Archives

November 1, 2022

USDA Seeks Comments, Announces Public Listening Sessions on Inflation Reduction Act Implementation

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On October 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced a request for information (RFI) and notice of public listening sessions on how to implement newly allocated funding opportunities under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 87 Fed. Reg. 65188. It is anticipated that these funds will support new projects related to rural electric system resiliency,...
October 15, 2021

DOE Announces Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On September 30, 2021, DOE announced the launch of a new prize that will award up to $2.5 million in cash prizes to ten groups and organizations that support entrepreneurship and innovation in historically underserved communities. The Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize acknowledges that underserved populations have been and continue to be more susceptible to the negative impact of climate change, global warming, and pollution....
March 5, 2021

American Jobs And Manufacturing Act Of 2021 Would Provide Tax Credits For Domestic Manufacturers

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 1, 2021, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced the American Jobs in Energy Manufacturing Act of 2021 (Act), which would incentivize domestic manufacturing of energy technologies by providing tax credits for domestic manufacturers in rural areas. The Act encourages the transition to cleaner energy by driving reinvestment into communities that have been most impacted by economic downturn....
March 6, 2020

Helsinki Announces Energy Challenge

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On February 26, 2020, the city of Helsinki announced the opening of applications for the Helsinki Energy Challenge (HEC), which aims to address challenges associated with urban heating produced with coal. According to its press release, Helsinki is one of the leading cities in the transition toward a sustainable future. Its aim is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. Currently, however, Helsinki needs solutions to meet...
September 13, 2019

House Passes Package Of Energy Bills

By Lynn L. Bergeson On September 9, 2019, the House of Representatives returned to work after a six-week August recess and passed a package of energy-related bills. By a roll call vote of 295 to 114, the House approved a bill (H.R. 1768) that would extend the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act through 2024. The vote would keep alive an EPA program that takes older diesel-powered equipment off the market. House lawmakers also approved: H.R. 1420...
April 21, 2017

EU Publishes Report on Progress of Renewable Energy Sources

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 3, 2017, the European Environment Agency (EEA) announced the publication of the report titled “Renewable Energy in Europe 2017:  Recent Growth and Knock-On Effects,” which demonstrates that renewables have been a major contributor to the energy transition in Europe.  An analysis of the compound annual growth rate demonstrated that the use of biofuels in transport grew fastest between 2005 and 2014 at 18 percent per year. ...
January 27, 2017

DOE Releases U.S. Energy And Employment Report

On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), which aims to aid in providing a more complete definition and quantification of energy employment across the economy.  The report presents direct employment data for jobs associated with traditional energy companies, with the production of renewable energy, and with energy efficiency, and an analysis of a supplemental survey sent to 30,000 energy sector employers. ...
July 8, 2016

Australian Renewable Energy Agency Providing $2.4 Million To Support Biorefinery Development

On June 23, 2016, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced $2.4 million in funding to support the development and construction of a biocrude and biofuel laboratory in Queensland. The $5.3 million project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2019 and will be Australia's first biorefinery producing renewable diesel and jet fuel from plant material. Australian companies have produced biocrude in the past but there is currently no commercial scale process to...
August 21, 2015

Energy Information Administration Issues Short Term Energy Outlook Report

On August 11, 2015, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report. The report outlined expectations for regular gasoline to average a retail price of $2.41 for all of 2015, with prices for the fourth quarter of 2015 averaging $2.11. Consistently low gasoline prices, in addition to the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard volumes that were announced on May 29, 2015, have resulted in the EIA forecasting that ethanol consumption...
April 23, 2015

DOE Releases First Installment Of Its Quadrennial Energy Review

On April 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the initial installment of its Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). This first installment focuses on ways to modernize the U.S. energy infrastructure to increase the country's energy competitiveness and security. In its QER, DOE points out that while U.S. biofuel production has increased significantly over the past decade — due largely to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) –"[c]ontinued growth in ethanol use...
April 16, 2015

Elevance Wins 2015 New Energy Pioneer Award

Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. (Elevance) was named a 2015 New Energy Pioneer award winner by Bloomberg New Energy Finance on April 13, 2015. Elevance CEO K'Lynne Johnson accepted the award on behalf of the company. Bloomberg New Energy Finance recognized Elevance and nine other companies as revolutionizing the energy sector in potential scale, innovation, and momentum. Elevance's recent introductions include the...
October 26, 2012

National Academies Releases Report on Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels

On October 24, 2012, the National Academies released a report entitled Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels, which was produced at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). According to the report, biofuels made from algae could provide a domestic source of renewable fuel, but with current technologies, increasing production of algal biofuels to meet five percent of U.S. transportation fuel needs could “create unsustainable demands for energy, water, and nutrient...
February 1, 2011

ISO Adopts Standard for Inhalation Toxicity Testing for Nanoparticles

On January 26, 2011, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced the availability of a new standard, ISO 10808:2010, entitled “Nanotechnologies — Characterization of nanoparticles in inhalation exposure chambers for inhalation toxicity testing.” The standard is intended to ensure that the results of inhalation toxicity tests of airborne nanoparticles are reliable and harmonized worldwide. According to ISO, the standard “establishes a battery of inhalation...
June 14, 2010

House Bill Would Reauthorize NNI

On May 28, 2010, the House passed, by a vote of 262-150, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (H.R. 5116), which would authorize funding for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science activities. The bill includes language from H.R. 554, the NNI Amendments Act of 2009, which the House passed in February 2009. H.R. 5116 would...
September 4, 2009

EPA Announces Interagency Nanotechnology Implications Grantees Workshop

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the Interagency Nanotechnology Implications Grantees Workshop, which will feature presentations on recent research by EPA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH/NIEHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Department of Energy (DOE) grant researchers.  According to EPA, the November 9-10, 2009, meeting “will...
February 10, 2009

NANO Act Introduced in Congress

On February 3, 2009, Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the Nanotechnology Advancement and New Opportunities (NANO) Act (H.R. 820), which is intended to ensure the development and responsible stewardship of nanotechnology. Honda based the legislation on the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology, a panel of California nanotechnology experts with backgrounds in established industry, startup companies, consulting groups, non-profits, academia,...
September 22, 2008

EPA Will Host Nanotechnology Conference in Chicago

On September 18, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that EPA Region 5 will host the 2008 International Environmental Nanotechnology Conference: Applications and Implications, October 7-9, 2008, in Chicago, Illinois. According to EPA, researchers from Asia, Australia, and Europe will join U.S. scientists and government officials to discuss nanotechnology applications for environmental cleanup, pollution control, and the implications of releasing engineered...
December 4, 2007

Environmental Defense Suggests Potential Model for Restructuring NNI

On November 19, 2007, Environmental Defense (ED) issued a press release that states that the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is not effectively addressing the potential risks of nanotechnology, and that a potential model for resolving the conflict between NNI’s dual charges to both promote and oversee the technology could be drawn from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Like the NNI, the AEC, first established in 1946, was tasked with both encouraging the development...
August 3, 2007

Nanotechnology Bill Introduced in House

On July 31, 2007, Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the Nanotechnology Advancement and New Opportunities (NANO) Act (HR 3235), which is intended to promote the development and responsible stewardship of nanotechnology in the U.S. Honda based the legislation on the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology, a panel of California nanotechnology experts with backgrounds in established industry, startup companies, consulting groups, non-profits,...