Week in Review: January 31, 2010 to February 7, 2010

1. President Barack Obama has announced that the U.S. Federal Government will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 28 percent by 2020.  As the single largest energy consumer in the U.S. economy, the Federal Government spent more than $24.5 billion on electricity and fuel in 2008 alone.  “As the largest energy consumer in the United States, we have a responsibility to American citizens to reduce our energy use and become more efficient,” said President Obama.  “Our goal is to lower costs, reduce pollution, and shift Federal energy expenses away from oil and towards local, clean energy”.  This Federal target is the aggregate of 35 Federal Agency self-reported targets (Read more).
2. On Tuesday, President Obama announced a series of steps his Administration is taking as part of its comprehensive strategy to enhance American energy independence while building a foundation for a new clean energy economy, and its promise of new industries and millions of jobs. The steps include: a finalized rule from the EPA to implement the long-term renewable fuels standard of 36 billion gallons by 2022 established by Congress; a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) that would provide financing to increase the conversion of biomass to bioenergy; and a report from the President’s Biofuels Interagency Working Group laying out a strategy to advance the development and commercialization of a sustainable biofuels industry to meet or exceed the nation’s biofuels targets (Read more).
3. Also on Tuesday, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum creating an Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage to develop a comprehensive and coordinated federal strategy to speed the development and deployment of clean coal technologies. The Task Force will develop within 180 days a plan to overcome the barriers to the deployment of widespread affordable CCS within 10 years, with a goal of bringing five to ten commercial demonstration projects on line by 2016 (Read the memorandum).
4. According to a press release on Tuesday, Siemens AG is entering India’s domestic wind turbine market as part of a move to double its investment in Asia’s third-largest economy.  Peter Löscher, Siemens’ chief executive, said his company would invest Rs16bn ($346m) over the next three years, in an attempt to build a renewable energy business in a country struggling to overcome a severe energy deficit.  As part of this expansion strategy, about a third of the new investment would be directed towards the development of wind turbine technology with an expected product launch by 2012.  It would also expand into solar power (Read the press release).
5. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday the creation of the State Energy Efficiency (SEE) Action Network.  This network is meant to help states achieve maximum cost effective energy efficiency improvements in homes, offices, buildings and industry by 2020. “Expanding energy efficiency is one of the quickest, most cost-effective ways we can address climate change and grow America’s economy,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.  “The State Energy Efficiency Action Network will help provide states with the technical and policy support they need to invest in energy efficiency, saving energy and money for families and businesses across the country” (Read more).
6. As of 2/1/10, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has received submissions of national pledges to cut and limit greenhouse gases by 2020 from 55 countries. Together, these countries account for 78 per cent of global emissions from energy use. Industrialized countries listed their mid-term targets to cut emissions.  Developing countries communicated information on their nationally appropriate mitigation actions.
7. The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) has announced that the U.S.  Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, has won the 2009 National Solar Energy Champion Award because of his continuous leadership towards spurring development of clean energy infrastructure, creating jobs, combating climate change and harnessing the vast U.S. solar resources (Read more).
8. On Monday, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu detailed President Barack Obama’s $28.4 billion Fiscal Year 2011 budget request for the Department of Energy.  According to Chu, “This budget supports new approaches to energy research and invests in the next generation of scientists and engineers, and it will spark new clean energy projects nationwide, including restarting the American nuclear power industry” (Read some specifics of the DOE budget request).
9. On Friday, nine research and development project teams were honored at “Transformations in Lighting,” the seventh annual U.S. Department of Energy Solid-State Lighting (SSL) R&D Workshop.  Organizations were recognized by DOE for significant breakthroughs and achievements in 2009, representing research in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) (See the list of recognized teams).