DOE Offers Support for Innovative Manufacturing Plant That Will Produce High-Quality Solar Silicon at Low Cost, Generate Over 2,000 Jobs in Ohio

Today, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $275 million loan guarantee to Calisolar Inc. to commercialize the company's innovative solar silicon manufacturing process.

Calisolar's process should produce silicon for use in solar cells at less than half the cost of traditional polysilicon purification processes, which will reduce the overall cost of solar modules and panels. At full production, the manufacturing plant is expected to produce 16,000 metric tons [MT] of solar silicon annually, equivalent to more than two gigawatts of solar power generation per year.

The project will be built in three phases of 5,333 MT capacity each, and is expected to be located in a former General Motors stamping plant in Ontario, Richland County, Ohio. Calisolar estimates that the facility will generate, at its peak, nearly 1,100 permanent jobs, and up to 1,000 construction jobs.

"This innovative manufacturing process offers significant competitive advantages that will help the U.S. to out-innovate and out-compete our global competitors," said Secretary Chu [pictured]. "This project is part of our commitment to supporting important innovations that create jobs, strengthen our manufacturing base and position the nation as a global solar leader."

The project will manufacture solar silicon from lower-cost metallurgical-grade silicon feedstock that is then upgraded using Calisolar's proprietary silicon purification process. The company's unique process uses significantly less energy to produce solar silicon that performs as well as polysilicon products made from more expensive and energy-intensive traditional processes, with capital equipment and construction costs approximately one-sixth that of traditional polysilicon plants.

Calisolar is helping achieve the goals of the SunShot Initiative by lowering the cost of their solar cells through the use of less pure silicon, the raw material for solar cells. Their vertically integrated process -- from raw materials processing, all the way through solar cell production --uses lower-cost [50% less expensive], lower-quality materials while maintaining high-efficiency devices.

This work was supported by DOE through funding for the University of California at Berkeley, and through $3 million from the PV Incubator Program -- which leveraged $6.6 million in private-industry cost share and was run through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

DOE's Loan Programs Office administers three separate programs: the Title XVII Section 1703 and Section 1705 loan guarantee programs, and the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing [ATVM] loan program. The loan guarantee programs support the deployment of commercial technologies, along with innovative technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions. ATVM supports the development of advanced vehicle technologies.

Under all three programs, DOE has issued loans, loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees totaling over $33 billion to support 34 clean energy projects across the United States.

DOE has also issued conditional commitments or loan guarantees to support numerous other projects -- including four of the world's largest solar generation facilities, two geothermal projects, the world's largest wind farm, and the nation's first new nuclear power plant in three decades.

For more information, please visit the Loan Programs Office website: http://lpo.energy.gov/.

GoodBiz113's Take
DOE's just-announced investment in Calisolar Inc. has great potential to boost America's competitiveness in solar energy. Further, it will help generate much-needed manufacturing and construction jobs in Ohio.

Chalk it up as yet another win-win endeavor by the Obama Administration to simultaneously spur economic development and fuel advances in developing solar-energy technologies.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy [EERE]
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Department of Energy Announces Up to $36 Million to Support Development of Drop-In Biofuels and Bioproducts

As part of the Obama Administration's efforts to cut foreign oil imports, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced up to $36 million to fund six small-scale projects -- in California, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin -- to advance the technology improvements and process integration needed to produce drop-in advanced biofuels and other valuable bio-based chemicals.

The projects aim to improve the economics and efficiency of biological and chemical processes that convert non-food biomass feedstocks into replacements for petroleum-based feedstocks, products, and fuels. These selections further the Obama Administration's strategy for accelerating research and development that will lead the way toward affordable, clean alternatives to fossil fuels and diversify our nation's energy portfolio.

"Projects such as these are helping us to diversify our energy portfolio and decrease our dependence on foreign oil," said Secretary Chu [pictured]. "Together with our partners, the Department is working hard to expand the clean-energy economy, creating jobs in America and providing sustainable replacements for the fuels and products now provided primarily by petroleum."

The funding announced today will help diversify DOE's Biomass Program portfolio to include a breadth of fuels and chemicals beyond cellulosic ethanol and ensure that the Department's research and development on biofuels remains integrated and strategic.

The following projects were selected:

* General Atomics Fusion Energy Research [up to $2.0 million -- San Diego, Cal.]: The proposed project aims to reduce energy, capital, and operational cost for algal fermentation processes. This will increase production of algal oils, which can be further refined into advanced biofuels.

* Genomatica Inc. [up to $5.0 million -- San Diego, Cal.]: This project will deliver an engineered organism and optimized fermentation process to enable the conversion of cellulosic sugars to the valuable industrial chemical, 1,4-butanediol [BDO]. Such technology will enhance the commercial profitability of integrated biorefineries by enabling co-production of high-volume fuels and the higher-margin commodity chemical, BDO.

* Michigan Biotechnology Institute -- AKA MBI International [up to $4.3 million -- Lansing, Mich.]: The project will focus on improvements to a pretreatment process, which provides a stable, conversion-ready intermediate of consistent quality at a cost and in a format compatible with long-term storage and ease of transfer between multiple modes of transportation.

* HCL CleanTech Inc. [up to $9.0 million -- Oxford, N.C.]: This project will develop and demonstrate process improvements for pretreatment, conversion to sugars, and subsequent conversion of those sugars to fuels. The complete integrated process will use concentrated hydrochloric acid hydrolysis to convert pre-extracted biomass feedstocks, including wood waste, into fermentable sugars, and then further convert the sugars into diesel products.

* Texas Engineering Experiment Station [up to $2.3 million -- College Station, Tex.]: The focus of this project will be on developing a novel pretreatment for cellulosic biomass feedstocks using a combination of chemical and mechanical processing. Once the cellulosic feedstock has been pretreated it can be converted into biofuels, including hydrocarbons.

