Solicitation for Applications to Develop CHP Energy Facilities Serving New Jersey Commercial and Industrial Customers

From the EPA CHP Partnership:

The EPA CHP Partnership is informing its Partners of an important funding opportunity. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in consultation with its Business Energy Ombudsman issued a solicitation for applications to develop CHP energy facilities serving New Jersey commercial and industrial customers. This solicitation is to encourage the development of CHP electrical and thermal energy generation projects. The projects must serve commercial and industrial facilities in New Jersey.

The solicitation has a total of $60 million available for grants. The amount of the grant will be based on the actual electric and thermal energy production on an annual basis which shall begin upon the commencement of operations of the CHP project. The grant amount will be calculated based on a 75 percent capacity factor over four years.

• The CHP project shall serve a commercial, institutional, or industrial electricity customer in New Jersey with electric demand of at least 750 kilowatts, or such level of demand as subjects the customer to payment of a Retail Margin.
• The CHP project shall establish by contract or other arrangement that the electric output generated by the CHP system, to the maximum extent feasible, be consumed at the project site by a facility located at the site and that any surplus power produced that is not needed by that facility may be sold into the interstate PJM grid.
• The CHP project shall have an electric generating capacity of greater than 1 MW.
• The CHP project shall be designed to achieve thermal efficiency levels of at least 65 percent for facilities with up to 20 MW of electric generating capacity, and at least 70 percent for facilities with electric generating capacity greater than 20 MW. An existing facility that does not currently achieve the applicable thermal efficiency level shall be eligible to receive a grant if the CHP system will result in achieving thermal efficiency levels of at least 65 percent for facilities with up to 20 MW of electric generating capacity, and at least 70 percent for facilities with electric generating capacity greater than 20 MW.

For more information on the solicitation, including instructions for how to apply, visit the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's Web site.

ACEEE 2009 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry a success!

ACEEE held its eighth biannual conference on industrial energy efficiency from July 25-31. Every discussion--from the morning formal presentations to the afternoon informal sessions to the evening plenaries--were full of valuable information.

A summary of the conference reflections by Neal Elliott is posted on our website, along with the plenary presentations.

All the papers presented at the conference are available on CD-ROM. If you would like to order a CD, visit our publications page and click on "Summer Study Proceedings" or contact Eric Schwass at eschwass@aceee.org to place an order. Additional copies are $100 each.

Thanks again to all of our presenters and attendees. We look forward to seeing you again in 2011!

GM raises production as "clunker" sales rise

From Reuters:

General Motors Co said on Tuesday it is increasing production for the second half of 2009 after a surge in sales ignited by the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" incentives program.

The No.1 U.S. carmaker said it would build 60,000 more vehicles than planned for the third and fourth quarters by increasing overtime, adding shifts at several North American assembly plants.

The move will bring about 1,350 hourly workers in the United States and Canada back to assembly lines, GM said.

GM joins other automakers including Ford Motor Co in raising output after the runaway success of the incentive program, which offers payments of up to $4,500 to people who trade in old gas guzzlers for fuel-efficient vehicles, helped the companies reduce a glut of unsold cars and trucks.

By late July, the "clunkers" program, inspired by similar programs in Europe, had been drained of the $1 billion in its original budget. Congress authorized another $2 billion to extend the program.

GM's focus on more energy-efficient vehicles is welcome news for the energy efficiency community, and the increased production is perhaps even more welcome news for the struggling manufacturing sector.

More Manufacturing Green Shoots

The Federal Reserve reported today that industrial production increased 0.5% in July, the first month in the positive realm in 9 months. The automotive sector lead the recovery as a result of the CARS ("Cash for Clunkers") program, but other sectors expanded by 0.2%, with aerospace equipment, computers and electronic products, and plastics leading the way. "Industrial production likely will remain healthy for the rest of the year as companies restock depleted inventories," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist for MFR, Inc. The Commerce Department reported last week that wholesale inventories declined 1.7% in June. As an indication of this, AISI reported that steel manufacturing rate of capability utilization was 53.2%, up from a low of 41% early in the spring.

