AmericanRenewables
Biodiesel,Ethanol,&BiomassIndustries billionkWh(0.9%)ofrenewableelectricity.Itisprojectedthatin
2009willprovidehistoricopportunitiesforbiomass,biofuels, 2030, biomass will account for 231 billion kWh (4.5%) of
biopower and biothermal energy given the Obama renewableelectricitygeneration.
Administration’s commitment to renewable energy. The new-
Hydropower
found focus on the importance of biomass is evident in the
In2008,hydroelectricpoweraccountedforabout71%ofthe
fundingopportunitiesoutlinedintheStimulusPackage,suchas
electricitygenerationbyrenewablesourcesintheUS(6%across
the Treasury Department’s Grant Program, and the DOA and
allsources)with249,791GWofelectricityproduced(EIA).Unlike
DOE’sLoanGuaranteeProgram.
NorthernEurope,America’sdeepcontinentalshelvescomplicate
BiodieselIndustryOutlook the possibility of tidal power. With no commercial sized
Thebiodieselindustryhasshownslowbutsteadysuccesssince installationsonitscoasts,thevastmajorityofhydroelectricpower
the early 1990’s However, in the past four years, it has grown comes from dams. Other potential forms of hydroelectric
exponentially. As of September 2008, there were over 176 generation include wave energy, hydrokinetic energy, and
commercial biodiesel production plants, and 39 plants under pumping techniques. Between 2005 and 2006, hydroelectric
constructionorexpansion.Soybeansaretheprimaryoilseedcrop generationincreasedatarateof7%,secondonlytowind’s45%
grownintheUS,andsoybeanoilmakesupabouthalfoftheraw boomduringthesameperiod,butdecreasedatarateof21%
materialavailabletomakebiodiesel. between2006-07duetochangesinthewatershedpatternswhere
Theindustryforeseescontinuedstronginterestandgrowthfor hydroelectric dams are located. The National Hydropower
biodieseldomestically.Itisprojectedthatbetween2005and2015 AssociationplacesAmerica’sunrealisedhydroelectricpotentialat
biodieselwilladdUS$24bntotheUSeconomy.Alargeportionof 90,000additionalMW,with23,000MWrealisableby2025viaa
thiswillbefromthecreationofapproximately30,000newjobs combination of new small/low-power hydropower, efficiency
throughoutallsectors. gainsatexistinginstallations,andadditionstonon-hydropower
Itisthegoaloftheindustrytohavebiodieselviewedasan dams. After 2025, advances in offshore generation techniques
integral component of a national energy policy which andefficiencyimprovementsareexpectedtoaddanadditional
increasinglyreliesonclean,domestic,renewablefuels.Further, 13,000MWofcapacity.
salesofdomesticbiodieselwouldkeepapproximatelyUS$13.6bn
Geothermal
intheUS–moneywhichwouldotherwisebespentonforeignoil.
TheUScontinuestoleadtheworldinonlineinstalledcapacity
EthanolIndustry ofgeothermalenergywithatotalofover3,000MW.TheUShas
Since2000,theethanolindustryhasexpandedsignificantlyin 74projectsthatarecurrentlyunderdevelopment.Theseprojects
terms of online biorefineries and their nameplate capacity. havethepotentialtoproduceuptoadditional2,900MWofnew
Advancements in ethanol production are greatly attributed to geothermalpower.
improved production efficiencies, new processing technologies Furthermore,theGeothermalEnergyAssociationreportsthat
andthecommercialisationofcellulosicconversiontechnology. there are 121 confirmed geothermal projects in some stage of
In2008,ethanol’sannualoperatingcapacityincreasedby2.7 planning or development. According to the DOE, geothermal
bngallons.Thisgrowthislargelytheresultoftheconstructionof energyprovided4%oftherenewableenergybasedelectricityin
31newethanolplants,builtinordertofulfiltherequirements 2007, accounting for 14,885 GWh of energy, and will occupy
outlined in the Renewable Fuel Standard. In 2008, 9 billion moreofthecountry’selectricalloadinthefuture.
gallonsofethanolwereproduced.In2009itisprojectedthat10 Expertshaveagreedthat15,000MWofgeothermalpowerwill
billiongallonswillbeprovided–9%ofAmerica’sgasolinesupply. beonlineby2025.AmoreoptimisticstudybytheMassachusetts
BiomassGrowth
InstituteofTechnologyestimatesthatgeothermalpowercanbe
Biomass will be one of the leaders in renewable electricity
increasedto100,000MWwithsignificantinvestments.
generation.Dedicatedandco-firingbiomasscurrentlysupply39 See:www.acore.orgformoreinformation.
Effect of the Renewable Fuel Standard Furthermore,institutionalinvestorsaremoreconcernedabout
RFS regulations ensure the appropriate volumes of riskandareslowertoinvestnewfundsinVCinprivateequity.
renewable fuel are introduced into the domestic economy – Thewholesystemhasmomentarilyshrunkandtightened.
applying to refiners, blenders and importers. For example, WeatACOREseehopefulsignsonthehorizonastheDOEis
according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a 36 billion gearinguptoissueR&Dcontracts,loanguaranteesandgrants
gallonRFScouldresultintheadditionofmorethanUS$1.76 inlieuoftaxcreditsonanexpeditedbasis.Ifthesefundsreach
trillion to the GDP (between 2008-2022) – a US$436 bn themarketbymid-2009,thiscouldstillbeagoodyear.The
increaseinAmericanhouseholdincomeandthecreationof outlookin2010isforadramaticrecoveryandanewburstof
1.1millionnewjobsinallsectorsoftheeconomy. growth.Then,in2011and2012,ACOREseesaramp-upto
long-term growth towards the real goals if 25% renewable
Summary & Outlook energyby2025.
•
Therenewableenergysectorexperiencedasharpdeclinein
thefirsthalfof2009duetothefinancialcrisisandattendant ACOREisanorganisationofmembercompaniesand
lossofseniordebtlendersandprojecttaxequityinvestors.This
institutionsdedicatedtomovingrenewableenergyintothe
compounds upstream to create new pressures on
mainstreamofAmerica’seconomy.
entrepreneurs,newventurecompaniesandventurecapitalists.
www.acore.org
112 worldPower2009
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