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The Cast Metal Coalition, composed of more than 22 research providers and universities and 149 industrial partners, has completed a four-year research and development partnership with the Department of Energy. This report provides brief summaries of the 29 projects performed by the Coalition. These projects generated valuable information in such aspects of the metals industry as process prediction technologies, quality control, improved alloys, product machinability, and casting process improvements.

The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe applied for first step funding in 2007 and was awarded in October of that year. We wanted to perform an audit to begin fulfilling two commitments we made to our membership and resolutions that we adopted. One was the Kyoto Protocol and reduce our carbon emissions by 25% and to produce 25% of our energy by sustainable means. To complete these goals we needed to begin with first assessing what our carbon emissions are and begin taking the steps to conserve on the energy we currently use. The First Step Grant gave us the opportunity to do this. Upon funding the Energy Project was formed under the umbrella of the LCO Public Works Department and Denise Johnson was hired as the coordinator. She quickly began fulfilling the objectives of the project. Denise began by contact the LCO College and hiring interns who were able to go to each Tribal entity and perform line logging to read and document the energy used for each electrical appliance. Data was also gathered for one full year from each entity for all their utility bills (gasoline, electric, natural gas, fuel oil, etc.). Relationships were formed with the Green Team and other Green Committees in the area that could assist us in this undertaking. The Energy Task Force was of great assistance as well recommending other committees and guidance to completing our project. The data was gathered, compiled and placed into spreadsheets that would be understandable for anyone who didn't have a background in Renewable Resources. While gathering the data Denise was also looking for ways to conserve energy usage, policies changes to implement and any possible viable renewable energy resources. Changes in the social behaviors of our members and employees will require further education by workshops, energy fairs, etc.. This will be looked into and done in coordination with our schools. The renewable resources seem most feasible are wind resources as well as Bio Mass both of which need further assessment and funding to do so will be sought. While we already are in ownership of a Hydro Dam it is currently not functioning to its full capacity we are seeking operation and maintenance firm proposals and funding sources. One of our biggest accomplishment this project gave us was our total Carbon Emissions 9989.45 tons, this will be the number that we will use to base our reductions from. It will help us achieve our goals we have set for ourselves in achieving the Kyoto Protocol and saving our Earth for our future generations. Another major accomplishment and lesson learned is we need to educate ourselves and our people on how to conserve energy to both impact the environment and our own budgets. The Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Energy Analysis Project will perform an energy audit to gather information on the Tribe's energy usage and determine the carbon emissions. By performing the audit we will be able to identify areas where conservation efforts are most viable and recommend policies that can be implemented. These steps will enable LCO to begin achieving the goals that have been set by the Tribal Governing Board and adopted through resolutions. The goals are to reduce emissions by 25% and to produce 25% of its energy using sustainable sources. The project objectives were very definitive to assist the Tribe in achieving its goals; reducing carbon emissions and obtaining a sustainable source of energy. The following were the outlined objectives: (1) Coordinate LCO's current and future conservation and renewable energy projects; (2) Establish working relationships with outside entities to share information and collaborate on future projects; (3) Complete energy audit and analyze LCO's energy load and carbon emissions; (4) Identify policy changes, education programs and conservation efforts which are appropriate for the LCO Reservation; and (5) Create a plan to identify the most cost effective renewable energy options for LCO.

The Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee established a goal that biomass will supply 5% of the nation’s power, 20% of its transportation fuels, and 25% of its chemicals by 2030. These combined goals are approximately equivalent to 30% of the country’s current petroleum consumption. The benefits of a robust biorefinery industry supplying this amount of domestically produced power, fuels, and products are considerable, including decreased demand for imported oil, revenue to the depressed agricultural industry, and revitalized rural economies. A consistent supply of highquality, low-cost feedstock is vital to achieving this goal. This biomass roadmap defines the research and development (R&D) path to supplying the feedstock needs of the biorefinery and to achieving the important national goals set for biomass. To meet these goals, the biorefinery industry must be more sustainable than the systems it will replace. Sustainability hinges on the economic profitability of all participants, on environmental impact of every step in the process, and on social impact of the product and its production. In early 2003, a series of colloquies were held to define and prioritize the R&D needs for supplying feedstock to the biorefinery in a sustainable manner. These colloquies involved participants and stakeholders inmore » the feedstock supply chain, including growers, transporters, equipment manufacturers, and processors as well as environmental groups and others with a vested interest in ensuring the sustainability of the biorefinery. From this series of colloquies, four high-level strategic goals were set for the feedstock area: • Biomass Availability – By 2030, 1 billion dry tons of lignocellulosic feedstock is needed annually to achieve the power, fuel, and chemical production goals set by the Biomass Research and Development Technology Advisory Production Committee • Sustainability – Production and use of the 1 billion dry tons annually must be accomplished in a sustainable manner • Feedstock Infrastructure – An integrated feedstock supply system must be developed and implemented that can serve the feedstock needs of the biorefinery at the cost, quality, and consistency of the set targets • System Profitability – Economic profitability and sustainability need to be ensured for all required participants in the feedstock supply system. For each step in the biomass supply process—production, harvesting and collection, storage, preprocessing, system integration, and transportation—this roadmap addresses the current technical situations, performance targets, technical barriers, R&D needs, and R&D priorities to overcome technical barriers and achieve performance targets. Crop residue biomass is an attractive starting feedstock, which shows the best near-term promise as a biorefinery feedstock. Because crop residue is a by-product of grain production, it is an abundant, underutilized, and low cost biomass resource. Corn stover and cereal straw are the two most abundant crop residues available in the United States. Therefore, this roadmap focuses primarily on the R&D needed for using these biomass sources as viable biorefinery feedstocks. However, achieving the goal of 1 billion dry tons of lignocellulosic feedstock will require the use of other biomass sources such as dedicated energy crops. In the long term, the R&D needs identified in this roadmap will need to accommodate these other sources of biomass as well.« less

Since 1998, The Pennsylvania State University successfully managed the Consortium for Premium Carbon Products from Coal (CPCPC), which was a vehicle for industry-driven research on the promotion, development, and transfer of innovative technologies on premium carbon products from coal to the U.S. industry. The CPCPC was an initiative led by Penn State, its cocharter member West Virginia University (WVU), and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), who also provided the base funding for the program, with Penn State responsible for consortium management. CPCPC began in 1998 under DOE Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-98FT40350. This agreement ended November 2004 but the CPCPC activity continued under cooperative agreement No. DE-FC26-03NT41874, which started October 1, 2003 and ended December 31, 2010. The objective of the second agreement was to continue the successful operation of the CPCPC. The CPCPC enjoyed tremendous success with its organizational structure, which included Penn State and WVU as charter members, numerous industrial affiliate members, and strategic university affiliate members together with NETL, forming a vibrant and creative team for innovative research in the area of transforming coal to carbon products. The key aspect of CPCPC was its industry-led council that selected proposals submitted by CPCPC members to ensure CPCPC target areas had strong industrial support. CPCPC had 58 member companies and universities engaged over the 7-year period of this contract. Members were from 17 states and five countries outside of the U.S. During this period, the CPCPC Executive Council selected 46 projects for funding. DOE/CPCPC provided $3.9 million in funding or an average of $564,000 per year. The total project costs were $5.45 million with $1.5 million, or {approx}28% of the total, provided by the members as cost share. Total average project size was $118,000 with $85,900 provided by DOE/CPCPC. In addition to the research, technology transfer/outreach was a large component of CPCPC's activities. Efficient technology transfer was critical for the deployment of new technologies into the field. CPCPC organized and hosted technology transfer meetings, tours, and tutorials, attended outreach conferences and workshops to represent CPCPC and attract new members, prepared and distributed reports and publications, and developed and maintained a Web site. The second contract ended December 31, 2010, and it is apparent that CPCPC positively impacted the carbon industry and coal research. Statistics and information were compiled to provide a comprehensive account of the impact the consortium had and the beneficial outcomes of many of the individual projects. Project fact sheet, success stories, and other project information were prepared. Two topical reports, a Synthesis report and a Web report, were prepared detailing this information.

