News
The need for clean, sustainable, and domestically produced energy has never been greater.
The call for green jobs and US leadership in clean energy, combined with the growing need to reduce our dependence on imported oil, have come together to form a powerful imperative.
An imperative that demands new technologies and new approaches to the way we produce and use energy. (US Dept. of Energy)
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September 20, 2011
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Beyond Solyndra: Five Reasons Solar Is Still A Good Bet
9 20 2011
Despite the tendency to want to simplify it, the solar industry is complicated. It’s a global energy industry influenced by a host of market forces, including everything from availability of suppliers to technological innovation to policy in vastly different countries. There are five straightforward reasons the industry is poised for growth.
1. The price of Polysilicon has dropped 89 percent since 2008.
2. European Feed-In tariffs are set to expire.
3. India’s Solar Market is heating up.
4. Utilities are moving forward with large-scale projects because of price of PV panels. ABI Research predicts that the US will be the largest market for photovoltaic by 2013.
5. Market is more mature and there are more products out there.
Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2011/09/20/beyond-solyndra-five-reasons-solar-is-still-a-good-bet/
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April 5, 2011
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Who is winning the clean energy race? A report by Pew Charitable trusts
06 April 2011
Our research shows that clean energy sector around the world has roared back from flat recessionary levels, increasing 30 percent in 2009 to achieve a record $243 billion worth of finance and investment in 2010. More than 90 percent of all clean energy investments were directed to companies and projects in the G-20. www.altassets.net
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November 30, 2010
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Scientific America: Is the US Falling Behind In the Clean Energy Race?
A new report outlines a strategy for the federal government to encourage clean energy technology. A new report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology released on November 29 looks at how best to accelerate the pace of change in energy technologies. The report's primary recommendation calls for setting up a quadrennial energy review—analogous to the quadrennial defense review from the Department of Defense that coordinates national security policy. Such a review would holistically coordinate the multiplicity of ways various elements of the government address energy: legislation, executive actions, research and development funding, demonstration projects, subsidies, incentives, standards, regulations, purchasing agreements, even tax policy.
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November 2010
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DOE Releases Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Plan (2010 Draft) for Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the release of a draft version of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Plan . This document outlines the strategy, activities, and plans of DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program, which is part of DOE’s diverse efforts for addressing the critical energy challenges facing the nation. It is initially published as a draft to solicit feedback from relevant stakeholders, with a final version to be published in FY 2011.
The plan describes the Program’s activities—which are conducted to overcome the technical, institutional, and economic barriers to the widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for transportation, stationary, and portable applications. The plan also identifies the specific obstacles that each Program activity addresses, the strategies employed, key milestones, and future plans for both individual activities and the Program as a whole. The plan updates and expands upon previous editions of the Hydrogen Posture Plan, issued in 2006 and 2004, and continues to serve the purposes for which those documents were developed. It reflects the significant progress and changes that have taken place within DOE and the broader research community to date.
After the final version is published, the Program will continue to periodically revise the plan, along with the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) plans of participating program offices, to reflect technological progress, programmatic changes, policy decisions, and updates based on external reviews.
October 25, 2010 - 8:02 AM
http://fuelcellsworks.com/news/2010/10/25/doe-releases-hydrogen-and-fuel-cells-program-plan-2010-draft-for-public-comment
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2010
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2010 The Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Plan
The need for clean, sustainable, and domestically produced energy has never been greater. The call for green jobs and US leadership in clean energy, combined with the growing need dependence on imported oil, have come together to form a powerful imperative-one that demands new technologies and new approaches to the way we produce and use energy.
Congress has led the call for the development of clean domestic sources of energy with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). The Department of Energy (DOE) is responding to this challenge, collaborating with industry, academia, and other stakeholders to develop, advance, and enable the widespread use of key energy technologies. As outlined in this document, hydrogen and fuel cells are part of DOE’s portfolio of R&D activities for emerging technologies.
Appendix B: Program Budgets
DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Funding ($ in thousands)
FY 2009: 268,048 FY 2010: 243,684
EERE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Budget ($ in thousands)
FY 2009: 195,865; FY 2010: 174,000; FY 2011: 137,000
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/program_plan2010.pdf
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2007
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Hordeski, Michael F, Alternative Fuel: The Future of Hydrogen © 2007 The Fairmont Press.
A recent survey indicated American’s believe energy security should be a top priority of US Energy Policy with wide support for a moon shot type of effort to develop a hydrogen economy. The dependence on oil creates a national security vulnerability that could result in wide spread economic problems and global instabilities.
The two principal combustible elements common in coal and petroleum are carbon and hydrogen. Of the two, hydrogen is more efficient. The value of a fuel depends mainly on its calorific value. Pure carbon has a calorific value of 14,137 BTUS while Hydrogen has a value of 61,493 BTUS.
The higher the proportion of hydrogen a fuel contains the more energy it will provide. The hydrogen content of liquid and gaseous fuels ranges from 10 to 50% by weight. The less oxygen in the fuel, the more easily the hydrogen and carbon will burn. The lower the oxygen content of a fuel the better it will burn. The ideal fuel would be pure hydrogen.
Mineral fuels can be divided into three types: solid, liquid and gas. The first group is coals. In the second group are petroleum products which are rich in both carbon and hydrogen. These products provide a large range of fuels and lubricants. The third group is natural gasses from petroleum deposits, the butane gasses, and coke gas. Liquids include gasoline (or Petrol). The physical state allows them to be used directly in spark-ignition engines.
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December 2006
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The United States: US Dept. of Energy
Hydrogen Posture Plan, An Integrated Research, Development, and Demonstration Plan Dec 2006.
FY 07 Budget: 289,497,000
The Hydrogen program mission is to research, develop, and validate technologies for producing, storing, delivering, and using Hydrogen in an efficient, clean, safe and affordable manner.
With a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles. So that the first car drive by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free. Join me in this important innovation to make our air significantly cleaner, our country less dependent on foreign sources of energy. President George Bush State of Union Address Jan 28, 2003
A transition to hydrogen as a major fuel in the next 50 years could fundamentally transform the US Energy System, creating opportunities, to increase energy security through the use of a variety of domestic energy resources for hydrogen production, while reducing environmental impacts, including CO2 emissions and criteria pollutants.
Imaging the Hydrogen energy economy is easy enough for visionaries and dreamers, but ultimately it doesn’t happen unless scientists and engineers overcome technical obstacles, entrepreneurs take risks, corporate boards commit capital, and consumers choose. What is remarkable about our effort is that the visionaries and pragmatists are working together, in close partnership, to make the hydrogen economy a reality. David K Garman, Under Secretary, US DOE May 23, 2005
Energy is the life-blood our nation. It is the mainstay or our standard of living, economy, and national security. Clean forms of energy are needed to support sustainable global economic growth while mitigating impacts on air quality and potential effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Our growing dependence on foreign sources of energy threatens our national security. As a Nation, we must reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy in a manner that is affordable and preserves environmental quality.
Link: http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/hydrogen_posture_plan_dec06.pdf
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