* Virent Energy Systems Inc. [up to $13.4 million -- Madison, Wis.]: The overarching objective of this project is to develop a fully integrated process that can efficiently and cost effectively convert a cellulosic biomass feedstock, such as corn stover, to a mix of hydrocarbons ideally suited for blending into jet fuel.

Final funding amounts are subject to negotiation.

About DOE's Biomass Program
DOE's Biomass Program works with industry, academia, and national laboratory partners on a balanced portfolio of research in biomass feedstocks and conversion technologies.

For more information on DOE's Biomass Program, visit the Biomass Program website: http://1.usa.gov/BiomassEERE.

GoodBiz113's Take
DOE's just-announced Biomass Program investments will boost American competitiveness in the biofuels industry and lower the cost of clean, renewable energy. Further, they'll generate much-needed jobs.

Chalk it up as yet another win-win endeavor by the Obama Administration -- one that holds far-reaching potential for decades to come.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy [EERE]
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Energy Secretary Chu Announces $112 Million in SunShot Initiative Projects to Advance Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing Partnerships in U.S.

As part of the SunShot Initiative, U.S. Department of Energy [DOE] Secretary Steven Chu [pictured] yesterday announced the selection of up to $112.5 million in funding over five years, to support the development of advanced solar photovoltaic [PV]-related manufacturing processes throughout the United States.

DOE’s SunShot advanced manufacturing partnerships will help the solar power industry overcome technical barriers and reduce costs for PV installations, help the U.S. regain the lead in the global market for solar technologies, and provide support for clean-energy jobs for years to come.

This program is modeled, in part, on SEMATECH [Semiconductor Manufacturing TECHnology]. Faced with falling U.S. market share for the domestic semiconductor industry from 57 percent in 1982, to 38 percent in 1988, SEMATECH began working with domestic equipment suppliers to improve their capabilities.

As a result of SEMATECH’s work to solve common manufacturing problems by leveraging resources and sharing risks, within 10 years the domestic semiconductor industry had grown by 16 percent. Through this award, SEMATECH will now apply similar ingenuity to helping the U.S. recapture the lead in solar manufacturing.

"Expanding the U.S. solar energy industry is an important part of the Administration's goals to diversify our electricity supply, and rebuild America’s manufacturing base to create jobs now and in the future," said Secretary Chu. "The SunShot Initiative will not only keep the United States at the forefront in solar energy research and development, but will help us win the worldwide race to build a solar manufacturing industry that produces solar systems that are cost-competitive with fossil fuels."

Yesterday’s investments are part of DOE’s SunShot Initiative, which aims to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent, so that they are cost-competitive at large scale with other forms of energy without subsidies by the end of the decade. Achieving this goal -- equivalent to approximately $1 a watt, or roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for utility systems -- would allow solar energy systems to be broadly deployed across the country.

By engaging multiple companies across the PV supply chain, the SunShot advanced manufacturing partnerships program intends to have broad impact on the U.S. solar industry:

* Selected projects will create organizations designed to bring PV companies together in a coordinated environment to address common technology needs.

* The facilities established through these projects will provide services, tools and facilities to PV companies and suppliers -- to assist them in developing and demonstrating new technologies, and in making the transition to commercial production.

* The program will also link universities and national labs with PV cell, materials, and equipment suppliers to help speed the rate of innovation through coordinated and focused PV manufacturing development.

The selected industry-focused organizations will strongly leverage industry, state, and local funds, and are expected to achieve financial self-sufficiency after five years.

DOE Funding Fuels Coast-to-Coast Collaborations
Funding was made available for applicants in university and industry. Both topics consider collaborative research models to accelerate manufacturing-related technologies and provide maximum leverage to federal funding.

Following are the selected projects:

* Bay Area PV Consortium [Stanford, Cal.] -- $25 million for University-Focused Development
Bay Area PV Consortium [BAPVC] will fund industry-relevant research and development to impact high-volume PV manufacturing, using a competitive selection process open to all universities.

This project, managed by Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, will develop and test the innovative new materials, device structures, and fabrication processes necessary to achieve cost effective PV modules in high-volume production. The research will advance technologies that reduce manufacturing costs and improve device performance characteristics to help achieve SunShot’s price targets.

An industry board composed of representatives from PV companies will determine the specific topics for research and development to assure close alignment with industry and manufacturing needs.

* SVTC Technologies [San Jose, Cal.] -- $25 million for Industry-Focused Development
SVTC will create a fee-for-service PV manufacturing development facility [MDF] that will enable startups, materials suppliers, and other PV innovators to eliminate a major portion of their upfront capital and operating costs during product development and pilot production. This will potentially accelerate development and time to market by 12 to 15 months.

The MDF will focus on commercialization of silicon PV manufacturing processes and technologies, and aim to reduce the costs and development time for participating PV industry leaders to deliver innovative, emerging technologies from the laboratory to commercial manufacturing lines.

The MDF will support SunShot targets by strengthening and accelerating growth along the PV manufacturing industry’s entire supply chain by reducing the cost, time, and risk associated with commercialization.

* U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium [Albany, N.Y. and Palm Bay, Fla.] – $62.5 million for Industry-Focused Development
Managed by SEMATECH, the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium [PVMC] will coordinate an industry-driven research-and-development initiative to accelerate the development, manufacturing and commercialization of next-generation copper indium gallium selenide [CIGS] thin-film PV manufacturing technologies, driving down the cost and risk of bringing them to the marketplace.

PVMC -- with its major partner, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the State University of New York at Albany -- will establish manufacturing development facilities that PV companies and researchers can use for product prototyping, demonstration, and pilot-scale manufacturing to evaluate and validate CIGS thin-film and PV manufacturing technologies.

PVMC will also work with the University of Central Florida to develop cost-effective, in-line measurement and inspection tools to enable increased PV manufacturing yield.

