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DOE National Laboratory Releases Annual Accomplishments Report

NETL Highlights Research Successes of the Past Year and Century

Energy research and technology development achievements, including advances in clean fossil-based systems with carbon capture and storage (CCS), are highlighted in the just-released National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) 2009 Accomplishments report.

This year’s report, which details research and development (R&D) projects and activities by the laboratory and its partners, also tells the story of the laboratory’s research over the past century, in commemoration of NETL’s 100th anniversary.  In addition to coal and CCS-related research, the report notes R&D progress in developing “exciting domestic resources,” such as methane hydrates, and “enhancing the efficiency, reliability and economics of renewable, wind, solar, and biomass-based systems.”

NETL, known as “the ENERGY lab,” is the research arm of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.  The 2009 report is organized by the laboratory’s major research areas — advanced power systems, clean energy, and reliable supply — and provides insight into the direction in which the energy frontier is moving. The report also features NETL patents received, technologies transferred, articles written, and awards accepted, demonstrating another successful year of energy research accomplishments.

The report notes NETL’s mission is to advance “energy options to fuel our economy, strengthen our security, and improve our environment.”  Consequently, the lab’s scientists and engineers are focused on answering America’s most pressing energy challenges and pursuing ways to help the nation maintain abundant, environmentally friendly, and secure energy resources. R&D successes are the result of extensive onsite and contracted research, as well as collaborations with other national laboratories, government agencies, industry, academia, and international research organizations.

“Since the founding of its first predecessor laboratory in 1910, NETL has implemented a broad spectrum of complementary energy and environmental research to satisfy the energy needs of yesterday, today, and those of generations to come,” said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy James J. Markowsky. “Its research and technology development programs are vital in supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.” 

Video of interest: The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Research Support Facility (RSF) on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is positioned to be one of the most energy efficient buildings in the world. It will demonstrate NREL’s role in moving advanced technologies and transferring knowledge into commercial applications. Because 19 percent of the country’s energy is used by commercial buildings, DOE plans to make this facility a showcase for energy efficiency. DOE hopes the design of the RSF will be replicated by the building industry and help reduce the nation’s energy consumption by changing the way commercial buildings are designed and built.

Secretary Chu Announces U.S. Centers for U.S.-China Clean Energy Research

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that two consortia – one led by the University of Michigan and one led by the West Virginia University – will receive a total of $25 million over the next five years under the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). The funding will be matched by the grantees to provide at least $50 million in total U.S. funding and will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by the United States and China. Chinese counterparts will contribute an additional $50 million, with combined funding from both countries totaling $100 million. The University of Michigan’s award will advance technologies for clean vehicles, while West Virginia University will use its funding to focus on the next generation of clean coal technologies, including carbon capture and storage. 

“The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center will help accelerate the development and deployment of clean vehicle and clean coal technologies here at home,” said Secretary Chu. “This new partnership will also create new export opportunities for American companies, ensure the United States remains at the forefront of technology innovation, and help to reduce global carbon pollution.” 

President Obama and President Hu Jintao formally announced the establishment of the CERC during the President’s trip to Beijing last November. At the time, Secretary Chu joined Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang and Chinese National Energy Administrator Zhang Guobao to sign the protocol launching the Center. As the world’s top energy consumers, energy producers and greenhouse gas emitters, the U.S. and China will play central roles in the world’s transition to a clean energy economy in the years ahead. 

Details of the two winning consortia are as follows: 

Clean Coal: The West Virginia University will lead a consortium that includes the University of Wyoming, University of Kentucky, Indiana University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, World Resources Institute, U.S.-China Clean Energy Forum, General Electric, Duke Energy, LP Amina, Babcock & Wilcox and American Electric Power. The consortium will develop and test new technologies for carbon capture and sequestration.

