EERE Network News
October 21, 2009
News and Events
Vice President Biden Unveils Home Retrofit Plan for Energy Efficiency
The vice president has launched a broad effort to boost home energy efficiencies, called "Recovery Through Retrofit." It will be supported with $454 million in Recovery Act funds from DOE, which is seeking innovative programs to retrofit entire neighborhoods and communities.
Team Germany Wins the 2009 Solar Decathlon
A team of university students from Germany took top honors in the 2009 Solar Decathlon, followed by the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and Team California. Teams were judged on the solar homes that they assembled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
DOE to Invest $24 Million in Three Wind Energy Research Facilities
To encourage research into utility-scale wind energy power as well as to broaden academic study of renewables, DOE is funding three university-led facilities in Illinois, Maine, and Minnesota.
AWEA: Recovery Act Spurs U.S. Wind Power Growth in the Third Quarter
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is crediting the Recovery Act as a major factor in driving strong growth in installed U.S. wind power capacity for the third quarter of 2009. But despite that boost, AWEA sees a slowdown in wind power growth as the year nears its end.
California Expands its Rules for Feed-In Tariffs and Net Metering
A new California law will allow utility customers to sell back the power from renewable energy systems as large as 3 megawatts in capacity, while a separate law will allow customers using net metering to sell their excess power generation credits at the end of the year.
Progressive Automotive X Prize Narrows the Field to 43 Teams
The list of teams competing for a $10 million prize purse in the Progressive Automotive X Prize has been winnowed down to 43. As those teams gear up to compete, DOE is funding a new high school competition to design the "Dashboard of the Future" to encourage fuel-efficient driving.
Site News
2010 Fuel Economy Guide Now Available
The 2010 Fuel Economy Guide, a joint project of DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is now available. Consumers can draw on printed, online, and mobile versions of the guide to find out about the most fuel-efficient new vehicles on the market.
Energy Connections
Report Examines the Hidden Health and Environmental Costs of Energy Use
The health and environmental costs of the major air pollutants emitted by energy production and use totaled an estimated $120 billion for the United States in 2005, according to a new report from the National Research Council. Power plants and vehicles are the worst offenders.
