News Release from the DOE - L Prize

Energy Department Announces Next Phase of L Prize® Competition to Create Innovative Energy-Saving Lighting Products

March 8, 2012 - 2:00pm

As part of the Energy Department’s commitment to driving innovation in U.S. manufacturing and helping American businesses and consumers save money by saving energy, the Department today launched the next phase of the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition. The L Prize competition challenges the lighting industry to develop high performance, energy-saving replacements for conventional light bulbs.

The competition announced today will spur leading-edge companies to build innovative LED replacements for conventional parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR 38) lamps, commonly known as spot or flood lamps, which are in widespread use in retail businesses and as outdoor security lights and track lights.

“The L Prize competition challenges the best and brightest engineers and scientists across America’s lighting industry to drive innovation in new, more efficient products and boost our nation’s competitiveness in manufacturing,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “The winning products will help expand lighting choices for consumers, reduce our nation’s energy use, and save money for American families and business owners.”
There are approximately 90 million PAR 38 light bulbs installed in the U.S., in both residential and commercial applications. The Energy Department estimates that replacing them with bulbs efficient enough to win the L Prize would save the country 11 terawatt-hours of electricity per year – approximately equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Washington, D.C. – and avoid 7 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

The L Prize was established by Congress in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. The Energy Department launched the L Prize competition in May 2008 to spur development of exceptionally high-performance, ultra-efficient LED alternatives for two of the most widely used light bulbs: 60-watt incandescent lamps and PAR 38 halogen lamps. The first L Prize was awarded in the 60-watt category in August 2011 to Philips Lighting North America. The winning product is expected to hit retail store shelves in spring 2012.

The rigorous performance testing needed to win the L Prize ensures that the performance, quality, lifetime, costs, and availability of winning products meet expectations for mass manufacturing and widespread adoption. U.S. sourcing remains a key part of the commercial production requirements, generating jobs for U.S. workers. For the PAR 38 category, at least 50% of the LEDs must be produced in the U.S., and all of the assembly must be done in the U.S.

For more information on the L Prize competition, including full specifications and requirements for the PAR 38 replacement category, see www.lightingprize.org. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) accelerates development and facilitates deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions that strengthen U.S. energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality.

Executive Summary; Algal Biofuels Roadmap

On December 9 and 10, 2008, the National Algal Biofuels Workshop was held in College Park, Maryland.  In May, 2010, a report based upon the workshop called National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap was published.  Below is the Executive Summary of the Roadmap.



"Developing the next generation of biofuels is key to our effort to end our dependence on foreign oil and address the climate crisis – while creating millions of new jobs that can’t be outsourced
— Secretary of Energy Steven Chu at the White Houseceremony on May 5, 2009, announcing $800 million in new biofuel research activities"

In recent years, biomass-derived fuels have received increasing attention as one solution to our nation’s continued and growing dependence on imported oil, which exposes the country to the risk of critical disruptions in fuel supply, creates economic and social uncertainties for businesses and individuals, and impacts our national security. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established a mandatory Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requiring transportation fuel sold in the U.S. to contain a minimum of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels, including advanced and cellulosic biofuels and biomass-based diesel, by 2022. While cellulosic ethanol is expected to play a large role in meeting the EISA goals, a number of next generation biofuels show significant promise in helping to achieve the goal. Of these candidates, biofuels derived from algae have the potential to help the U.S. meet the new RFS while at the same time moving the nation ever closer to energy independence. To accelerate the deployment of advanced biofuels, President Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the investment of $800M in new research on biofuels in the American Recovery and Renewal Act. This announcement included funds for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Biomass Program to invest in the research, development, and deployment of commercial algae-to-biofuel processes. Additional funding is being directed to algae-to-biofuel research both in EERE and other government agencies and programs.

The term algae can refer to microalgae, cyanobacteria (the so called “blue-green algae”), and macroalgae (or seaweed). Under certain conditions, some microalgae have the potential to accumulate significant amounts of lipids (more than 50% of their ash-free cell dry weight). These characteristics give great potential for an immediate pathway to high energy density, fungible fuels. These fuels can also be produced using other algae feedstocks and intermediates, including starches and sugars from cyanobacteria and macroalgae. In addition to fungible biofuels, a variety of different biofuels and products can be generated using algae precursors.

There are several aspects of algal biofuel production that have combined to capture the interest of researchers and entrepreneurs around the world. These include:

1) high per-acre productivity, 2) non-food based feedstock resources, 3) use of otherwise non-productive, non-arable land, 4) utilization of a wide variety of water sources (fresh, brackish, saline, marine, produced, and wastewater), 5) production of both biofuels and valuable co-products, and 6) potential recycling of CO2 and other nutrient waste streams.

The DOE-supported Aquatic Species Program, an effort undertaken from 1978 to 1996, illustrated the potential of algae as a biofuel feedstock. Much has changed since the end of the program. Rising petroleum prices and a national mandate to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, provide environmental benefits, and create economic opportunities across the nation have renewed interest in developing algal feedstocks for biofuels production.

While the basic concept of using algae as an alternative and renewable source of biomass feedstock for biofuels has been explored previously, a scalable, sustainable and commercially viable system has yet to emerge. The National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap Workshop, held December 9-10, 2008, was convened by DOE-EERE’s Biomass Program. The two-day event brought together more than 200 scientists, engineers, research managers, industry representatives, lawyers, financiers, and regulators from across the country to discuss and identify the critical challenges currently hindering the economical production of algal biofuels at commercial scale.

This document represents the output from the Workshop, supporting scientific literature, and comments received during a public comment period. The Roadmap document is intended to provide a comprehensive state of technology summary for fuels and co-products from algal feedstocks and to document the feasibility and techno-economic challenges associated with scaling up of processes. This document also seeks to explore the economic and environmental impacts of deploying algal biomass production systems at commercial scale. By documenting the challenges across the algal biomass supply chain and highlighting research and coordination needs and gaps, this document will serve to guide researchers and engineers, policymakers, federal agencies, and the private sector in implementing national research, development, and deployment efforts.

In summary, the Roadmap Workshop effort suggests that many years of both basic and applied science and engineering will likely be needed to achieve affordable, scalable, and sustainable algal-based fuels. The ability to quickly test and implement new and innovative technologies in an integrated process will be a key component to accelerating progress.

EPA Finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent this out today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 27, 2011

EPA Finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). EPA continues to support greater use of renewable fuels within the transportation sector every year through the RFS2   program, which encourages innovation, strengthens American energy security, and decreases greenhouse gas pollution.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established the RFS2 program and the annual renewable fuel volume targets, which steadily increase to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year. Based on the standard, each refiner and importer determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel.

The final 2012 overall volumes and standards are:

Biomass-based diesel (1.0 billion gallons; 0.91 percent)
Advanced biofuels (2.0 billion gallons; 1.21 percent)
Cellulosic biofuels (8.65 million gallons; 0.006 percent)
Total renewable fuels (15.2 billion gallons; 9.23 percent)

Last spring EPA had proposed a volume requirement of 1.28 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel for 2013. EISA specifies a one billion gallon minimum volume requirement for that category for 2013 and beyond, but enables EPA to increase the volume requirement after consideration of a variety of environmental, market, and energy-related factors. EPA is continuing to evaluate the many comments from stakeholders on the proposed biomass based diesel volume for 2013 and will take final action next year.

Overall, EPA’s RFS2 program encourages greater use of renewable fuels, including advanced biofuels. For 2012, the program is implementing EISA’s requirement to blend more than 1.25 billion gallons of renewable fuels over the amount mandated for 2011.

More information on the standards and regulations: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm

More information on renewable fuels: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm

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