Clean Vehicles: The University of Michigan will lead a consortium that includes Ohio State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sandia National Laboratories, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, Cummins, Fraunhofer, MAGNET, A123, American Electric Power, First Energy and the Transportation Research Center. The consortium will focus on vehicle electrification.

The $25 million in U.S. government funding will be used to support work conducted by U.S. institutions and individuals only. Chinese partners will be announced in the coming months by the Chinese government. 

The announcement of another $12.5 million to a third winning consortium focused on building energy efficiency will be made this fall.

Projects To Develop Novel Monitoring Networks for Advanced Power Systems Selected

Five projects that will develop technologically sophisticated monitoring networks for advanced fossil energy power systems have been selected for continued research by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The projects will support efforts by the Office of Fossil Energy’s (FE) Advanced Research—Coal Utilization Science (CUS) Program to study novel approaches in model development and validation; monitoring refractory health; and wireless, self-powered sensors for advanced, next-generation power systems. They will monitor the status of equipment, materials degradation, and process conditions that impact the overall health of a component or system in the harsh high-temperature, highly corrosive environments of advanced power plants.

Fossil fuel power plants generate about two-thirds of the world’s total electricity and are expected to continue to play an important role in the years ahead.  Increasing global energy demands, coupled with the issues of aging, inefficient power plants and increasingly strict emission requirements will require high levels of performance, capacity, efficiency, and environmental controls from future generation facilities.

Advanced condition-monitoring networks will play an essential role in helping meet these challenges by helping enhance the overall reliability, performance optimization, and availability of emerging near-zero emissions power production systems.

The selected projects represent a total investment of $6.5 million, with nearly $5 million from DOE and the remaining $1.5 million in cost share provided by the recipients. FE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the research.

A description of the projects follows:

• Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Texas)—Using an innovative two-tier framework, the proposed research will establish a comprehensive methodology to determine the type, location, and number of sensors required for component condition monitoring and fault diagnosis in fossil energy systems. Algorithms will be developed and tested on a pressure-driven, plant-wide dynamic model of a coal-based integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant, and a distributed gasifier model will be used to test sensor placement for unit level condition monitoring. The result will be an integrated model-based algorithm for sensor placement in an IGCC plant that is robust and validated with a nonlinear plant-wide dynamic model. (DOE share: $757,992; recipient share: $223,821; duration: 36 months)
• General Electric Company (Niskayuna, N.Y.)—Technology development for this project will include (1) enhancing available gasifier and radiant syngas cooler (RSC) models to include refractory hot surface degradation and RSC fouling and their impact on sensors; (2) implementing a nonlinear, model-based estimation algorithm to monitor the refractory condition and RSC fouling; and (3) nonlinear optimizing for optimal sensor placement (OSP) to achieve condition monitoring requirements in the presence of practical constraints on sensor types and locations. The performance of the OSP algorithm and resulting condition monitoring solution will be demonstrated using representative test cases for gasifier refractory degradation and RSC fouling. The approach will be applicable to condition monitoring of other critical components in coal-fired power plants. (DOE share: $956,714; recipient share: $239,180; duration: 24 months)
• West Virginia University Research Corporation (Morgantown, W.Va.)—The overall project objective is to develop in-situ corrosion monitoring sensors for ultra-supercritical (USC) boiler tubes. The four-fold research plan includes the following: (1) extending the patent-pending technology developed on monitoring hardware corrosion in liquid metal baths to devise high-temperature electrochemical sensors to monitor corrosion of USC boiler tubes; (2) constructing electrochemical models of the corrosion system to develop predictive capabilities relevant to materials corrosion real-life performance; (3) developing thermal-electric-based energy harvesting and telecommunication devices for the self-powered wireless ready sensor system; and (4) testing the sensor systems at the Western Research Institute combustion testing facility. (DOE share: $908,714; recipient share: $267,113; duration: 36 months)
• Siemens Energy, Inc. (Orlando, Fla.)—This project will result in a sensor suite that combines fast area sensors with point sensors to enable a real-time, high-accuracy, remote monitoring of rotating turbomachinery. Wireless Smart Turbine Components will be installed and the data integrated with the remaining useful life models and Siemens’ Power Diagnostics® engine monitoring program. At program’s end, the Smart Turbine Components will have performed in an H-Class engine test and be ready for implementation in a condition-based assessment and maintenance system. (DOE share: $1,196,878; recipient share: $488,868; duration: 36 months) 
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Va.)—A high-temperature distributed sensing platform capable of monitoring the space- and time-varying thermal properties of an entrained flow gasifier refractory wall will be developed at the Virginia Tech Center for Photonics Technology. The sensor will operate using optically-generated transient, traveling long-period gratings in a photonic crystal optical fiber to achieve fully distributed measurement of temperatures above 1000ºC with centimeter-level spatial resolution. Virginia Tech will work with Eastman Chemical Co. to develop a baseline requirement matrix for refractory health monitoring. The team will design and build a laboratory-scale, double-layer refractory furnace to demonstrate the distributed measurement of high temperatures between the two layers of refractory and prove the sensor’s capability to accurately detect hot spots. (DOE share: $1,167,164; recipient share: $292,978; duration: 36 months)

