The improved fuel cell on the FCHV-adv also does a better job of rejecting water that forms within the fuel cell, increasing the vehicle’s ability to operate at low temperatures. According to Toyota, the new fuel cell stack can operate at temperatures as low as -22°F. The new fuel cell stack is also more durable, thanks in part to better degradation control for the fuel cell’s catalyst. The FCHV-adv was certified as a road-safe vehicle by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on June 3. See the Toyota press release.

The G8, by the way, includes Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which was represented by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. The energy ministers from this “G8 plus 3″ group of countries also discussed high oil prices and a wide range of energy sources, including renewable energy. The ministers committed to “enhance vigorously” their efforts to address energy supply disruption risks, to improve energy efficiency, to promote non-conventional oil and alternative energy resources, and to diversify supply routes. They also noted that developing alternative transport and fuel technologies is essential to reduce the oil dependence of transportation throughout the world.

The IPEEC declaration noted that energy efficiency is one of the quickest, greenest, and most cost-effective ways to address energy security and climate change while ensuring economic growth, a conclusion supported by a recent study from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The report, released last week, notes that a 20% efficiency gain in the U.S. economy by 2030 could provide an estimated 800,000 net jobs while contributing to a slight increase in the nation’s gross domestic product. ACEEE notes that most national energy modeling efforts fail to account for energy efficiency’s contribution. According to ACEEE, if the energy efficiency resource were properly characterized by these models, the estimated costs of energy security and climate change policies would fall, while the benefits, net job creation, and consumer savings would rise. See the ACEEE press release and the full report.

While the Oregon act intends to encourage new manufacturing facilities within the state, the new South Dakota act provides tax incentives for wind energy facilities and the transmission lines that serve them. House Bill 1320, approved by Governor Mike Rounds on March 14, waives all state and local property taxes for wind energy facilities with a capacity of at least five megawatts. Instead, the owners of the facilities have to pay a tax of $3 per kilowatt of capacity plus 2% of the gross receipts of the wind facility. The wind facility developers can also earn rebates for up to half the cost of underground distribution lines, substations, and transmission lines built to support the wind power facility. The rebates can equal 90% of the taxes paid for the first five years and 50% of the taxes paid for the following five years. The remaining tax proceeds will be divided among the state and the county and local governments where the wind facility is located. See the governor’s announcement of the bill signing and the full text of the bill, House Bill 1320.

That’s an annual growth rate of more than 23%, but the industry appears ready to meet that challenge. According to the RFA, there are currently 143 ethanol biorefineries with the combined capacity to produce 13.4 billion gallons per year of ethanol fuel, well above that required by the new standard. The industry is also building another 57 biorefineries and expanding seven existing biorefineries, an effort that will boost ethanol production capacity by another 5.2 billion gallons. And those capacity additions are yielding economic benefits, too, as a new report concludes that the ethanol fuel industry created nearly 240,000 new jobs in 2007 and added $47.6 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product. See the press release (PDF 80 KB), the industry statistics, and the economic report (PDF 183 KB) on the RFA Web site

With U.S. gasoline consumption at about 9 million barrels per day, it’s fair to ask how the U.S. fuel infrastructure will absorb a steadily increasing supply of ethanol. One answer is a greater use of flex-fuel vehicles, which can burn E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, but most cars are currently burning at most 10% ethanol blends, or E10. Fueling the entire nation with E10 would allow for a doubling of ethanol production from the 2007 production level, but the new fuel standard calls for ethanol consumption to more than double by 2012. The answer may come from Minnesota, which has found that current vehicles and fuel dispensing equipment can handle ethanol blends as high as 20%. The year-long research effort will lead the state and its partners to apply for a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow E20 to be used for all of the state’s gasoline. If approved, such a change could nearly double the ethanol demand in Minnesota, a state where much of the nation’s ethanol is produced, and could serve as a model for other states. See the RFA press release (PDF 178 KB).

Among other renewable energy sources, ethanol production reached 12 billion gallons, biodiesel production exceeded 2 billion gallons, and there are now enough solar hot water systems to produce 128 gigawatts of thermal energy. The United States now leads the world in new wind capacity added each year and in annual ethanol production, and it also features the largest installed capacities for geothermal and biomass energy power plants. See the press release and report (PDF 480 KB) from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, or REN21. Download Adobe Reader.

While the REN21 report estimates last year’s investments in renewable energy at $71 billion, analysts at New Energy Finance have increased their estimate to $148.4 billion, more than double the REN21 estimate and a significant increase from New Energy Finance’s previous estimate of $117.2 billion, which was released in January. The new figure includes transactions made near the end of the year but not disclosed until more recently, and it reflects a 60% increase over investments in 2006, according to New Energy Finance. See the New Energy Finance press release (PDF 18 KB).

