New Web site
simplifies applying for federal grants
A new Web site unveiled December 9th by Health
and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, will make it
easier for organizations to learn about and apply for Federal
grants.
The site, Grants.gov,
provides information in a standardized format across agencies
and includes a "Find Grant Opportunities" database
that allows applicants to search current funding opportunities.
The "Apply for Grants" feature greatly simplifies
the application process by allowing applicants to download,
complete and submit applications for specific grant opportunities
from any Federal grant-making agency.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services led the development of the cross-agency Web site that
has information about more than 800 available grant programs
involving all 26 Federal grant-making agencies. These agencies
together award more than $360 billion in grant funds each year.
To date, five agencies—the U.S. Departments
of Commerce, Education, Energy, Justice and HHS—have posted
application packages to the Grants.gov Web site. This section
will expand in coming months as Federal agencies continue to
post application information about additional grant opportunities.
Secretary
Abraham pledges to speed review of energy-saving standards
At a recent meeting with energy efficiency, environmental
and consumer groups and major utility companies, U.S. Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham promised to "cut through the red tape"
that has delayed the long-awaited reviews of energy efficiency
standards on residential furnaces and other equipment.
"We applaud Secretary Abraham's leadership on energy efficiency
standards," said Mark Hopkins, acting co-president of the
Alliance to Save Energy, "The secretary's leadership will
make all the difference in getting these standards done."
DOE staff used the meeting to review the steps
involved in considering a new standard and discussed ways to
smooth the process. The standards under review cover residential
furnaces and boilers, commercial air conditioners and electric
distribution transformers.
The American
Council for an Energy Efficient Economy estimated that strengthening
the residential furnace standard would save typical households
in cold-weather states like Michigan about $120 per winter.
Nationally, upgrades to the three standards could save consumers
and businesses about $22 billion over the next 20 years, cutting
the growth in peak electrical demand by an amount equal to the
output of 80 new powerplants. ACEEE projects that the new standards
will also save nearly 400 billion cubic feet of natural gas
per year, helping to ease the rise of natural gas prices.
Minnesota
wind incentive capacity full
Minnesota's production incentive for small, utility
scale projects of 2 MW or less completely reached its capacity
on Nov. 7, at 9:20 A.M., according to the American
Wind Energy Association.
On that date, the Minnesota
Energy Office accepted the final project to be eligible
for the state payment of 1.5 cent per kWh. The exact time was
important, since multiple projects were scrambling to secure
power purchases to meet the deadline for the incentive. Developers
submitting their applications later in the day missed the opportunity.
Not only is the 200-MW total capacity fully subscribed,
but the energy office's waiting list has 23 MW of additional
projects in the wings. If an approved project fails to begin
generating electricity within 18 months of its approval, that
capacity will be re-allocated to wait-listed projects. Renewable
energy advocates are concerned that unless the state earmarks
more funds for wind generation, attrition will be the only avenue
to the incentive for additional projects.
Master's
degree offered in alternative fuels
Michigan's Wayne
State University has become the first in the nation to offer
a master's degree program specifically in alternative fuel technology.
The College of Engineering opened the graduate
level course, "Fundamentals of Alternative Energy I" to students
with a bachelor's degree in engineering during the winter semester.
The study will focus on many aspects including fuel cell catalysts,
thermal management, control systems, smart sensors, process
safety, vehicle design, traffic simulation, infrastructure management
and engineering management.
"Fundamentals of Alternative Energy I" is the
first piece of a new engineering master's degree program in
a curriculum planned to be fully in place by fall 2005. The
college is also planning an AET graduate certificate program
and an undergraduate concentration program.
A $300,000 grant from NextEnergy
is funding the new program. NextEnergy, a nonprofit corporation
the state of Michigan created last year, is providing the spark
and support to galvanize an alternative fuel technology economy
in the state. Lansing
Community College, Lawrence
Technological University and Kettering
University also received NextEnergy AET curriculum grants
that involve associate degree and certificate programs.
California's
self-generation rebate program extended
California's outgoing Governor Gray Davis signed
legislation on Oct. 12, to extend the state's Self-Generation
Incentive Program through the end of 2007. The program that
has done so much to stimulate the growth of solar power in California
was set to expire at the end of 2004.
The new legislation, Assembly Bill 1685, also
set emissions standards and required a minimum conversion efficiency
of 60 percent for any fossil-fueled distributed generation that
seeks to qualify for the incentive payment. Combined heat and
power projects can earn credits against the emission standards
based on how much heat they recover.
The California
Public Utilities Commission initiated the program in 2001
to offer incentives to customers of Pacific
Gas & Electric Company, San
Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern
California Edison and Southern
California Gas Company to install "self-generation" units
to lessen the electricity load on the power grid.