In addition, PVMC will operate complementary programs to foster new PV technologies and firms, and to develop the U.S. PV workforce. The proposed project will use heavy industry leveraging funds for every $1 of DOE funding.

The SunShot program builds on the legacy of President John F. Kennedy's 1960s "moon shot" goal, which laid out a plan to regain the country's lead in the space race and land a man on the moon. The program will aggressively drive innovations in the ways that solar systems are conceived, designed, manufactured and installed.

For more information and to follow the SunShot Initiative's progress, visit the SunShot Initiative website: http://1.usa.gov/SunShotDOE.

GoodBiz113's Take
DOE's just-announced solar manufacturing partnerships will boost American competitiveness in the global solar energy industry and lower the cost of clean, renewable energy. Further, they'll promote entrepreneurship and generate much-needed jobs.

Chalk it up as yet another win-win-win-win endeavor by the Obama Administration -- one that holds far-reaching potential for decades to come.

SOURCES: NASA, U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy [EERE], Wikipedia
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DOE's New 'America's Next Top Energy Innovator' Program Challenges Entrepreneurs to Commercialize Technologies Developed by National Laboratories

As part of the Obama Administration's Startup America Initiative, U.S. Department of Energy [DOE] Secretary Steven Chu [pictured] today announced the "America's Next Top Energy Innovator" challenge, which will give startup companies the opportunity to license groundbreaking technologies developed by the National Laboratories for $1,000 and build successful businesses.

As part of this effort, DOE is reducing both the cost and paperwork requirements for startup companies to obtain an option agreement to license some of the 15,000 patents and patent applications held by its 17 National Laboratories.

"America's entrepreneurs and innovators are the best in the world," said Secretary Chu. "Today, we're challenging them to create new businesses based on discoveries made by our world-leading National Laboratories.

"Because we've cut the upfront fees and reduced the paperwork, we'll make it easier for startup companies to succeed and create the new jobs our economy needs. Our goal is simple: unleash America's innovation machine and win the global race for the clean-energy jobs of the future."

Currently, only about 10 percent of federal patents have been licensed to be commercialized. This initiative aims to double the number of startup companies coming out of the National Laboratories.

Specifically, as part of "America's Next Top Energy Innovator":

1. On Monday, May 2, 2011, DOE will kick off the challenge by posting a streamlined template option agreement online for entrepreneurs to submit to Laboratories. Entrepreneurs must identify the technology of interest and submit a business plan to be considered for the program. Participants will have until Dec. 15 to make their submission to the Laboratory.

2. Any of the 15,000 unlicensed patents and patent applications held by the National Laboratories will be available for licensing by startup companies

3. From May 2 to Dec. 15, the Department will reduce the total upfront cost of licensing DOE patents in a specific technology to a $1,000 upfront fee for portfolios of up to three patents. This represents a savings of $10,000 to $50,000 on average in upfront fees.

4. Other license terms, such as equity and royalties, will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis, and will typically be due once the company grows and achieves wide-scale commercial success. These fees help support DOE's continuing research activities to develop new technologies.

5. DOE will simplify the licensing process and establish a standard set of terms for startups, who generally lack the resources, time or expertise to negotiate individual licensing agreements. This will significantly reduce both the time and cost required to process the license, allowing faster access to the Department's patents and enabling DOE to process more licenses in a shorter amount of time.

6. Entrepreneurs who complete the process and demonstrate progress toward executing their business plan and commercializing the technology will have the opportunity to be showcased at the 3rd Annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in 2012, which brings together leading technology startups and clean-energy investors from around the country.

In addition to these steps, DOE is making it easier for companies to use the world-leading facilities at its National Laboratories to conduct collaborative research-and-development activities.

Previously, companies had to make an upfront payment covering the first 90 days of research work -- a requirement that was often difficult for start-ups to meet. Today, DOE is lowering the advance payment requirement to 60 days. This change will benefit all companies -- not just startups -- but could be valuable for those participating in the "America's Next Top Energy Innovator" challenge.

Entrepreneurs interested in participating can already view the available technologies on DOE's Energy Innovation Portal.

Some of the promising innovations currently available for licensing and featured on the portal include:

* Solar Energy Storage, Transportation and Conversion -- available from DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a system for converting solar energy to chemical energy and, subsequently, to thermal energy. The system includes a light-harvesting station, a storage station, and a thermal energy release station that enables transportation of stored energy over long distances. Here's the marketing summary.

* Grid-Friendly Appliance Controller -- available from DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Grid-Friendly Appliance Controller senses grid conditions by monitoring system frequency and provides automatic demand response in times of disruption. This simple computer chip can be installed in household appliances and can turn them off for a few minutes or even a few seconds to allow the grid to stabilize and prevent blackouts. Interested? Read the marketing summary.

* Growth of Lattice Matched III-V Semiconductor Materials -- available from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory [NREL]. High-performance semiconductor materials have a broad range of potential applications -- including high-efficiency solar cells, solid-state lighting, and high-speed transistors. This portfolio allows for the use of low-cost, scalable, and reusable substrates to dramatically reduce production costs for these materials. Click here for the marketing summary.

* New Catalyst Can Reduce Nitrogen Oxide Emissions From Diesel Engines by 80-85% -- available from DOE's Argonne National Laboratory. The diesel DeNOx catalyst removes 80-85% of nitrogen oxide [NOx] emissions from diesel fuel combustion by converting NOx to nitrogen. With its lower expected manufacturing and installation costs, ease of use, and significant market potential, the Argonne catalyst is positioned to deliver the environmental and economical benefits needed to reduce our global industrial "footprint." Here's the technology marketing summary.

Read some recent examples [PDF - 162 kb] of established companies and startups that have commercialized DOE technologies.

Startup America is an important element of the Obama Administration's national innovation strategy. For more information about the steps announced today, plus the 15,000-plus technology opportunities currently available, visit DOE's Energy Innovation Portal.

