| The Energy Department on October 22 announced more than $53 million for 40 innovative research and development projects that aim to drive down the cost of solar energy, tackling key aspects of technology development in order to bring innovative ideas to the market more quickly. The awards will support the development of next generation photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies and advanced manufacturing processes, and address both hardware and non-hardware “soft” costs of solar installation. To accelerate the development of next generation PV technologies that will further drive down costs, the Energy Department is awarding more than $14 million of the funding announced last week to 10 research institutions—including the Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories—to improve the performance, efficiency, and durability of solar PV devices. The projects will explore a variety of leading-edge solutions, from new high-performance materials to novel techniques for creating more efficient solar cells that cost less to manufacture. Through its SunShot Incubator program, the Energy Department is also investing more than $14 million of the announced funding in 20 small businesses that will develop innovative technologies and services to further drive down hardware and non-hardware costs for solar electric systems. The projects take a number of approaches to decreasing costs, such as creating a software-based solution to quantify risk for solar investors, developing advanced materials and components that maximize efficiency for concentrating solar power (CSP), and identifying ways to eliminate the need for expensive silver in solar cell manufacturing. And in support of the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, the Energy Department is awarding more than $24 million to 10 U.S.-based solar manufacturers working to develop and implement innovative technologies that will reduce costs and increase efficiency in manufacturing processes used to make PV and CSP technologies. These investments focus on tackling key cost-contributors such as raw materials, labor-intensive processes, and capital expenses. See the Energy Department news release and the SunShot Initiative website.   The Energy Department on October 23 announced $9 million for energy-saving technologies that can be tested and deployed in offices, shops, restaurants, hospitals, hotels, and other types of commercial buildings. The funding will facilitate the implementation of market-ready solutions across the United States to improve commercial building energy efficiency, with a goal of demonstrating 20% savings or more across a variety of approaches. This funding opportunity seeks to support five to ten projects that will increase energy savings in commercial buildings by advancing the use of tools, solutions, and resources the Department has developed to help commercial building owners, managers, and professionals overcome barriers to efficiency. The funding opportunity encourages building owners and occupants to demonstrate widely-applicable and self-sustaining approaches that address key challenges and make building efficiency improvements easier. Examples include: -
Green leases that help building owners and lessees save money -
Information for better decisions by using Department-developed energy modeling software to identify and predict a building’s energy performance Organizations are encouraged to partner on applications to enhance the overall deployment impact by leveraging current deployment channels, market orientation, and strategic relationships. The Department is interested in proposals that will impact a significant geographic and commercial buildings market sector, affect a minimum of 100 buildings, achieve at least 20% energy savings over 10 years, train workers, create jobs, and result in programs that will be self-sustaining after the funding period expires. Concept papers are due on November 22. See the Energy Department news release and the funding opportunity announcement. Massachusetts continues to edge out California as the most energy-efficient state in the nation for the fourth year in a row, according to the findings of the 8th edition of the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard released on October 21 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The other states ranked by the ACEEE in the top 10 are, in order of most energy efficient: Rhode Island (marking the state’s first time in top five), Oregon, and Vermont (all tied for third); Connecticut; New York; Washington; Maryland; and Minnesota. Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, and Wisconsin are the four most improved states for energy efficiency in 2014, ACEEE found. Arkansas pushed forward with strong utility programs. The state’s budgets for electric efficiency programs increased 30% between 2012 and 2013, while electricity savings more than tripled. The District of Columbia and Wisconsin also saw upticks in energy savings. Additionally, Kentucky took notable steps to adopt a more efficient commercial building energy code. The State Energy Efficiency Scorecard benchmarks states across six policy areas: utility policies and programs, transportation initiatives, building energy codes, combined heat and power development, state government-led initiatives, and state-level appliance standards. In total, states are scored on more than 30 individual metrics. Data is collected from publicly available sources and vetted by state energy offices and public utility commissions. See the ACEEE news release and the entire Scorecard. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on October 16 announced $1.4 billion in USDA loan guarantees, including $110 million for smart grid and renewable energy technology improvements, to improve the delivery of electric power to rural communities. Smart grids help rural electric utilities manage power use more effectively. For fiscal year 2014, USDA's Rural Utilities Service provided more than $186 million for smart grid technologies. Among the loan guarantee recipients is Georgia's Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation, which is receiving more than $6 million to fund smart grid projects. In addition, North Carolina's Rockwell Solar LLC is getting a $3 million loan to build a 3.5-megawatt solar farm in Rowan County. The total project cost is just over $10 million. See the USDA news release. | 
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