These indications suggest a modest and uneven recovery, but clearly the sector has begun to turn the corner.

New Federal Legislation Introduced

Yesterday, new bipartisan legistlation was introduced by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). In addition to The Efficient Vehicle Leadership Act of 2009, they have introduced three other bills to expand and improve energy efficiency tax incentives. These tax-related bills have been referred to the Senate Finance Committee. From Senator Bingaman's office:

• The Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act of 2009 (S. 1637) encourages energy efficient technology and construction throughout the nation by extending tax incentives for the construction of energy efficient new homes, energy efficient manufactured homes, energy efficient commercial buildings and major incentives for the residential energy efficiency industry. The legislation also adds a higher-tier credit for homes that satisfy the Builders Challenge standard and includes new incentives for homes in high-rise buildings, a 50 percent credit bonus for units in low-income developments and incentives for home energy ratings and auditor training.


• The Expanding Industrial Energy Efficiency Incentives Act of 2009 (S. 1639) would create the first direct tax incentive ever for industrial energy efficiency. As such, the Act would help our industrial sector adopt advanced energy technologies and processes, enabling American industry to reduce fuel dependency, cut costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, add jobs and enhance global competitiveness. The Act creates incentives in the three critical areas: water reuse, advanced motors, and CFC chillers. It also enhances incentives for combined heat and power systems. Energy efficiency organizations estimate that these incentives together will save the equivalent of four months worth of total U.S. energy consumption.


• The Cleaner, Secure, Affordable Thermal Energy Act(S. 1643) would create significant tax incentives for consumers, businesses and tax-exempt entities that now rely on heating oil to convert to more efficient natural gas or biomass (wood pellet stoves) heating systems.

For more details on these bills, see the related press releases from Sens. Bingaman and Snowe.

In addition, last week Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jeff Merkeley (D-OR) introduced The Thermal Energy Efficiency Act of 2009 (S. 1621). There is a good writeup about the bill in Grist. For details, see the press release from Sen. Sanders's office.

Upcoming Events

There are two upcoming events that may be of interest:

1. September 1, 2009
   Energy Efficiency Opportunities in India - Webinar
   Cost: $35 per participant
   Learn more/register here.
   
   In this webinar, you will learn about new business opportunities in India's burgeoning $30 billion energy efficiency market. U.S manufacturers of energy efficient products and energy service companies have tremendous potential in India, particularly in the areas of industrial energy efficiency and green building. The Government of India plans to save 10,000 MW of energy by 2012 alone and is poised to set energy usage standards for energy-intensive industries, which will further accelerate the growth of this market. Now is the time to enter the market to ensure that you tap into the energy efficiency boom in India! This webinar will inform you where the opportunities are and how to take advantage of them. Additionally, India's leading energy experts will provide tips and guidance on how you can begin or advance your business in India's energy efficiency sector. For more information, please contact Nyamusi Igambi at Nyamusi.Igambi@mail.doc.gov or Linda Abbruzzese at Linda.Abbruzzese@mail.doc.gov.
   
   
2. September 21, 2009
   U.S. Department of Commerce
   Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Forum
   Location: Toledo, Ohio
   URL: http://www.commerce.gov/
   Contact: Ryan Mulholland (Ryan.Mulholland@mail.doc.gov)
   
   Join federal and state officials and private sector executives on September 21 at the Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Forum in Toledo, Ohio.
   
   Representatives will discuss resources for improving energy use and increasing efficiency in manufacturing facilities, the stimulus funding available for energy efficiency improvement projects, and best practices instituted at regional facilities.
   
   The forum will take place in Toledo at the world headquarters of Owens Corning, an EPA Energy Star Partner. In addition to morning forums on energy efficiency resources available to U.S. companies, there will be an afternoon site visit to a local manufacturing facility demonstrating energy efficiency improvements in action.There is no cost to U.S. companies to attend this event.