GoodBiz113's Take
This new Department of Energy program has significant potential for propelling entrepreneurship and innovation, creating jobs, and realizing the Obama Administration's aims to promote clean energy and energy independence. America's current and would-be entrepreneurs -- and all its citizens, for that matter -- are fortunate to have someone as smart, creative and enterprising as Steven Chu at DOE's helm.

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Energy, The White House
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DOE Announces $30 Million for Energy-Efficient Housing Partnerships

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy announced 15 research-and-deployment partnerships to help dramatically improve the energy efficiency of American homes. These highly qualified, multidisciplinary teams will receive a total of up to $30 million for the initial 18 months of the projects to deliver innovative energy efficiency strategies to the residential market, and address barriers to bringing high-efficiency homes within reach for all Americans.

A total of up to $20 million per year will also be made available for the partnerships of three potential one-year extensions. These research-and-deployment partnerships will provide technical assistance to retrofit projects, and will leverage industry expertise and funding to support DOE's energy-efficiency retrofit programs.

This effort will support the department's Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, announced by Vice President Joe Biden in April [see GoodBiz113 article, "Vice President Biden Kicks Off Earth Day Activities; 25 Communities Selected for Recovery Act 'Retrofit Ramp-Up' Energy-Efficiency Awards"], which brings communities, governments, private-sector companies and nonprofit organizations together to deliver energy-efficiency upgrades, or retrofits, to entire neighborhoods and cities.

"Home energy efficiency is one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost-effective ways to reduce carbon pollution and save money on energy bills, while creating new jobs," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu [pictured]. "By developing and using tools to reduce residential energy use, we will spur economic growth here in America, and help homeowners make cost-cutting improvements in their homes."

The partnerships announced today will provide additional support to ongoing retrofit initiatives that are making cost-effective energy efficiency retrofits easily accessible to hundreds of thousands of American homes and businesses. These partnerships will research and deploy new technologies and demonstration projects, and provide systems engineering, quality assurance, and outreach for retrofit projects throughout the country.

Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting -- such as air-tight ducts, windows and doors; heating and cooling systems; insulation and caulking -- can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home, and cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.

The following selections were made though the DOE Building Technologies Program, which forges research partnerships across the residential building industry to develop cost-effective solutions that dramatically reduce the average energy use of housing while improving comfort and quality. To find out more, visit http://bit.ly/BuildingTechDOE.

To further support the broad deployment of energy-efficient building retrofits, DOE is hosting the Residential Building Energy Efficiency Meeting 2010 in Denver, Col., from July 20-22, to present cutting-edge research results; identify key stakeholder and market transformation needs; and facilitate collaboration opportunities between conference participants. This conference is targeted to researchers, architects, contractors, manufacturers, builders, utilities, legislators, lenders, realtors, auditors, raters, installation technicians, homeowner association representatives, and anyone else interested in creating substantial connections with the field.

The following is a brief description of the selected teams -- each of which will receive between $500,000 and $2.5 million, depending on their performance:

* Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions [ARIES], led by Levy Partnership of New York, N.Y. ARIES will focus on energy solutions for new and existing affordable housing, including factory- and site-built homes. ARIES is a broad-based industry team of more than 50 organizations, including implementers, product suppliers and trainers. The ARIES technical team members include CDH Energy, Southern Energy Management, Syracuse University Center of Excellence, and NTA Inc.

* Alliance for Residential Building Innovation [ARBI], led by Davis Energy Group [DEG] of Davis, Cal. ARBI will focus on resolving technical and market barriers to large-scale implementation of innovative energy solutions for new and existing homes. Team members are effectively aligned for retrofit activities -- providing considerable experience in audits, home-performance contracting, marketing and finance. Specific partners include Rocky Mountain Institute, UC Davis, Heschong Mahone Group, Green Home Solutions, and Bevilacqua-Knight.

* Building America Retrofit Alliance [BARA], led by Building Media Inc [BMI], based out of Wilmington, Del., and the New Jersey Institute of Technology [NJIT], located in Newark, N.J. BARA will focus on innovative market-delivery strategies to improve energy efficiency in our nation's existing housing stock. This team has very unique capabilities in the areas of training and outreach. Additional team members include Steve Easley and Associates, Confluence Communications, DuPont, Louisiana State University, Enterprise Community Partners, Institute for Business and Home Safety, and Hancock Software, among others.

* Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction [BA-PIRC] research team, led by the Florida Solar Energy Center [FSEC], a research institute of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla. BA-PIRC will focus on cost-effective efficiency solutions for new and existing homes in hot, humid and marine climates. FSEC possesses extensive residential energy research facilities, including the Manufactured Housing Laboratory, the Flexible Roof Facility, the Building Science Lab, the Hot Water Systems Laboratory, and the Climate-Controlled Air Conditioning Laboratory. Team members include Newport Partners [NP], Washington State University [WSU], Northwest Energy Works [N.E.W.], Residential Energy Services Network [RESNET], Building Performance Institute [BPI], WellHome, Florida Home Energy and Resources Organization [Florida H.E.R.O.], Calcs-Plus [CP] and TexEnergy Solutions.

* Building Energy Efficient Homes for America [BEEHA], led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln [UNL] and the University of Florida [UF], headquartered in Lincoln, Neb., and Gainesville, Fla., respectively. This team possesses impressive simulation and computing facilities, as well as building systems research laboratories. This multidisciplinary research team will explore and deliver systems-engineered solutions for new and existing homes. Industry partners for this team include HearthStone Homes, Rezac Construction, Barry Rutenberg and Associates, G.W. Robinson Homes, Tommy Williams, and Johnson Controls.

