DOE

November 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today at the White House Tribal Nations Conference, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu highlighted the Department of Energy’s continued commitment to partnering with Native Americans to support the development of clean energy projects on tribal lands that will help reduce energy use, limit carbon pollution, and create new jobs for tribal communities across the country.

“The Department of Energy is committed to partnering with tribal communities to help them meet their energy needs through clean energy and energy efficiency technologies,” said Secretary Chu. “Clean energy projects will create jobs and economic opportunities on tribal lands, while reducing energy use and increasing energy security for Indian Country.”    » read more »

$30.6 million Recovery Act investment by the Department of Energy highlights the additional potential of hydro power

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced up to $30.6 million in Recovery Act funding for the selection of seven hydropower projects that modernize hydropower infrastructure by increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impacts at existing facilities. The expanded hydro generation projects have estimated incremental costs of less than 4 cents per kWh on average.    » read more »

Letter to Agencies Calls for Consumer Protection Measures

Washington, DC – Last week, Congressman Harry Teague lead a group of 30 House members in sending a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa Jackson calling for more accurate reporting of ENERGY STAR ratings. Two recent reports released by both the Inspector General of the DOE and EPA have placed the integrity of the label in question, citing unqualified appliances that have received the energy-efficiency moniker. The letter urges the officials to provide consumers with accurate information on products claiming the ENERGY STAR designation.    » read more »

11/03/09 -- U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (W.Va.) announced today the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded more than $10-million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for energy efficiency projects and conservation activities.

“This funding will support investments in state-wide and local-level energy solutions to help strengthen West Virginia’s economy and create jobs at the local level,” said Rahall.    » read more »

November 03 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Mike Michaud praised the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) announcement that Verso Paper Corporation will receive a $9,356,177 Recovery Act grant for the deployment of waste energy recovery technologies. The project will implement a portfolio of 12 waste energy recovery sub-projects at Verso paper mills located in Jay, Maine; Bucksport, Maine; and Sartell, Minnesota. The sub-projects were chosen for their energy savings potential and potential for immediate implementation. The bundled project has an overall efficiency of 33%, and will save an estimated 1.28 trillion Btu annually.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that more than $38 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is being awarded to 4 states to support energy efficiency and conservation activities. Under DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program, these states – Alaska, Kansas, Utah and West Virginia - will implement programs that lower energy use, reduce carbon pollution, and create green jobs locally.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today 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.    » read more »

November 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy is providing up to $5.5 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support the X PRIZE Foundation’s work to inspire a new generation of energy efficient vehicles. As part of the Automotive X PRIZE competition, teams design innovative, commercially-viable, high-efficiency vehicles that will help break our dependence on oil and stem the effects of climate change.    » read more »

October 28, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - Today, the Obama administration announced a formal Memorandum of Understanding signed between various agencies involved in the siting of large-scale renewable energy projects and transmission lines, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Council on Environmental Quality, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and Department of the Interior.

Statement of Sierra Club Clean Energy Solutions Campaign Director Alex Levinson    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- Today, lighting equipment manufacturers and energy efficiency organizations announced agreement on a legislative package that would create new minimum efficiency standards for many types of outdoor lighting products. If enacted by Congress as new legislation, the agreed-upon new standards would reduce U.S. lighting energy use by about 24 to 42 billion kWh annually, equivalent to the annual output of 3 to 6 new 1000 MW power plants (the typical size of a new nuclear unit).    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- Berkeley, CA -- As the world’s energy needs grow ever greater, scientists are charged with finding new ways to expand clean-energy resources and tap new ones. One such resource is geothermal energy, or heat mining, in which the heat acquired by fluid circulation deep in the Earth’s crust is tapped for conversion to electricity.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been awarded $7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for four projects that seek to advance Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which is capable of harnessing the Earth’s heat where conventional geothermal technologies cannot. The funding is part of a $400 million investment that the Department of Energy has made in geothermal energy thanks to the Recovery Act.    » read more »

Funds also create jobs at the Lab, at small businesses and down the chain.

October 28, 2009 -- As funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act start to flow into Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, much of that funding is flowing out to small businesses.

To date, Berkeley Lab has been awarded more than $220 million in Recovery Act funds, a large part of which will go toward infrastructure projects and buying and upgrading computers and scientific equipment, such as microscopes, lasers and gene sequencers. So far, $38.2 million in Recovery Act subcontracts have been awarded, of which 58 percent went to small businesses. That far exceeds the federal government’s goal for the Recovery Act of giving 23 percent of prime contracts to small firms.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that Idaho will receive financial support for several significant industrial energy efficiency projects.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the Idaho Office of Energy Resources (OER) a $350,000 Industrial Technologies grant to help make energy efficiency improvements at several industrial facilities. The recipients include projects at several Simplot plants and the Amalgamated Sugar Company in Nampa. Both companies contributed matching funds to leverage the DOE grants.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy is awarding a $15 million Recovery Act grant to Rhode Island LFG Genco, an affiliate of Ridgewood Renewable Power, to support the expansion of Ridgewood’s landfill methane-capture electricity generation plant in Johnston.

The project will be the second-largest landfill gas-to-electricity generation facility in the United States. The project will generate 42 MW of power, and save an estimated 1.21 trillion Btu annually from the landfill gas that would otherwise be flared.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senator Roland W. Burris today announced that American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the Department of Energy have been allocated to Illinois to fund industrial energy efficiency technologies.

The funds will be directed as follows:    » read more »