NETL’s Advanced Research Program pursues projects in several key areas of relevance and potential benefit to technologically innovative coal and power systems.  The program has an extensive national reach, currently involving some 130 organizations from industry, academia, non-profit organizations, and other U.S. national laboratories.

EIA’s August 2010 data on energy production, consumption, stocks, trade, and prices

For you number crunchers it’s that time again!

Summary data on energy production, consumption, stocks, trade, and prices

 

The August 2010 Monthly Energy Review (MER), EIA’s primary report of recent energy statistics, was released on August 31, 2010 . Preliminary data indicate the following changes in the first 5 months of 2010 compared with the first 5 months of 2009:

 

·            U.S. primary energy consumption rose by 2%, due primarily to increases in the consumption of coal, natural gas, and biomass.  Total energy consumed by the industrial sector increased by 7%.

 

·            U.S. energy imports decreased by 3%, due primarily to a decrease in the imports of crude oil and petroleum products; U.S. energy exports increased by 18%, due primarily to an increase in coal and petroleum product exports.

 

·            Carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption rose by 2%, due primarily to an increase in the consumption of coal and natural gas.

 

The MER provides monthly and annual data on total energy production, consumption, and trade; energy prices; overviews of petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, renewable energy, and international petroleum; carbon dioxide emissions; and data unit conversions. See What’s New in the MER for a record of changes.

RMOTC Symposium Presentations Now Available for Download

Presentations from RMOTC’s Geothermal in the Oil Field symposium held last month are now available  on the RMOTC website.  About 100 people attended the  two-day event which included a field tour of geologic  formations near Casper, Wyoming, and a trip to RMOTC’s  field test site, NPR-3, to check out current low-  temperature geothermal applications in the oil field.   

Presentations from Day 2 are available for download here:
http://www.rmotc.doe.gov/symposium.html.

Sandia National Laboratories helping to safeguard world’s dangerous biological agents

Safeguarding the world’s most dangerous biological agents has been a top priority for a dedicated group of Sandia scientists for more than a decade, and now, this team is training laboratory leaders from around the world to secure deadly agents such as anthrax and HIV from accidental or intentional misuse.

This year, Sandia’s International Biological Threat Reduction (IBTR) co-developed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Biorisk Management Advanced Trainer Course (BRM ATC) which will be executed in each of the WHO’s six regions: Eastern Mediterranean, the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Western Pacific. The team conducted sessions in Amman, Jordan, and Quito, Ecuador, starting in April, and will present additional courses in Stockholm, Sweden, the Maldives, Nairobi, Kenya, and possibly Bangkok, Thailand, by December.

