The last time CleanTechnica checked in on ARPA-E, things did
not look so good for the Energy Department’s cutting-edge research
funding agency. ARPA-E helped accelerate the renewable energy revolution
during the Obama Administration, but President* Trump put it on the
chopping block for next year’s budget.
Fortunately it looks like the report of ARPA-E’s death
was an exaggeration. The agency has just announced that it is
soliciting new submissions for its OPEN “transformative” energy program.
If all goes well, OPEN will have a new round of $100 million to distribute among new projects next year.
$100 Million For Renewable Energy + Other Stuff…
The OPEN program seeks out transformational projects
that don’t exactly fit into other Energy Department programs, but do
complement other areas of research. The idea is to focus federal dollars
on projects that promise an outsized impact for a relatively modest
investment. The 2015 round of funding shot $125 million into 10 project areas, all having to do with renewable energy or energy efficiency:
…building efficiency, industrial
processes and waste heat, data management and communication, wind,
solar, tidal and distributed generation, grid scale storage, power
electronics, power grid system performance, vehicle efficiency, storage
for electric vehicles, and alternative fuels and bio-energy.
Don’t get too excited all at once. The energy efficiency angle
covers a lot of territory, so past rounds of OPEN have included a
healthy dose of fossil fuel projects. For example, the 2015 OPEN roster included projects aimed at
gasmobile engines, gas-powered electricity generation, and gas-to-liquid
fuel conversion.
On the other hand, the 2015 OPEN awardees list was also peppered with
renewable energy projects, including a cutting edge electrohydrodynamic
system for harvesting offshore wind energy by leveraging positively charged airborne water droplets, so there’s that.
Considering the Trump administration’s focus on fossil fuel development,
it’s possible that the 2018 OPEN round could shrink the representation
of renewables. The $25 million dip in funding ($100 million for 2018
compared to $125 million for the 2015 round) isn’t a particularly good
sign either.
Nevertheless, fingers crossed. Energy Secretary Rick Perry didn’t
signal any significant shift in focus in the funding solicitation
announcement for OPEN. He emphasized the Energy Department’s national
security mission and invited innovators to “show us the next
breakthrough in energy security.”
You could read just about anything into that statement, though if the US Department of Defense has any say in the matter of national security then things are looking good for renewable energy. The funding announcement also noted that the 2018 round will seek
innovations “across the full spectrum of energy applications.” The OPEN
web page further explains:
A broad variety of projects will be
welcomed, and examples include electricity generation by both renewable
and non-renewable means; electricity transmission, storage, and
distribution; energy efficiency for buildings, manufacturing and
commerce, and personal use; and all aspects of transportation, including
the production and distribution of both renewable and non-renewable
fuels, electrification, and transportation energy efficiency.
The deadline for submitting concept papers is February 12, 2018 so if you have any bright ideas send ’em in.
It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over
On a less positive note, even if OPEN is open for business, awardees
could have trouble squeezing their dollars out of the Energy Department. That’s what happened to another group of Energy Department projects
this year. During the first months of the Trump administration, the
Energy Department held back $91 million in funds already in the awards pipeline.
Fortunately, on December 12th, the federal General Accounting Office ruled that the withholding was illegal.
That finding may have spurred Energy Secretary Rick Perry to grease the
wheels for the new $100 million round, which was announced just one day
later, on December 13.
Renewable Energy + Other Stuff
To be clear, ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy) is
in the business of pushing the envelope on energy research, renewable or
not. For example, earlier this year ARPA-E announced a $20 million round of funding for advanced nuclear energy projects and $20 million for natural gas projects. Renewable energy also got a share in the ARPA-E love this year, with millions to continue the MARINER macroalgae project.
It’s also worth noting that ARPA-E is just one of many Energy
Department programs that provides funding to accelerate the renewable
energy transition. To cite just one example, just last week the Energy
Department announced a new $12 million round of funding aimed at solar grid integration. Among other key sectors, micro wind turbines and offshore wind farms also got a slice of the Energy Department pie.
Meanwhile, although most analysts predict a slight uptick in coal
production next year, that doesn’t necessarily translate into more coal
jobs. The US coal industry has been decoupling employment from production
for generations, relying more on machinery and explosives, and less on
human labor.
In any case, the Trump administration has done nothing to stem the loss of coal-related jobs at power plants. Dozens of coal generating units and entire power plants have shut down this year. The latest example is the shutdown of one of four coal units at the San Juan coal power plant in New Mexico.
As reported by the Desert Sun, the shutdown is part of a
strategy aimed at reducing haze impacting local national parks including
Bandelier National Monument, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Arches
National Park in Utah.
With the San Juan unit knocked out, that leaves only one more unit at
the same plant and two other out-of-state coal power plants selling
electricity into California. California is a huge market for coal to abandon, and it’s not the
only one. New England’s shrinking coal population is also set to
diminish into nothing, thanks partly to a proposed hydropower transmission line and 400-megawatt offshore wind farm.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/12/26/100-million-shot-glory-us-renewable-energy-energy-efficiency/
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