Ohio Department of Development
* Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
* Wisconsin’s Office of Energy Independence

Regional Partnerships ($2.5 million total, $500,000 awarded per region)
* Energy Resources Division of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority along with Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina
* Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the University of Massachusetts (CEERE)
* Illinois State Energy Office
* Washington Department of Community Trade and Economic Development
* West Virginia Department of Energy

National Technical Assistance Provider ($1.4 million)
* Oak Ridge Partnership for Industrial Energy Efficiency

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/index.html

DOE: $327 Million new funding for science & energy security research

U.S Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that more than $327 million in new funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will go toward scientific research, instrumentation, and laboratory infrastructure projects. Ten of DOE’s national laboratories in six states will be receiving funds, along with researchers at institutions of higher learning across the nation.

“These new initiatives will help to create new jobs while allowing the U.S. to maintain its scientific leadership and economic competitiveness ,” said Secretary Steven Chu. “The projects provide vital funding and new tools for research aimed at strengthening America’s energy security and tackling some of science’s toughest challenges.”

Of the $327 million in Recovery Act funding announced today, $107.5 million is slated to go to universities, nonprofit organizations, and private firms, generally on a competitive, peer-reviewed basis. The remaining $220 million will go to U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories for a range of research, instrumentation, and infrastructure projects, including $164.7 million for projects already allocated as follows:

- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Batavia, IL—$60.2 million, including $52.7 million for research on next-generation particle accelerator technologies; and $7.5 for neutrino research in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory.

- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Berkeley, CA—$ 37.8 million, including $13.1 million to upgrade equipment at the DOE Joint Genome Institute; $11 million for fusion energy research; $8.8 million for equipment improvements at the Advanced Light Source; $4 million for new instrumentation at the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, one of three DOE Bioenergy Research Centers; and $875,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of Smart Grid technology.

- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford, CA—$21.8 million, including $20 million for an experimental end station at the Linac Coherent Light Source to study high energy density plasmas; and $1.8 million for improvements at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.

- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; Princeton, NJ—$13.8 million, including $8.8 million for a variety of initiatives in fusion energy research and $5 million for infrastructure improvements at the laboratory.

- Brookhaven National Laboratory; Upton, NY—$9.5 million, including $3 million for improvements at the National Synchrotron Light Source; and $6.5 million for neutrino research.

- Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oak Ridge, TN—$8.7 million, including $5.4 million for equipment at the DOE BioEnergy Science Center, a DOE Bioenergy Research Center; $3.2 million to seed development of computerized knowledgebase to integrate masses of data flowing from DOE-supported genomics and systems biology research; and $180,000 for fusion energy research.

- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Richland, WA—$5.7 million, including $4.9 million for integrated assessment modeling for climate; and $867,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of Smart Grid.

- Argonne National Laboratory; Argonne, IL—$5.6 million for improvements at the Advanced Photon Source.

- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore, CA—$810,000 for fusion energy research.

- Sandia National Laboratories; Sandia, NM, and Sandia, CA—$800,000, including $688,000 for mathematical analysis related to the development of Smart Grid; and $75,000 for fusion energy research.

In March Secretary Chu announced $1.2 billion in DOE Office of Science Recovery Act projects. In July, DOE announced a new Office of Science Early Career Research Program to be funded with $85 million in Recovery Act funds. With this third and final round of projects, the Obama Administration has now approved projects covering the full $1.6 billion that the DOE Office of Science received from Congress under the Recovery Act.
http://www.energy.gov

Obama Administration Announces Billions in Lending Authority for Renewable Energy Projects and to Modernize the Grid

Loan Guarantees Will Help Create New Jobs while Fostering Clean Energy Innovation

Washington, DC – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that the Department of Energy will provide up to $30 billion in loan guarantees, depending on the applications and market conditions, for renewable energy projects. Another $750 million will support several billion dollars more in loan guarantees for projects that increase the reliability, efficiency and security of the nation’s transmission system. The two new loan guarantee solicitations announced today are being funded partly through the Recovery Act and partly through 2009 appropriations.

“These investments will be used to create jobs, spur the development of innovative clean energy technologies, and help ensure a smart, strong and secure grid that will deliver renewable power more effectively and reliably,” said Secretary Chu. “This administration has set a goal of doubling renewable electricity generation over the next three years. To achieve that goal, we need to accelerate renewable project development by ensuring access to capital for advanced technology projects. We also need a grid that can move clean energy from the places it can be produced to the places where it can be used and that can integrate variable sources of power, like wind and solar.”

The lending authority includes:
- Up to $8.5 billion in lending authority supported by 2009 annual appropriations for renewable energy.
- Up to $2 billion in subsidy costs, provided by the Recovery Act, to support billions in loans for renewable energy and electric power transmission projects.
- Up to $500 million in subsidy costs to support loans for cutting edge biofuel projects funded by the Recovery Act.
- Up to $750 million in subsidy costs, provided by the Recovery Act, to support loans for large transmission infrastructure projects in the U.S. that use commercial technologies and begin construction by September 30, 2011.

The two solicitations issued today mark the sixth and seventh rounds of solicitations by the Department’s Loan Guarantee Program, which encourages the commercial use of new or improved energy technologies to help foster clean energy projects. Applications will be accepted over the next 45 days. The Department has streamlined its processes to accelerate these new loan solicitations. By investing in both renewable energy technology for generating electricity and technologies to modernize the country's transmission system, the Recovery Act targets the full integration of renewable energy sources onto the electric grid.

Read more information on this solicitation and the Department’s Loan Guarantee Program. Additional loan guarantee solicitations funded by the Recovery Act will be announced soon.