The courses are in line with Sandia’s efforts to ensure that potentially dangerous agents are not accidentally released or do not fall into the wrong hands. The need for such work was readily apparent after the 2001 anthrax attacks on the U.S., coming sharp on the heels of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Until that time, most Americans had never considered the nation’s vulnerability to a bioattack. But more than a year before the anthrax attacks, Sandia scientists had formed a small team to look at ways to prevent and contain such threats, which eventually became IBTR.

In the past 10 years, the international community has taken an increased interest in mitigating risks related to the growing fields of biosciences and biotechnology. In response, WHO strengthened its work in laboratory biosafety, biosecurity, infection prevention and control. Sandia contributed to the revision of WHO’s Laboratory Biosafety Manual in 2004 and to the development of a biosecurity supplement in 2006. Additionally, in 2008, the European Committee for Standardization published a workshop agreement, which IBTR staff helped create, that focuses on standardizing biorisk management in labs worldwide; this international standard motivated the development of the current WHO training courses.

Sandia’s team continues to be a leader in the fight against accidental and intentional misuse of infectious diseases, and IBTR reaches into many countries worldwide with additional prevention and outreach efforts. Raising awareness, engaging scientists and providing educational outreach and technical support for foreign laboratories are critical to advancing U.S. national security interests. To meet that need, Sandia’s IBTR executes laboratory risk assessments, implements risk management programs and conducts many different technical training programs both at home and abroad, including courses with WHO. IBTR is seeing increased participation as more labs handle potentially dangerous agents.

“In the 10 years since Sandia’s team was founded, laboratory biosafety and biosecurity has become a particularly vibrant field.  The international community recognizes that safeguarding work with high-risk pathogens is critical to both public and agricultural health and international security,” said Ren Salerno, founder of Sandia’s IBTR. “Today, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of labs around the world that work with high-risk pathogens, and lab leaders are increasingly committed to taking the proper precautions to prevent those agents from accidentally harming lab workers, being released into the environment or being misused by someone who intends to cause harm.”

Sandia’s IBTR works across all of the December 2009, National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats’ seven objectives: “promote global health security; reinforce norms of safe and responsible conduct; obtain timely and accurate insight on current and emerging risks; take reasonable steps to reduce the potential for exploitation; expand capabilities to prevent, attribute, and apprehend; communicate effectively with all stakeholders; and transform the international dialogue on biological threats.” Four of those objectives are within IBTR’s core mission.

“This program engages scientists worldwide who handle dangerous pathogens and helps them meet best practices of safety and security,” said Jen Gaudioso, the program’s acting manager. “To meet that objective, we also work on disease surveillance, molecular diagnostics and various analytical work for the U.S. government to inform policy.”

To accomplish its wide-ranging goals, the IBTR has attracted people with diverse backgrounds, including physical security, computer science, biology, microbiology, physiology, veterinary medicine and chemistry. Sharing that knowledge and insight with other labs is critical, but the WHO courses emphasize providing participants with the tools needed to assess and mitigate risks based on their work and their labs. This is a departure from traditional risk-mitigation practices, which relied on a standard set of guidelines based on what agents were studied in the lab.

“We’re really trying to add an intellectual framework to these guidelines,” Salerno said. “Current guidelines can mean different things to different people, and if lab leaders lack the ability to understand why some of these guidance statements have been made, the risks of accidental or intentional misuse increases. With this new approach, much more responsibility is placed on the individual labs and their managers. They’re no longer just following a checklist. I’m confident that courses such as these, combined with other outreach efforts like the many we already offer, will continue to bolster safety and security in labs worldwide.”

Many Urban Streams Harmful to Aquatic Life Following Winter Pavement Deicing

The use of salt to deice pavement can leave urban streams toxic to aquatic life, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study on the influence of winter runoff in northern U.S. cities, with a special focus on eastern Wisconsin and Milwaukee.