* Building Industry Research Alliance [BIRA], led by ConSol with headquarters in Stockton, Cal. BIRA's research will focus on energy and peak reduction in homes by evaluating technologies and market-delivery approaches for neighborhood-scale implementation. The research will target a diversity of homes and a variety of strategies for retrofit implementation. Team members include more than 80 research organizations and building industry partners, such as Washington State University, Arizona State University, UC Davis, General Electric, Ennovationz, Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, San Diego Gas & Electric, Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, and Bank of America.

* Building Science Corporation [BSC] in Somerville, Mass., is a leading developer of energy systems for durable, high-performance homes. With an impressive depth of capabilities in all key areas required to complete the proposed research, BSC will focus on advanced technical solutions, code barriers, and market demonstrations for new and existing homes. The BSC team includes Affordable Comfort, ARES Consulting, Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, DEAP Energy Group, National Grid, and a wide array of material suppliers and manufacturers.

* Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings [CARB], led by Steven Winter Associates Inc., Norwalk, Conn. The CARB team has extensive experience successfully conducting and completing team-based advanced building systems research, whole-house research, and outreach. The CARB team will focus on innovative market delivery and cost-effective demonstrations of high-performance retrofits and new homes. Team members include MaGrann Associates, Alliance to Save Energy's BCAP, Pratt Center for Community Development, University of Florida's PREC, Green Builder Media, Jay Hall and Associates, Masco, and a broad spectrum of additional stakeholders in the residential energy industry.

* Habitat Cost Effective Energy Retrofit Program Team, led by Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Mich. This team will focus on applying innovative retrofit technologies, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. These efficiency technologies can deliver energy savings up to 50 percent, and will focus on addressing affordable housing in cold and mixed-humid climate regions. The team's vision is to improve retrofit methodologies by validating cost-effective strategies through test homes, and identifying technology gaps that must be addressed. The Dow team includes Michigan State University, Ferris State University and Habitat for Humanity, with technical contributions from Duke Energy, DTE, and Exelon.

* Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems [CSE] in Cambridge, Mass., will deploy large-scale energy savings by integrating efficiency and renewable energy systems in new and existing homes. The team members have extensive experience in whole-house system integration research -- from simulation through commissioning. Team partners include Owens Corning, researchers from MIT, Conservation Services Group, Boston Redevelopment Authority, and Austin Housing and Economic Development, plus several additional team members from the residential buildings community.

* Integrated Building and Construction Solutions [IBACOS] in Pittsburgh, Penn., will develop and demonstrate integrated systems of design, procurement, construction, quality assurance and marketing needed to transform residential retrofits and new construction across the U.S. IBACOS team members include Advanced Energy, Criterium Engineers, EcoBroker International, GreenHomes America, and the Potomack Group -- along with a wide range of highly experienced residential building scientists, researchers, architects, green-building realtors, retrofit specialists, program evaluators and trainers.

* National Association of Home Builders [NAHB] Research Center Industry Partnership for High Performing Homes. The NAHB Research Center is located in Upper Marlboro, Md., and has over 40 years of experience as an integrated, system-based technology advancement center with the primary mission of removing technological and regulatory barriers to innovation by leveraging its access to remodelers and home builders. Team members include Southface Energy Institute, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Business Excellence Consulting, Brick by Brick, Residential Building Industry Consulting Services, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Greenbelt Homes, plus many others.

* National Energy Leadership Corps [NELC], led by Pennsylvania State University in State College, Penn. The NELC will focus on a new approach to home and homeowner assessment that facilitates multiple levels of energy-efficiency measures for existing homes -- including modest and low-cost improvements, extensive energy retrofits, occupant interactions, and the introduction of advanced energy controls and renewable-energy technologies. NELC team members include a broad diversity of partners, such as SmartDwell, Sequentric Energy Systems, Envinity, GroundedPower, ONTILITY, Eaton Corporation, Lutron Corporation, Schneider Electric, Pittsburgh Green Innovators, Partnership for Achieving Construction Excellence [PACE], Conservation Consultants, East Liberty Development, and the Green Building Alliance.

* NorthernSTAR Energy Efficient Housing Research Partnership Team, led by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. The NorthernSTAR team embraces the philosophy that achieving optimal energy efficiency in houses, neighborhoods and communities requires a holistic performance approach, using an integrated implementation process. This team will develop and deploy high-performance energy-efficient solutions for new and existing homes in cold and severe cold climates. Team members include the Center for Energy and the Environment, Building Knowledge, Building Green, Hunt Utilities Group, Verified Green, Energy Center of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corps, McGregor Pearce, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the University of Wisconsin, and Wagner Zaun Architecture.

* Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit [PARR], led by the Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, Ill. PARR has strong experience in design, development, integration, and testing of advanced building energy equipment, components and systems in laboratory and test house settings. The team will focus on improving performance, quality and market acceptance of residential retrofits in cold climates. Team members include CNT Energy, the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, the Building Research Council at the University of Illinois, and Future Energy Enterprises, among others.

GoodBiz113's Take
Kudos to Secretary Chu for once again exercising his distinct brand of vision and leadership to fuel such a far-reaching and innovative endeavor that holds so much long-term potential. Current and future generations -- not to mention, American small businesses, our economy and the environment -- will greatly benefit from funding these win-win-win synergies.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy
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Vice President Biden Kicks Off Earth Day Activities; 25 Communities Selected for Recovery Act 'Retrofit Ramp-Up' Energy-Efficiency Awards

Today, Vice President Joe Biden [pictured] kicks off five days of Administration events around the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with the announcement of the selection of 25 communities for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funding to "ramp-up" energy-efficiency building retrofits.

Under the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, communities, governments, private-sector companies and nonprofit organizations will work together on pioneering and innovative programs for concentrated and broad-based retrofits of neighborhoods and towns -- and, eventually, entire states. These partnerships will support large-scale retrofits and make energy efficiency accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses.

During the next three years, the models created through this program are expected to save households and businesses about a $100 million annually in utility bills -- all while leveraging private-sector resources -- to create what funding recipients estimate at about 30,000 jobs across the country.

