Market Intelligence Workshop, December 15-18, 2011, Paris, France
December 14, 2011The Market Intelligence Workshop will be held from December 15 to December 18, 2011 in Paris. The workshop’s targeted audience are market research analysts, business intelligence analysts, business development managers and R&D professionals.
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Domestic Solar Manufacturing Market Gets Government’s Push
August 3, 2011As recently as 1995, the United States maintained a dominant global solar market share, manufacturing 43 percent of the world’s PV panels. In steady decline, U.S. market share shrank to 27 percent by 2000 and to 7 percent by 2010. SUNPATH stands for Scaling Up Nascent PV At Home and represents the second solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing Initiative (PVMI) supported by the Department of Energy. The goal of the SUNPATH program is to ensure U.S. leadership in the 21st century solar energy economy.
The Department of Energy announced a $50 million investment over two years for the SUNPATH program. Currently the Department of Energy is seeking applicants with industrial-scale demonstrations of PV modules, cells, or substrates that offer lower-cost solutions in line with the SunShot goal. Applications are due by October 28, 2011.
PVMI Part I: Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships has resulted in the selection of $110 million in projects to three industry and academic consortia to enable substantial cost reductions in PV module production.
PVMI Part II: SUNPATH seeks to increase domestic manufacturing through investments that have sustainable, competitive cost and performance advantages. SUNPATH will help companies with pilot-scale commercial production scale up their manufacturing capabilities, enabling them to overcome a funding gap that often curtails domestic business at a critical stage. By bridging this gap, SUNPATH will help ensure that innovative, low-cost solar technologies are manufactured in the United States.
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Four New Biomass Production Projects to Produce 2 Million Gallons of Biofuels Annually
July 28, 2011The USDA announced four new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in in California, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington to expand the production of renewable liquid biofuel. These projects will produce more than 2 million gallons of biofuels annually when full production levels are achieved. USDA has allocated approximately $45 million for contracts that range between less than five years up to 15 years in the four project areas for producers who volunteer to enroll in BCAP. Producers who enter into BCAP contracts are eligible for reimbursements of up to 75 percent of the establishment costs of the perennial energy crop, and up to five years of annual maintenance payments for herbaceous crops and up to 15 years for woody crops.
According to a recent market study of Market Research Media - Global Biofuel Production Forecast 2015-2020, the global biofuel production is estimated to reach 1,900 Million barrel in 2020, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% over the forecast period 2015 – 2020.
Two of the new BCAP project areas, targeted for California, Montana, Washington and Oregon, will grow camelina at a significant scale. Camelina, an oilseed, is a rotation crop for wheat that can be established on marginally productive land. Biofuel from camelina is an ideal jet fuel substitute. The project has a target of 51,000 acres. The sponsors are Beaver Biodiesel, LLC and AltAir Fuels LLC. The project areas are near biomass conversion facilities in Bakersfield, Calif., Tacoma, Wash., and Albany, Ore.
Another BCAP project area, part of an effort sponsored by cellulosic biofuels company ZeaChem, will encourage growth of hybrid poplar trees in Oregon. The goal is to enroll up to 7,000 acres. This project is part of a series of measures that comprise USDA’s Wood-to-Energy Initiative. It seeks to build a forest restoration economy by integrating energy feedstock within the larger forest products sector to sustain rural jobs and prosperity. The project area surrounds a biomass conversion facility in Boardman, Ore.
Additionally, a BCAP project area in Kansas and Oklahoma, sponsored by Abengoa Biofuels, has been designated to grow up to 20,000 acres of switchgrass. The project area surrounds the future facility’s biomass conversion facility in Hugoton, Kan.
Earlier this year, USDA announced five BCAP project areas where energy crops will be grown on up to 250,000 acres in 66 counties in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Ohio. These crops, such as switchgrass and giant miscanthus, are the first-ever national investments in expanding U.S. biomass resources to meet domestic energy security.
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