More than half of the Milwaukee streams included in this study had samples that were toxic during winter deicing. In eastern and southern Wisconsin, all streams studied had potentially toxic chloride concentrations during winter, with lingering effects into the summer at some streams. Nationally, samples from fifty-five percent of streams studied in 13 northern cities were potentially toxic; twenty-five percent of the streams had samples that exceeded acute water quality criteria.  

Toxicity was measured by direct testing of organisms in samples during the local study component; in the regional and the national study components, observed chloride levels were used to assess potential toxicity.

“While winter driving and walking safety are the priority in treating pavements, this study suggests the need for advancements that will reduce salt loads to surface waters without compromising safety,” said Matthew C. Larsen, USGS Associate Director for Water.

“We expected to see elevated chloride levels in streams near northern cities during the winter months,” said Steve Corsi of the USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center. “The surprise was the number of streams exceeding toxic levels and how high the concentrations were,” said Corsi, who led the study.

“This study shows that chloride contamination of urban streams is a problem in many places; it’s not just a Milwaukee problem,” said Corsi.

While road deicing accounts for a significant portion of salt applications, it is not the only source. Salt is also used by many public and private organizations and individuals to deice parking lots, walkways and driveways.

Key Findings:

Nationally: During the winter, samples from fifty-five percent of northern streams in this study had chloride levels that exceeded USEPA chronic water-quality criteria, indicating potential toxicity.  Samples from twenty-five percent of the streams exceeded acute water-quality criteria.

Regionally: In eastern and south-central Wisconsin, potential toxicity was found during winter at all urban streams studied, with lingering effects at some streams in the summer.

• During winter, 100 percent of the streams monitored had chloride levels that exceeded the USEPA chronic water quality criteria with fifty-five percent of samples exceeding acute water quality criteria.  
• Chloride levels higher than 10,000 milligrams per liter were observed at times during winter deicing periods—much greater than the chronic water-quality criteria of 230 milligrams per liter and the acute criteria of 860 milligrams per liter.
• Chloride levels increased as urbanization percentage in the watershed increased.

Locally:  In Milwaukee, more than half of the samples collected from streams during winter deicing periods were toxic.

• Samples from seven of 13 streams collected during 2007 deicing periods were toxic in bioassay tests.
• Chloride levels in 12 out of these 13 streams exceeded USEPA chronic water quality criteria; eight of 13 exceeded acute criteria.
• In long-term testing of one Milwaukee stream between 1997 and 2008, seventy-two percent of 38 samples collected during the winter were toxic in bioassay tests.

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene co-authored this study and did the bioassay testing involved. Additionally, this study was conducted in cooperation with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and General Mitchell International Airport.

Other major sources of salt to U.S. waters include wastewater treatment, septic systems, farming operations, and natural sources from geologic deposits. These sources may contribute to chloride levels at individual streams in this study, but the geographic, land-use, and seasonal patterns observed in this study suggest deicing activities as the dominant source. This conclusion is also supported by a USGS study published in 2009 on chloride in groundwater and surface water in the northern U.S.

This USGS report is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology and is available as a free download online.

 

Two Million Smart Grid Meters Installed Nationwide, new milestone, Anounces Chu

Over 180,000 in Ohio Will Help Consumers Save Money, Reduce Their Energy Use

At an event today at Battelle headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that two million smart grid meters have been installed acrosss the country, helping to reduce energy costs for families and businesses. As a result of funding from the Recovery Act, smart grid technology is speeding the modernization of the nation’s electrical grid, helping to reduce the amount of time needed to respond to energy distruptions and enable consumers to monitor their energy consumption and costs.  So far, more than 180,000 smart meters have been installed in Ohio.

“As a result of an unprecedented investment from the Recovery Act, smart meters are being installed in Ohio and across the country to create a more reliable, modern electrical grid and give consumers the ability to monitor and control their energy use,” said Secretary Chu. “Smart Grid technologies will give consumers choice and promote energy savings, increase energy efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy resources.”