"For 40 years, Earth Day has focused on transforming the way we use energy and reducing our dependence on fossil fuel," said Vice President Biden. "But this year, because of the historic clean-energy investments in the Recovery Act, we're poised to make greater strides than ever in building a nationwide clean-energy economy. This investment in some of the most innovative energy-efficiency projects across the country will not only help homeowners and businesses make cost-cutting retrofit improvements, but also create jobs right here in America."

"This initiative will help overcome the barriers to making energy efficiency easy and accessible to all – inconvenience, lack of information, and lack of financing,” said Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu. "Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, we will make our communities more energy-efficient and help families save money. At the same time, we’ll create thousands of jobs and strengthen our economy."

In addition to the $452 million Recovery Act investment, the 25 projects announced today will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion from other sources over the next three years to retrofit hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the country. Overall, the program funding was eight times oversubscribed, with more than $3.5 billion in applications received for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act funds available, indicating significant demand for investment in energy-saving and job-creating projects like these nationwide.

Grantees will employ innovative financing models to make these savings accessible; e.g., by offering low- and no interest loans that are repaid through property tax and utility bills. In implementing these projects, grantees will deliver verified energy savings and incorporate sustainable business models, to ensure that buildings will continue to be retrofitted after Recovery Act funds are spent. The Department will use the lessons learned from these pilot programs to develop best-practice guides to comprehensive retrofit programs that can be adopted and implemented by other communities across the country.

The Retrofit Ramp-Up projects, which are part of the overall $80 billion Recovery Act investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, complement the Obama Administration’s "Recovery Through Retrofit" initiative, which lays the groundwork for a self-sustaining and robust home energy-efficiency industry. The awards are the competitive portion of DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant [EECBG] Program, which was funded for the first time under the Recovery Act to help state, local, and tribal communities make strategic investments in improving energy efficiency, and reducing energy use and fossil fuel emissions.

Secretary Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, joined Vice President Biden today for the announcement, which was the first of more than two dozen events and activities Administration officials will participate in and around Earth Day.

In addition to today’s event, President Barack Obama will host an Earth Day reception with environmental leaders on Thursday, April 22; a video message from the President will air as part of events on the National Mall on Sunday, April 25; and Administration officials will participate in educational programs with school children, visit wetland and coastal restoration projects, and participate in community service projects as part of the President’s Earth Day call to action.

The events will highlight some of the ways in which the Administration is working to improve the environment, transform American infrastructure for greater energy efficiency, and build a clean-energy economy that supports the jobs of the future. As part of the events, Administration officials will also continue the push for Congress to act on HOMESTAR legislation and comprehensive energy and climate change legislation that will ultimately benefit individual homeowners and small businesses alike.

A full roster of Administration Earth Day activities is below, and more information on the President’s Earth Day call to action is available at www.WhiteHouse.gov/EarthDay.

RETROFIT RAMP-UP AWARDS
The following governments and nonprofit organizations have been selected for Retrofit Ramp-Up awards. These projects are planned to begin in fall 2010. Final award amounts are subject to negotiation:

* Austin, Texas -- $10 million
* Boulder County, Colorado -- $25 million
* Camden, New Jersey -- $5 million
* Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning -- $25 million
* Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, Ohio -- $17 million
* Greensboro, North Carolina -- $5 million
* Indianapolis, Indiana -- $10 million
* Kansas City, Missouri -- $20 million
* Los Angeles County, California -- $30 million
* Lowell, Massachusetts -- $5 million
* State of Maine -- $30 million
* State of Maryland -- $20 million
* State of Michigan -- $30 million
* State of Missouri - $5 million
* Omaha, Nebraska -- $10 million
* State of New Hampshire -- $10 million
* New York State Research and Development Authority -- $40 million
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- $25 million
* Phoenix, Arizona -- $25 million
* Portland, Oregon -- $20 million
* San Antonio, Texas -- $10 million
* Seattle, Washington -- $20 million
* Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance -- $20 million
* Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, Ohio -- $15 million
* Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation -- $20 million

For more information on the selected projects, visit http://bit.ly/RetrofitProjects.

A map of the selected projects is available at http://bit.ly/RetrofitMap.

RETROFIT BY THE NUMBERS
* Residential and commercial buildings consume 40 percent of the energy and represent 40 percent of the carbon emissions in the United States. Building efficiency represents one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost-effective ways to reduce carbon emissions and save money on energy bills while creating new jobs.

* Existing techniques and technologies in energy-efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower total associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually.

* Residential and commercial retrofits also have the potential to cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.

ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL EARTH DAY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Carol Browner, Director of Energy and Climate Change Policy
Thursday, April 22 @ 12:00 p.m. ET -- Live Web Chat
Carol Browner was the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bill Clinton [the longest ever to hold that post], and currently serves as Director of the Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy. Tune in to the White House website to learn more about President Obama's efforts to build a clean-energy economy and protect our environment: http://bit.ly/EarthDayLiveChat.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Thursday, April 22 -- Washington, D.C.
Secretary Salazar will make remarks on the National Mall for Take a Child to Work/40th Anniversary Earth Day/Buddy the Bison Hike sponsored by the National Park Service. Five hundred local students will participate in the event.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke
Wednesday, April 21 -- Washington, D.C.
Secretary Locke will deliver keynote remarks at the Creating Climate Wealth Summit at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He will address how energy reform can strengthen our security and spur economic growth.

Thursday, April 22 – Jersey City, N.J.
Secretary Locke will speak in Jersey City, N.J., at the Lincoln Park restoration project, that is turning a landfill into a healthy wetland. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] funded this habitat restoration project through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [ARRA].

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Thursday, April 22 – Online Web chat
On Thursday, Secretary Hilda L. Solis will host an interactive Web chat to discuss issues and opportunities related to Earth Day. Also on Thursday, the Department of Labor will issue a report detailing opportunities made available over the past year -- including $490 million in Recovery Act funding for green jobs training.

