Briefing October 5 – 11 | In Focus: Green Buildings United States

EUROPE

UK Government selects Accenture as smart grid advisor. (Oct. 9)

• Accenture will advise The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on the viability, benefits, and adoption process of smart grid technologies. Read more…

European Commission releases financing proposal for renewable energies. (Oct. 7)

• The proposal calls for €50Bn to be invested in energy technology over the next 10 years. However, industry groups were disappointed by the lack of concrete EU funding commitments. Read more 1 and 2…

Wales launches £34M low carbon research and development program. (Oct. 6)

• The fund will support a 6-year program led by Cardiff University to jumpstart low-carbon energy projects to make all new buildings carbon neutral by 2011, reduce emissions by 3% per year, and become self-sufficient in renewable energy generation by 2025. Read more…

NORTH AMERICA

DOE makes $750M available in new loan guarantees for renewable energy. (Oct. 9)

• The funding will cover the cost of guarantees enabling between $4-8Bn in lending. The DOE also announced creation of its new Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP) aimed at streamlining the loan guarantee underwriting process. Read more…

Obama signs executive order directing federal agencies to cut greenhouse gas emissions. (Oct. 7)

• The order requires federal agencies to set 2020 emissions reduction targets within the next 90 days. The directive also requires agencies to cut fleet petroleum usage by 30%, achieve net-zero energy use by 2030, improve water efficiency by 26% by 2020, and recycle or divert 50% of waste by 2015. Read more…

DOE makes $87M available for solar technology development. (Oct. 9)

• Funding focuses on 47 projects with universities, utilities, local governments and DOE laboratories to train workers, overcome technical challenges, and ensure grid connectivity. $50M in funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Read more…

US DOE awards 12 carbon capture projects with $44.1M in first round funding. (Oct. 5)

• The funding includes $21.6M from the Recovery Act and $22.5M from private sources. The 7-month projects will be implemented in 8 states with funding size ranging from $0.5M to $3M. Read more…