An analysis by the Electric Power Research Institute estimates that the implementation of smart grid technologies could reduce electricity use by more than 4 percent annually by 2030. That would mean a savings of $20.4 billion for businesses and consumers around the country each year, and more than $700 million for Ohio alone — or $61 in annual utility savings for every man, woman and child in Ohio.

Battelle is collaborating with American Electric Power (AEP) on the Ohio gridSMART demonstration project to upgrade the electric grid in northeast central Ohio. At Battelle, Secretary Chu toured the smart grid technology suite and saw firsthand how Battelle energy technology experts are translating basic and applied energy R&D into innovative commercial solutions, products, and services for the nation’s electric grid. These efforts will improve grid reliability, increase grid efficiency, lower consumer energy consumption and costs, reduce peak demand, and significantly reduce carbon emissions.

State Dept funds Peace Corps energy/climate efforts

In support of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), the Department of State will provide $1 million to fund Peace Corps volunteer efforts that increase rural access to energy, mitigate the effects of climate change, and support the use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies in Central and South American communities.

“I am pleased that the Peace Corps will play an active role in ECPA,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. “Peace Corps volunteers have been innovators at the grassroots level for nearly 50 years. This agreement will provide the support for our volunteers to work with international experts and local organizations, businesses, and community members on the ground to create efficient and green solutions to energy challenges in the Americas.”

Under the partnership, Peace Corps volunteers will work with members of local communities to build infrastructure to support environmentally-friendly energy and educate communities on climate change and energy conservation. Volunteers will train host-country citizens to install, operate, and maintain energy-efficient technology including the use of alternative fuels, biodigesters, solar water heaters, photovoltaic devices, solar and fuel-efficient stoves, and wind or mini hydroelectric power generation. These efforts will make clean energy more accessible to rural communities, reduce carbon emissions, improve public health, and provide opportunities for individuals and small businesses to generate income.

In April 2009, at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, President Obama invited all countries in the Western Hemisphere to join ECPA to promote collaboration on renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fossil fuels, and energy poverty. Peace Corps’ initial ECPA-related efforts will be implemented in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Suriname.

As Peace Corps approaches its 50th anniversary, its service legacy continues to promote peace and friendship around the world with 7,671 volunteers serving in 77 host countries. Historically, nearly 200,000 Americans have served with the Peace Corps to promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of 139 host countries.

Source: IAP

Biomass use & associated health burden of indoor air pollution in Pakistan

Situational analysis of household energy and biomass use and associated health burden of indoor air pollution and mitigation efforts in pakistan.

Video of interest:Organizations around the world are contributing their resources and expertise to reduce smoke exposure from cooking and heating practices in households around the world. This video, shown for the first time at the 2009 PCIA Forum, provides an overview of the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) and explores the efforts and commitment of PCIA Partners to address this important issue.

Biomass fuel burning leads to high levels of suspended particulate matter and hazardous chemicals in the indoor environment in countries where it is in common use, contributing significantly to indoor air pollution (IAP). A situational analysis of household energy and biomass use and associated health effects of IAP was conducted by reviewing published and un-published literature about the situation in Pakistan. In addition to attempt to quantify the burden of ill health due to IAP, this paper also appraises the mitigation measures undertaken to avert the problem in Pakistan. Unfortunately, IAP is still not a recognized environmental hazard in Pakistan and there are no policies and standards to control it at the household level. Only a few original studies related to health effects of IAP have been conducted, mainly on women’s health and birth outcome, and only a few governmental, non-governmental and academic institutions are working to improve the IAP situation by introducing improved stoves and renewable energy technology at a small scale. Control of IAP health hazards in Pakistan requires an initial meeting of the stakeholders to define a policy and an action agenda. Simultaneously, studies gathering evidence of impact of intervention through available technologies such as improved stoves would have favorable impact on the health, especially of women and children in Pakistan.

