Hunton & Williams Renewable Energy Quarterly, September 2009

Renewable Energy Quarterly
18 months. Another 300 residents will have home meters
that will gauge their consumption so they will have the option
to manage their energy usage and thereby save money.
The City University of New York will also participate in the
pilot by testing the integration of solar energy into the city
grid. The energy will be collected from a 100kW photovoltaic
system on the roof of LaGuardia Community College.
If the pilot proves a success, Con Ed hopes to bring the
advances to the rest of the city. Since the announcement
of the Queens project, Con Ed has applied for a total of
$188 million in federal stimulus funds to support their overall
$435 million smart grid program.
Farmers Cut Costs and Emissions with Legislation
Pending
Climate change legislation has been the source of much
debate in the agricultural community, but farmers have been
making positive changes while lawmakers work out the
details. Over the last few years, an increasing number of
dairy farmers in Wisconsin have successfully lowered their
operational costs with the use of biogas digester systems.
The biogas engines generate enough power for on-site electricity
needs and the excess power can often be sold back to
the regional grid.
In January a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced
legislation to encourage the development of biogas, the
Biogas Production Incentive Act of 2009. If passed, the bill
would encourage greater production of biogas for energy
purposes by providing biogas producers with a tax credit
of $4.27 for every million British thermal units of biogas
produced. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if the
U.S. used half of its waste biomass, biogas could replace
about 5 percent of the natural gas currently being used,
reducing carbon dioxide emissions by another 45–70 million
metric tons per year.
U.S. Military and Investors Help Algae Research Grow
On September 8 Solazyme Inc., a synthetic biology company
specializing in algal biodiesel, announced that it had signed
a contract with the Defense Department to develop 20,000
gallons of algae-derived diesel fuel for testing. This contract
is a symbolic leap forward for the advanced research and
development of large-scale advanced biofuel production
from algae. Earlier this year, the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded a $25 million
contract to Science Applications International Corp. for the
development of an algae-based jet fuel for the U.S. military.
The military’s ultimate goal of energy independence continues
to act as a catalyst for alternative energy pioneers like
Solazyme.
Algae are among the fastest-growing plants in the world.
Approximately 50 percent of their weight is lipid oil, which
can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks and airplanes.
Many others are investing in the promise of algae. In July
ExxonMobil and startup Synthetic Genomics announced
more than $600 million for a five- to six-year algae biofuels
development program, including more than $300 million to
be invested into the startup. Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment
has funded Sapphire Energy’s development of auto fuel from
algae. In early September, Sapphire Energy’s green crude
powered the world’s first algae-fueled vehicle — a modified
Toyota Prius also know as Algaeus. Although it is premature
to say we will conquer our dependence on foreign oil with
algae, recent developments demonstrate it is a fuel with
great potential.
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