EERE: Boosting Fuel Cells, Helping Tribes with Clean Energy, and Collegiate Entrepreneurs

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

EERE Network News

MARCH 04, 2015

News and Events Energy Department Announces $35 Million for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies Two Colorado-based Electric Cooperatives Named Wind Cooperatives of the Year for 2014 Energy Department to Help Tribes Advance Clean Energy Projects Energy Department Offers $2.5 Million to Inspire Collegiate Clean Energy Entrepreneurs EERE Blog Where Are They Now? National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition Participants Charting a Path to Success Clemson University Solves 3-D Jigsaw To Build a Solar House

News and Events Energy Department Announces $35 Million for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies The Energy Department on March 3 announced up to $35 million in funding to advance fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, and enable early adoption of fuel cell applications, such as light-duty fuel cell electric vehicles. This funding opportunity will accelerate U.S. innovation in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The Energy Department is focused on reducing the costs and increasing technical advancements of critical hydrogen infrastructure, including production, delivery, and storage. The Energy Department also aims to continue demonstrating the value of early market deployments such as plug-in fuel cell vehicles. The funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will include two general areas of interest each with several subtopics, including fuel cell and hydrogen technologies research and development, and demonstration and deployments to enable early adoption of those technologies. See the Energy Department news release, theFOA, and Hydrogen and Fuel Cells webpage.    Two Colorado-based Electric Cooperatives Named Wind Cooperatives of the Year for 2014 The Energy Department and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) on February 25 recognized the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State), which serves Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Wyoming, and San Isabel Electric Association (San Isabel) of Colorado as the 2014 WINDExchange Wind Cooperatives of the Year. The awards honor electric cooperatives that demonstrate outstanding leadership in advancing U.S. wind power. The two power providers were selected by a panel of judges from industry, government, and national laboratories and were evaluated for their corporate leadership, project innovation, and benefits to customers. Together, Tri-State and San Isabel are expanding the use of low-cost wind energy, supporting job creation and economic development within their service territories though construction of new wind facilities, and helping expand the deployment of wind power across the United States. While supporting more than 50,000 jobs across the country and providing cost-competitive, clean energy to cities and communities, wind power helps to eliminate more than 115 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, equivalent to removing 20 million cars from our roads. See the Energy Department news release.    Energy Department to Help Tribes Advance Clean Energy Projects The Energy Department on February 25 announced the third round of Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) renewable energy project development assistance, which provides federally recognized tribal governments with on-the-ground support to accelerate clean energy project deployment. Applications are due to the Energy Department's Office of Indian Energy by May 1, and up to five projects will be selected by late June. Technical assistance will be provided from July 2015 through August 2016. Through the START Program, the Energy Department's Office of Indian Energy and national laboratory experts provide technical assistance for tribal clean energy development by supporting community- and commercial-scale renewable energy projects across the country. Since its launch in December 2011, the START Program has helped 21 tribal communities advance their clean energy technology and infrastructure projects—from solar and wind to biofuels and energy efficiency. See the Energy Department news release and the Energy Department Office of Indian Energy.    Energy Department Offers $2.5 Million to Inspire Collegiate Clean Energy Entrepreneurs The Energy Department on February 11 announced $2.5 million in available funding for the Cleantech University Prize (Cleantech UP), which aims to inspire the next generation of clean energy entrepreneurs. This funding opportunity will support the commercialization of promising technologies for sectors such as solar and wind that reduce carbon pollution and grow the clean energy economy. The Cleantech UP will create a strong national infrastructure focused on collegiate high-tech entrepreneurship that accelerates the rate of clean energy innovation in the United States, establishing a national Cleantech UP Hub and supporting up to eight Cleantech UP Collegiate Competitions. The Cleantech UP Hub will create a national prize, train student entrepreneurs, and serve as a coordinating body for energy entrepreneurship training, while the Cleantech UP Collegiate Competitions will provide prizes for eight individual university-focused competitions that will equip students with business skills to move clean energy technologies from the discovery phase to the marketplace. Cleantech UP will build on the success of its precursor, the Energy Department's National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition, which leveraged growing interest in energy entrepreneurship to expand student engagement in clean energy technologies. See the Energy Department news release.

EERE Blog

Where Are They Now? National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition Participants Charting a Path to Success The Energy Department’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition is back for its fourth year, providing prizes nationwide. The goal: creating a new generation of entrepreneurs to address the nation’s energy challenges and capitalize on America’s investment in clean energy research and education. In the NCEBPC’s three years, participants have formed more than 70 ventures, raised more than $38 million in funding, and created more than 120 jobs—helping to grow the clean energy economy and develop innovative technologies that make the planet more sustainable for future generations. For the complete story, see the EERE Blog.    Clemson University Solves 3-D Jigsaw To Build a Solar House By Ernie Tucker, ENN Editor It’s not easy to get 50 people to work together, meet deadlines, and exchange ideas on a long-term project. Sometimes, it feels like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. As Clemson University designed the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015 project it calls Indigo Pine, that “puzzle” mentality may have influenced its approach. “In South Carolina and much of the United States, homes are typically constructed using lightwood stick-framing methods that use small, light pieces,” says Lauren Kenner, an architecture graduate student who was part of the group’s early design team. “We looked at these techniques but found they required experienced labor and created potential safety hazards with nail guns and construction high on ladders.” For the complete story, see theSolar Decathlon Blog.