Division of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi, Pakistan. Situational Analysis of Household Energy and Biomass Use and Associated Health Burden of Indoor Air Pollution and Mitigation Efforts in Pakistan (pdf)  Authors:   Fatmi Z, Rahman A, Kazi A, Kadir MM, Sathiakumar N

Sources: PCIA and IAP

Options for Energy Efficiency in India and Barriers to Their Adoption

Options for Energy Efficiency in India and Barriers to Their Adoption: A Scoping Study, 2010.

In this report Soma Bhattacharya and Maureen L. Cropper review the economics literature on energy efficiency in India , as a guide for further research in the area.

 The empirical literature has focused on four questions:

•  How does energy efficiency in India compare with energy efficiency in other countries?
•  What would be the energy savings (and cost savings) from adopting certain energy-efficient technologies?
•  Why are these technologies being—or not being—adopted?
•  What policies should be implemented to encourage their adoption?

 Most of the literature focuses on answers to the first two questions. Studies are needed that quantify factors affecting the rate of diffusion of energy-efficient technologies and rigorously evaluate reforms implemented by the Government of India, beginning in the 1990s, that could affect energy efficiency.

Summary data on energy production, consumption, imports, and exports

For you number crunchers!

The Annual Energy Review 2009 (AER), released on August 19, 2010, provides EIA’s most comprehensive look at integrated energy statistics. Summary statistics from the report indicate the following:

·           In 2009, U.S. primary energy production fell 0.6 percent to 73.0 quadrillion Btu, down from the record high of 73.4 quadrillion Btu the previous year.

·           U.S. renewable energy production reached 8 quadrillion Btu in 2009, with wind energy registering the largest year-to-year percentage increase among renewable sources.

·           U.S. primary energy consumption fell to 95 quadrillion Btu in 2009, down from the all-time high of 102 quadrillion Btu in 2007 and 5 percent below the 2008 level.

·           From 2008 to 2009, U.S. energy net imports fell 12 percent to 23 quadrillion Btu; petroleum net imports totaled 21 quadrillion Btu.

·           U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption fell 7 percent from 2008 to 2009, due primarily to a decrease in consumption of coal and petroleum.

The Annual Energy Review 2009 covers all major energy sources and all energy-consuming sectors of the U.S. economy from 1949 through 2009.  Key long-term trends are graphically illustrated in the introductory section “Energy Perspectives.” See the full report, in pdf, html, and Excel formats, at http://www.eia.gov/aer/contents.html.

Use of Successful Decontamination Technology Expanded at Savannah River Site, Accelerates Cleanup

 High Heat Removes Tritium from Contaminated D-Area Soil and Concrete

After a successful pilot project, DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS) will expand the use of new decontamination technology funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The process will rid soil and concrete debris of tritium contamination, and help the site meet its Recovery Act cleanup goals years ahead of schedule.

 ”This new technology will continue to be utilized in D Area at SRS and possibly other DOE sites with similar cleanup challenges, resulting in additional cost savings from transportation and disposal of contaminated soils and concrete,” said Diana Hannah, SRS D-Area Federal Project Director.

Pilot testing of the process to remove tritium using a high heat source, called a “thermal detritiation unit,” was successfully completed at the Site’s D Area on June 24, 2010. Installation of three new units is underway and will be completed in October by Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc., an environmental services contractor with an office in Aiken. The pilot unit treated 100 cubic yards at a time, while the three new units will each be able to treat 200-cubic-yards at a time. Together, the four units will treat a total of 3,500 cubic yards of contaminated concrete and soils, which can then be returned to D-Area excavation sites rather than being sent offsite for disposal, reducing transportation and disposal costs and accelerating cleanup. The contaminated soil and concrete resulted from heavy water production in D Area

from the 1950s to the 1990s. “Spills were well-documented during that period,” said Tom Kmetz, the SRNS project manager overseeing the detritiation unit.