Friday, April 23 – Washington, D.C.
On Friday, a Job Corps ceremony will honor a winning Job Corps Center for their green construction project.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
Thursday, April 22 – Chicago, Ill.
Secretary Sebelius will hold an Earth Day health event with Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Ron Sims at Roosevelt Gardens, a Chicago Housing Authority site.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan
Thursday, April 22 – Washington, D.C.
Secretary Donovan will deliver remarks at the Earth Day Network’s 40th Anniversary of Earth Day rally on the National Mall. There, he will highlight the President’s Earth Day call to action and HUD’s efforts to develop more sustainable, inclusive neighborhoods -- all while increasing green-job and green-housing opportunities for families across the country.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
Thursday, April 22, Secretary LaHood – Chicago, Ill.
Secretary LaHood will attend an Earth Day event at Daley Plaza. The event includes a school climate video competition for participating school groups, and will have alternative-fuel vehicles on display.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu
Thursday, April 22 -- Washington, D.C.
Secretary Chu will speak at an Earth Day celebration for Department of Energy employees.

Friday, April 23 – Philadelphia, Pa.
Secretary Chu will hold a clean-energy event that focuses on the benefits of energy efficiency.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan
Thursday April 22 – Washington, D.C.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will deliver remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day at the National Mall in Washington. Secretary Duncan will discuss how education can play a role in developing a green economy.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Wednesday, April 21 – Pittsburgh, Pa.
Administrator Jackson will be in Pittsburgh for an ENERGY STAR® event with children from the Sarah Heinz House Boys and Girls Club. This is a club that provides children and teenagers with strong role models and a safe, fun place to go after school, on weekends, and during the summer.

Thursday, April 22 -- New York City
The Administrator will participate in an urban-focused community service project with Green For All at the Grant Houses Community Garden in Manhattan. Administrator Jackson will take a tour of the garden, deliver remarks to press, students and volunteers, and participate in a planting activity with volunteers. The Administrator will also be a guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman" to talk about the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and President Obama’s clean-energy and green-jobs agenda.

Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25 -- Washington, D.C.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the EPA will be hosting a celebration event on Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25, on the National Mall. The event will feature a variety of interactive, family-friendly exhibits that highlight the work of the agency and celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. Administrator Jackson will appear on the National Mall on Friday to visit the Office of Research and Development’s P3 student participants and recognize winners. P3 is the next step beyond P2 -- pollution prevention -- and focuses on the three components of sustainability: people, prosperity, and the planet.

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley
Sunday, April 25 – Washington, D.C.
Chair Sutley will deliver remarks at the Earth Day Network’s 40th Anniversary of Earth Day festivities on the National Mall. She will focus on the Obama Administration’s environmental agenda, and how the transition to a clean-energy economy can create millions of American jobs while reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler
Thursday, April 22 – Washington, D.C.
The Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler will attend the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s [ENRD] Earth Day 2010 event on April 22 at Marvin Gaye Park, where it has held its annual Earth Day service celebration since 2004. In those five years, the Division has been able to help the park purchase over $7,500 worth of trees and landscaping materials as part of the park revitalization event. ENRD has also devoted over 2,500 hours of employee time to planting trees, removing trash, laying sod, and gardening.

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager
Friday April 23 – Sussex County, Del.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will travel to Delaware on Friday to participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for a project that will modernize water quality and public sanitation services in Sussex County through the upgrading of the Inland Bays Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Friday April 23 – Woodland Park, Col.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager will travel to Woodland Park, Col., where he will participate in an event marking the use of Recovery Act funds to improve drinking water quality in a subdivision.

Commerce Department Senior Officials
Earth Day Week
From April 17 through 23, the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] leadership is holding events at Recovery Act coastal restoration projects in eight states. The events will highlight job creation in Huntington Beach, Cal.; Cape Hatteras, N.C.; Seattle, Wash.; Muskegon Lake, Mich.; Grande Isle, La.; Maunalua Bay, Hawaii; Jersey City, N.J.; and Florida Keys, Fl.

Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren
Thursday April 22 – Berkeley, Cal.
Office of Science and Techology Policy [OSTP] Director John P. Holdren will be in Berkeley, Cal., where he will give a free, public, evening lecture on the topic of: "Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being: Priorities and Policies in the Obama Administration," to be held in Sibley Auditorium in the Bechtel Engineering Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Holdren will also note that April 22 marks not only the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, but also the 15th anniversary of a federal program that embodies the central principles of Earth Day: the Global Learning & Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE, program. Tomorrow, OSTP will release a new report that affirms the many benefits of that environmental education program -- launched on Earth Day 1995 -- and lays out a map for future accomplishments.

GLOBE is just one element in an array of programs and activities being supported by the Administration in the domain of environmental science and education. For more details about GLOBE, visit http://www.globe.gov/.

Veterans Affairs Officials
Weeklong
Hospital directors and regional office directors will lead Earth Day events at VA health facilities across the country -- including Martinsburg, W.Va.; North Texas; Clarksburg, Va.; Saginaw, Mich.; Battle Creek, Mich.; San Diego, Cal.; Spokane, Wash.; Fresno, Cal.; Los Angeles, Cal.; Long Beach, Cal.; Reno, Nev.; Tucson, Ariz., Boise, Idaho; Menlo Park, Cal.; Palo Alto, Cal.; and Ft. Harrison, Mont.

Treasury Department Initiative
Earth Day Week
With Americans poised to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a broad, new initiative to dramatically increase the number of electronic transactions that involve Treasury, plus millions of citizens and businesses -- a move that is expected to save more than $400 million and 12 million pounds of paper in the first five years alone. Treasury will also make an announcement about a change in the Department’s energy consumption that, when coupled with the move from paper to electronic transactions, will greatly reduce Treasury’s environmental impact.