The Solar Deployment System (SolarDS) model is a bottom-up, market penetration model that simulates the potential adoption of photovoltaics (PV) on residential and commercial rooftops in the continental United States through 2030. NREL developed SolarDS to examine the market competitiveness of PV based on regional solar resources, capital costs, electricity prices, utility rate structures, and federal and local incentives. The model uses the projected financial performance of PV systems to simulate PV adoption for building types and regions then aggregates adoption to state and national levels. The main components of SolarDS include a PV performance simulator, a PV annual revenue calculator, a PV financial performance calculator, a PV market share calculator, and a regional aggregator. The model simulates a variety of installed PV capacity for a range of user-specified input parameters. PV market penetration levels from 15 to 193 GW by 2030 were simulated in preliminary model runs. SolarDS results are primarily driven by three model assumptions: (1) future PV cost reductions, (2) the maximum PV market share assumed for systems with given financial performance, and (3) PV financing parameters and policy-driven assumptions, such as the possible future cost of carbon emissions.

Nanoparticles of certain materials can respond structurally to changes in their surface environments. We have previously shown that methanol, water adsorption, and aggregation−disaggregation can change the structure of 3 nm diameter zinc sulfide (ZnS). However, in prior observations of water-driven structure change, aggregation also may have taken place. Therefore, we investigated the structural consequences of water adsorption alone on anhydrous nanoparticles that were dried to minimize changes in aggregation. Using simultaneously collected small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) data, we showed that water vapor adsorption alone drives a structural transformation in ZnS nanoparticles in the temperature range of 22−40 °C. The transition kinetics is strongly temperature dependent, with an activation energy of 55 ± 10 kJ/mol, consistent with atom displacement rather than bond breaking. At 50 °C, aggregate restructuring occurred, increasing the transition kinetics beyond the rate expected for ...

This report summarizes information and numerical data describing the current and projected structure of the power industry in Hong Kong. Major economic trends are briefly analyzed by examining main indicators of the national economy and the current energy consumption and mix. Data and information provided describing the existing power industry structure include a discussion of energy policy, installed capacity, electricity generation and fuel consumption, transmission and distribution system capability, technology, electricity consumption, and electricity tariffs. Projections of Hong Kong`s power industry are made based on data provided, which includes peak load, gross generation, and electricity consumption by sector; installed capacity by fuel, and electricity generation by fuel and fuel consumption. 12 tabs.

In 1997, the US public and private sectors invested $205.7 billion in RD over the same period the federal government decreased its expenditures by 15% in real terms. Projections of outyear federal budgets indicate the federal government will continue to reduce its investments in R&D for the foreseeable future. Defense R&D continues to be the largest area of concentration for federal government's R&D investments, with defense R&D accounting for 54% of all federal R&D outlays in 1998. Defense R&D is funded at a level which is there times higher than health R&D. Health R&D has experienced the largest inflation-adjusted increases of any federal R&D program, up 21% in real terms since 1990. US national (i.e., public and private) investments in energy R&D currently stand at a 23-year low of $4.4 billion in 1996. Federal support for energy R&D has declined 22% in real terms between 1990 and 1996. Federal energy R&D investments are also undergoing changes in priority. Fossil energy R&D programs are at the beginning of a potentially significant change away from ''clean coal'' technology development programs and towards more fundamental research on ways to decarbonize fossil fuels and sequester carbon dioxide. The federal nuclear energy R&D program has restarted (at a modest level) research to develop new reactor concepts after many years of no federal research in this area. The United States has withdrawn from the ITER project, calling into question the viability of this international fusion energy program. Renewable energy and energy efficiency R&D programs continue to be the only consistent areas of growth in the federal energy R&D budget.

The solar energy industry experienced unprecedented growth in the eight years from 2000 to 2007, with explosive growth occurring in the latter half of this period. From 2004 to 2007, global private sector investment in solar energy increased by almost twenty-fold, marking a dramatic increase in the short span of four years. This paper examines the timing, magnitude, focus and location of various forms of investment in the solar energy sector. It analyzes their trends to provide an understanding of the growth of the solar industry during the past eight years and to identify emerging themes in this rapidly evolving industry.