“Those spills resulted in contamination on concrete pads and eventually into the soil that has leached into the groundwater at the Site. With an expected completion date of September 2011, the cleanup will occur six years ahead of schedule, thanks to Recovery Act funding.”

Each Thermal Detritiation Unit is a concrete block structure with a tin roof, housing an array of commercial heating elements at its base. The detritiation process begins when contaminated concrete and soil excavated from D-Area locations are loaded into the unit. The soil is then heated to a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit and concrete is heated to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit in order to evaporate the water. Once the target temperatures are reached, they are maintained for about a week.

During the heating process, the tritium is released into the atmosphere at negligible levels and is monitored within the Site’s air permits. Once the material is allowed to cool, the roof is removed, and hand augers are used to obtain samples to confirm that the tritium has been effectively removed. The treated soil then is returned to the excavation site. The treated concrete, now without moisture, is brittle enough to be hand-crumbled into fine powder and returned to the excavation site with the treated soil. “The D-Area Thermal Detritiation Unit is a prime example of using emerging technology to take care of half-century old problems.

 Through Site resources, this process was identified and determined to be the best solution to rid D Area soils and concrete debris of tritium contamination,” said Garry Flowers, SRNS president and chief executive officer.

 Additional information on the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and the Savannah River Site can be found at http://www.em.doe.gov  or http://www.srs.gov.  For more information about the SRS Recovery Act Project, please visit www.srs.gov/recovery and for more information about awarded contracts, please see www.srs.gov/recovery/procurement-contracts.

U.S. DOE Awards Cleanup Contract for Portsmouth Decontamination and Decommissioning

$2 billion over 10 years to create new jobs, reduce environmental risks

Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Energy announced  that it has selected a contractor for the next phase of the cleanup at the Portsmouth site in south-central Ohio. Fluor-B&W Portsmouth LLC will be the prime contractor for the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (GDP). The project and the new contract will save and create jobs locally, building on the job creation that has resulted from the Department’s cleanup efforts to date. The contract is valued at $2,079,800,451 over 10 years, which includes an initial five-year contract period plus a potential five-year extension depending on contractor performance and the government’s need. More than 30 percent of the total project value is expected to support work by small businesses.

“This new contract will allow the Department of Energy to continue accelerating our cleanup efforts in southern Ohio, adding good jobs to the local workforce while reducing the environmental risks to the American people. This project is an important part of our nationwide cleanup of the nuclear sites from the Cold War,” said DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Inés Triay.

Fluor–B&W Portsmouth is a joint venture led by Fluor Federal Services, Inc., and Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Group, Inc. The company will take over the cleanup operations at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Work will include decontaminating and demolishing the three massive process facilities at the site – X-333, X-330, and X-326 – along with cleaning up and remediating contaminated soils and groundwater.

The company also identified a number of major subcontractors for the project, including Professional Project Services, Inc. (Pro2Serve), Innovative Solutions, Inc., and Wastren Advantage, Inc.

The DOE Portsmouth GDP is located near Piketon, in south central Ohio. The Portsmouth GDP is a 3,778-acre federal reservation that was built in the early 1950s as part of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex and enriched uranium from 1954 until 2001. Limited cleanup activities at the site have been underway since the 1990s, but this is the first contract at Portsmouth that includes decontamination and decommissioning of

the three massive uranium enrichment process buildings. The buildings each have a “footprint” of over 30 acres and they contain thousands of “stages” of uranium enrichment equipment.

The Department of Energy is responsible for cleaning up the nation’s gaseous diffusion buildings in accordance with the US Energy Policy Act of 1992. These cleanup efforts are part of the largest nuclear environmental cleanup project in the world. After five decades of nuclear weapons production, the Cold War left 1.5 million cubic meters of solid waste and 88 million gallons of liquid waste that will require treatment and permanent safe storage. In addition to the decontamination of soil and groundwater at these sites, thousands of buildings and structures must be decontaminated and demolished.

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