NASA
Earth Day Week – Washington, D.C.
NASA's participation in the celebration of Earth Day's 40th anniversary on the National Mall in Washington began on Saturday, April 17. The agency's involvement includes nine consecutive days of activities and exhibits open to the public. The NASA Village, which contains three domed tents, will highlight the use of NASA science and technology to advance knowledge and awareness about our planet and sustain our environment.

GOODBIZ113'S TAKE
Thanks to President Obama's pivotal Recovery Act and his hand-picked Administration of innovative thought leaders and get-it-done men and women, America is finally beginning to turn the corner on far too many years -- eight, to be exact -- of environmental neglect.

With patience, pragmatism, and collaborative, can-do spirit and action, individuals, businesses, nonprofits and public agencies can sustainably prosper in this ecosystem called Earth.

Happy Earth Day, one and all!

SOURCES: Organizing for America, U.S. Department of Energy, The White House
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DOE Releases New Report on Benefits of Recovery Act for Small Businesses in Clean Energy, Environmental Management Sectors

The U.S. Department of Energy today released a new report -- "Small Businesses Helping Drive Economy: Clean Energy, Clean Sites" -- that highlights the benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [ARRA] to small businesses throughout the clean, renewable-energy industry and environmental management sector.

This report found that, as of early March 2010, small businesses have been selected to receive nearly $5.4 billion in funding across a number of Recovery Act and related programs -- including loans, loan guarantees, grants, contracts and tax incentives -- in partnership with the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The report highlights 26 small businesses in a range of clean-energy technologies -- e.g., wind, solar, biofuels -- along with critical new infrastructure, such as Smart Grid, advanced batteries, energy storage, and energy-efficiency tools. It also notes small businesses that are helping to advance responsible environmental cleanup efforts.

Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu [pictured] and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills highlighted the report as part of a media conference call. The call also featured Scott Lang, CEO of Silver Spring Networks, and Harrison Dillon, president and CTO of Solazyme Inc.

"Small businesses are the backbone of job creation in this country and have been a springboard for innovation in the clean-energy sector," said Secretary Chu. "The work these companies do and the innovation they produce will go a long way in helping our economy grow, and our nation succeed."

SBA Administrator Mills concurred. "Small businesses have created about 64 percent of the new jobs over the past 15 years," she noted. "Already, small businesses are one of the driving forces in the green-energy sector. With resources like those provided through the Department of Energy and SBA, we have a unique opportunity to support the creation of good, well-paying jobs here at home -- jobs that will also help keep America competitive."

Read the full report: http://bit.ly/SmallBizCleanEnergy.

Some success stories highlighted in the report include:

* UQM Technologies Inc., of Frederick, Col., is a well-established supplier of prototype electric propulsion and generator systems -- including electric rotating machines and drive electronics. For more than two decades, the company has supplied these systems to both established and aspiring automakers. In 2006, UQM completed an R&D project with the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [EERE] Vehicle Technologies Program to design a power-dense motor for use in electric drive vehicles. UQM is now positioned to take its technology into production, establishing a U.S. volume manufacturer of electric drive systems. The $45 million grant that UQM received under the Recovery Act will enable UQM to establish manufacturing facilities for production volumes of 120,000 electric drive systems per year, powering all-electric, hybrid-electric, plug-in hybrid-electric passenger cars and hybrid-electric trucks and buses, creating up to 3,000 jobs.

* Silver Spring Networks, based in Redwood City, Cal., did not receive a direct grant under the Smart Grid Investment Grant [SGIG] Program, but it is still a big winner through its partnerships with many utilities around the country. For instance, Florida Power & Light [FPL] received a $200 million grant for its Energy Smart Miami project, which represents the foundation of a $700 million investment to deploy Smart Meters to every residential FPL customer in Florida. Silver Spring provides the hardware, software and services that connect every device on the grid, creating a unified Smart Energy Platform. Other utility clients of Silver Spring who received SGIG grants include Pepco Holdings Inc., Oklahoma Gas & Electric, and American Electric Power.

* Solazyme Inc., a San Francisco-based company, is a true start-up success story. Founded in 2003 by a scientist and entrepreneur who were among the first people to focus on algae as an alternative to conventional fuels, the company has pioneered a new technology to produce biodiesel and green diesel from algae oil. Like most emerging technology companies, Solazyme faced a huge obstacle in obtaining adequate funds to commercialize its technology. However, with a $21.8 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [ARRA] grant under the Biomass Program, Solazyme will now be able to build its first integrated algae fuel refinery and help lay the foundation for subsequent large-scale development of an "advanced biofuels" industry. The project will create jobs in California and Pennsylvania.

* FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp. is a fledgling start-up that won an MIT clean-energy competition last year. The company is developing a new high-efficiency shrouded wind turbine capable of delivering significantly more energy per unit of swept area. FloDesign Wind’s $8.3 million ARPA-E grant represents a major increase in resources for the company that will have a dramatic effect on its ability to ramp up technology development.

* Universal Display Corporation was awarded a $4 million ARRA grant by DOE, under the Building Technologies Program [BTP] to scale and transfer its technologies to a partner pilot organic light-emitting diodes [OLED] manufacturing line to be set up in the U.S. The project will facilitate the growth of the embryonic OLED lighting industry by providing prototype lighting panels to U.S. luminaire manufacturers -- to incorporate into products, to facilitate testing of design, and to gauge customer acceptance. Part of a new DOE initiative designed to help establish and maintain U.S. leadership in solid-state lighting manufacturing, the funding will help UDC lay the foundation for the development of an OLED lighting industry in the U.S.

In toto, the Recovery Act awarded DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [EERE] $16.8 billion for its programs and initiatives. For details about EERE's funding and how it is being spent, go to: http://bit.ly/RecoveryActEERE.

SOURCES: Recovery.gov, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Small Business Administration
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