DOE Announces Awards for up to $11 Million for New Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems

US Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the investment of up to $11.8 million – $5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – for five projects designed to advance the next stage of development of solar energy grid integration systems (SEGIS). The selections announced today are part of DOE’s continuing work to help assure the nation’s electrical grid reliability is maintained and improved as solar energy technologies reach cost competitiveness and increased levels of integration with the grid.

“Solar energy will be a critical factor in achieving the President’s goal of creating new jobs as part of a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “By integrating renewable energy onto the grid now, we can deliver power more reliably and effectively, lower utility bills for American families, and help rebuild our economy along the way.”

Initiated in 2008, the SEGIS activity is a partnership that includes DOE, Sandia National Laboratories, industry, utilities, and universities and emphasizes complete system development. The selected projects focus on the most promising technology advances and include development of intelligent system controls. These projects ultimately seek to maintain or improve power quality and reliability, as well as return economic value, while increasing integration of solar technologies into the U.S. electrical grid.

The selections announced today include:

- PVPowered of Bend, OR: PVPowered will partner with Portland General Electric (Portland, OR), South Dakota State University (Brookings, SD), and Northern Plains Power Technologies (Brookings, SD), Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (Pullman, WA), SENSUS (Raleigh, NC). The project will reinforce the fundamental objectives of the SEGIS program to optimize interconnections across the full range of emerging PV module technologies through innovative systems integration.
DOE cost share: up to $3 million

- Petra Solar of South Plainfield, NJ: Petra Solar will work with the University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL) and Fifteen Electric Utilities with service in NJ, PA, OH, DE, MD, DC, FL, TX: This project complements the mission of the Solar Program to achieve the widespread adoption of solar energies. It supports improving reliability and resiliency so that high levels of PV integration can be adapted.
DOE cost share: up to $2.9 million

- Princeton Power of Princeton, NJ: Princeton Power will work with Transistor Device Inc (TDI), LaGuardia Community College (New York, NY), Idyllwild Municipal Water District (San Diego, CA), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (Princeton, NJ), Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (Princeton, NJ), Premier Power, SPG Solar (Novato, CA), and Spire (Bedford, MA). This project focuses on lowering manufacturing costs through integrated controls for energy storage and develops new inverter designs.
DOE cost share: up to $2.8 million

- Apollo Solar of Bethel, CT: Apollo Solar will work in collaboration with Saft Batteries (Valdosta, GA), the Electric Power Research Institute (Knoxville, TN), and California Independent System Operator (Folsum, CA). This project creates innovative inverters using energy storage and two-way communications between solar electrical systems and utilities.
DOE cost share: up to $1.5 million

- Florida Solar Energy Center/UCF: Florida Solar Energy Center will work with Satcon Technology Corporation (Boston, MA), SENTECH, Inc. (Bethesda, MD), SunEdison (Beltsville, MD), Cooper Power Systems EAS (Minneapolis, MN), Northern Plains Power Technologies (Brookings, SD) and Lakeland Electric Utilities (Lakeland, FL). This project focuses on solving technical challenges that must be overcome to include higher PV penetration levels in larger electrical systems.
DOE cost share: up to $1.3 million

DOE to invest up to US$33.5m in wind energy projects

DOE announced on May 12 that it plans to provide Massachusetts with $25 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate the development of the state's Wind Technology Testing Center. Conveniently located in Boston Harbor, the new center will be the first commercial facility in the nation for large wind turbine blades. It will allow for the testing of blades longer than 50 meters to help reduce cost, improve technical advancements, and speed deployment of the next generation of wind turbines. DOE selected Massachusetts for the facility in June 2007, pledging $2 million to support the project. The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust also committed $13.2 million in grants and loans to develop the facility, and the state is now concluding the final design for the testing center. With the injection of Recovery Act funds, construction can begin in September and will be complete by the end of next year, creating hundreds of new jobs in the area. See the DOE press release.

DOE also announced on May 6 that it will invest up to $8.5 million in 53 new wind energy projects in 24 states, plus the District of Columbia. Funded with fiscal year 2009 appropriations, the projects will support the goals outlined in DOE's 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report, which found that the United States has enough wind resources to generate 20% of the country's electrical needs. The report also identified several challenges to this goal, including the need for investment in a national transmission system; larger electric load balance areas and better regional planning; reduction in wind turbine capital costs; improvement of turbine performance; resolution of siting and environmental issues; and workforce development.

The awards include four topic areas: market acceptance, environmental impact, workforce development, and distributed wind technology. Awards for two other topic areas—supporting wind turbine research and testing and transmission analysis; planning and assessments—will be announced at a later date. The awards went to colleges and universities, organizations, companies, and state governments in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, as well as Washington, D.C. See the DOE press release for a list of all of the awardees: http://www.energy.gov/news2009/7381.htm

Progress Made in Biomass-to-Biofuels Conversion Process

Genetic Sequencing of Yeast a Step Toward Economical Production of Biofuels

MADISON, Wis., March 6 - A collaborative research project between the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) and the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute has advanced the quest for efficient conversion of plant biomass to fuels and chemicals.

"We have sequenced and assembled the complete genome of Pichia stipitis, a native xylose-fermenting yeast," says Thomas Jeffries, research microbiologist at FPL. The results of this research project will be published in the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology in April, and the report is currently available online at http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/index.html.

The sequencing of P. Stipitis marks an important step toward the efficient production of biofuels because the yeast can efficiently ferment xylose, a main component of plant lignocellulose. Xylose fermentation is vital to economically converting plant biomass to fuels and chemicals such as ethanol.

"A better understanding of the genetic structure of this yeast allows us to determine how specific genes are used in fermentation and then reengineer them to perform other desired functions," says Jeffries.