Eligible applicants may seek loan guarantees to cover up to 50% of a project’s cost, not to exceed $10 million. Grants are available for up to 25% of a project’s cost, not to exceed $250,000 for energy efficiency improvements and $500,000 for renewable energy systems. Grants will be awarded through two separate competitions, with the deadline for the first being April 15 and the deadline for the second being June 16. Applications for loans or loan and grant combinations are due by June 16. See the USDA press release and the program Web page.

The USDA also announced its award of more than $4.1 million to help 17 small businesses and community groups find more innovative uses of woody biomass, including renewable energy uses. The grants range from $170,000 to $250,000, while the project participants are providing as little as $65,590 to as much as $1.3 million for each project. The grants will be awarded to organizations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and South Dakota, including the Coquille Tribe of Oregon. See the USDA press release

Now available in the United States, the Smart Fortwo places fourth in the annual list of the year’s greenest new cars. Enlarge this image. Credit: Daimler

Subcompact cars are continuing to show up in the top ranks, with the newly imported Smart Fortwo landing in fourth place, the Toyota Yaris in fifth, the Mini Cooper in eighth, and the Honda Fit (which is technically considered a “small wagon”) in twelfth place. Compact cars also scored well, with the Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, and Honda Civic all landing in the top twelve. Meanwhile, five diesel models are among the seven least-green vehicles for 2008, but that trend should reverse itself next year, as automakers begin rolling out clean diesel vehicles in the United States. Although access to the full resources of ACEEE’s Green Book requires a paid subscription, the lists of the best and worst performers are available online for free. See the ACEEE press release and the Green Book ratings highlights.

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The Alaska Village Electric Cooperative installed its first NorthWind 100 wind turbines in the community of Toksook Bay in late 2005. Enlarge this image. Credit: Distributed Energy Systems

Wind power provides 25% of the electricity needs of two of AVEC’s communities—Toksook Bay and Kasigluk. Those two communities are also home to the first field deployments of the NorthWind 100 wind turbine, a 100-kilowatt turbine that is specifically for use in cold, harsh climates. The turbine, manufactured by Distributed Energy Systems Corporation, features a direct-drive generator that eliminates the need for a gearbox, avoiding the problems with gearbox lubrication caused by cold weather and other harsh conditions. Designed and developed in conjunction with DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the wind turbine received an R&D 100 award in 2000. See the DOE press release, the NREL Web page on the NorthWind turbine, and the Distributed Energy Systems Web page on the turbine and its case study on the Toksook Bay installation (PDF 105 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

The New American Home 2008 integrates modern energy efficiency into a classic plantation-style home. Credit: IBACOS

NAHB launched the new program at the 2008 International Builders Show (IBS), which was held in mid-February in Orlando, Florida, and a show home at IBS is the first to be certified in the new program. The New American Home, the official showcase house of the IBS, earned a gold-level certification through the use of three high-efficiency heat pumps for heating and cooling, a solar water heater, instantaneous water heaters, high-performance windows, and excellent insulation and air sealing. All of the home’s components work together to achieve a home that uses about 62% less energy for heating and cooling and 57% less energy for water heating than a similar home in the same climate. Two building teams from DOE’s Building America Program worked closely with the sponsor to achieve a high level of energy efficiency for the home. The IBS also featured the 2008 Green Builder Orlando Vision House, which incorporates structural insulated panels, spray foam insulation, and many other green features. A series of these homes will be built around the country to showcase the NAHB Model Green Building Guidelines. See the New American Home on the IBS Web site, a Building America fact sheet on the home (PDF 1.8 MB), and the Green Builder Vision House Web site. Download Adobe Reader.

NAHB is also developing a National Green Building Standard for homes that is meant to maintain flexibility in green building practices while providing a common national benchmark for builders, developers, and remodelers. According to NAHB, the new standard will be the first consensus-based standard for residential green building. In fact, the latest public comment period closed on February 4, and the committee for the new standard has until March 3 to register votes on the 600 comments received. The NAHB expects the American National Standards Institute to approve the standard this spring, after which it will be published by NAHB and the International Code Council. The standard is based on the three-year-old NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, but enhanced to include residential remodeling, multifamily building, and lot and site development. It also reflects enhancements in the International Residential Code. See the NAHB press release.

DOE ranks all homes participating in the Builders Challenge on the EnergySmart Home scale, or E-scale, which rates a home based on its overall energy performance. Today’s typical new homes score 100 on this scale, while zero-energy homes, which produce as much energy as they consume, score a zero. For the Builders Challenge, all homes must rank a 70 or better to qualify, making them essentially 30% more efficient than the average new home built to international energy efficiency codes. See the DOE press release and the Builders Challenge Web site.

To support builders participating in the challenge, DOE has made available “builder option packages,” which provide guidance for building high-performance homes in different climate zones. These packages also outline the criteria for qualifying for a $2,000 federal tax credit per the Energy Policy Act of 2005. To earn the credit, homes must use only half as much energy for heating and cooling as an average home of comparable size. Currently, the credit applies to homes bought by the end of this year for which construction was substantially completed after August 8, 2005. See more information about the tax credits on the IRS Web site.