EERE Network News
March 05, 2008
News and Events
DOE and USDA to Invest Up to $18.4 Million in Biomass Projects
DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on March 4th that they will invest up to $18.4 million in 31 biomass research, development, and demonstration projects over the next three years.
Venture Capital Firms to Work with Three DOE National Laboratories
DOE has chosen three venture capital firms to participate in DOE's Entrepreneur in Residence pilot program. The three firms will provide enterpreneurs that will work at DOE's national laboratories in Colorado, New Mexico, and Tennessee to identify technologies for commercialization.
Daimler and GM to Launch Hybrids with Lithium-Ion Batteries
Daimler AG and General Motors Corporation (GM) are both planning to incorporate lithium-ion batteries in hybrid vehicles over the next two years. The first production vehicles to use lithium-ion batteries could serve as a stepping stone to plug-in hybrids, which will also rely on lithium-ion batteries.
Europeans Add Their Unique Style to Green Cars at Geneva
You'd have to travel to the Geneva Auto Show to catch some of the latest "green" eccentricities of European auto designers, including a hybrid Italian supercar, an English fuel cell car with swooping fenders, and a Lotus sports car that can run on any blend of gasoline, ethanol, and methanol.
Wal-Mart to Provide Energy Audits of State Capitols
Under a new partnership between the National Governors Association and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart will send energy efficiency experts to state capitol complexes in as many as 20 states. The new "Greening the Capitols" effort will be carried out in 2008 and 2009.
New Mexico Act Requires Utilities to Save Energy
A new energy act in New Mexico requires the state's electric and gas utilities to launch energy efficiency programs and sets specific targets for electric utilities. But it also rewards utilities if they are successful, allowing them to earn a better profit than they would earn by selling power.
Energy Connections
Florida Blackout Strikes a Million Customers
A fault in a substation in west Miami on February 26 ultimately shut down 26 transmission lines, 38 substations, and about a dozen generating plants, including two nuclear plants at Turkey Point. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation immediately announced that it will investigate.
