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$3.5 billion of new federal funding for US battery manufacturing announced

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden administration announced that a new round of federal funds to support the US battery manufacturing industry is becoming available. This $3.5 billion package is the second part of a large $6 billion-plus program that awarded funds to its first applicants last year.

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Energy Secretary Rick Perry won’t revive coal after all: He’s resigning

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a fossil-friendly climate science denier who once pledged to eliminate the Department of Energy entirely, is going to quit his job next month, according to Politico.

Perry will likely be replaced by Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, who has previously worked for Ford as a VP of their policy team.


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EGEB: New solar tech harvest rain motion energy, Edmonton may go 100% green, DOE reveals a new concentrated solar power project

Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

Today on EGEB, Chinese scientists unveil their newest invention: a solar panel powered not only by the sun but also rain. Edmonton’s urban planning committee proposes that every municipal service use only renewable energy. U.S. Department of Energy will construct a new test facility running concentrated solar power on a level never seen before.


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DOE head Rick Perry says fossil fuels prevent sexual assault, also doesn’t know what a fossil fuel is

Along with the announcement of the huge tax hike in the new republican tax bill, we have some other astounding ignorance coming out of the titular heads of government in the US today.  Rick Perry, who has received over $11.6 million from the fossil fuel industry in the course of his political career, soliloquizing about his recent experience in Africa, claimed that fossil fuels save lives and prevent sexual assault, at a discussion on energy policy sponsored by Axios and NBC news. Yes, really, he said that.  Full quote below.


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US Dept. of Energy’s Solar Decathlon runs Oct 5-15 in Denver, Colorado; free public attendance

For 15 years, the US Department of Energy has held the “Solar Decathlon,” a student competition which showcases sustainable technologies in the home.  Teams from around the world come together and build functional solar-powered houses from the ground up, then use those houses for two weeks.  The houses are then graded on ten different aspects of their design, with the largest combined score being the winner.  The competition has been happening approximately biennially since 2002.  This year it’s in Denver, Colorado at the University of Colorado.

The best part is: all of this is free and open to the public.  Every house is open for tours and knowledgeable students are on hand and ready to answer questions about their projects, and there is a “sustainability expo” with company booths focused on sustainability.  There are even workshops, an electric vehicle ride-and-drive (only Oct 14th 11am-3pm), and a career fair (Oct 10th 12-3pm).  Public visiting hours are 11am-7pm most days (1-7pm Monday Oct 9), though the Decathlon is closed to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct 10-11).  See the full list of things to do here.


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US Department of Energy wants electricity grid to be able to handle 100% mid-day peak solar power

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) is readying the power grids for solar power to meet 100%, and greater, of local electricity demand as solar peaks mid-day. The DOE is funding a series of projects whose broad goal is to make the power grid more able to be monitored and managed while dealing with less predictable and controllable forms of electricity generation.


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Energy Department awards $55 million to advance fuel efficiency and electric vehicle technologies

As part of the Obama Administration’s strategy to increase energy productivity, reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil and cut harmful emissions, the Department of Energy awarded $55 million to advance fuel efficiency and electric vehicle technologies through 24 projects.

The program is directly aiming at making electric vehicles as affordable to own as a gas-powered vehicles by 2022.

The money awarded went to projects ranging from material science on battery technologies to systems for making components lighter in order to increase efficiency of both battery-powered and gas-powered vehicles.
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