Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
reduce the cost of utility-size solar power plants in the Southwest from 12 to 14
cents per kilowatt-hour in 2005 to 10 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2010.
Hydrogen
In January 2003, the administration announced the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative
and proposed spending $1.2 billion over 5 years to support research in hydrogen
and fuel cell technologies. The initiative's objective is to accelerate the
development of technologies to produce and distribute hydrogen to power fuel
cells to replace the internal combustion engine in vehicles. While hydrogen is
used as a fuel for aerospace and rocket propulsion applications, it is primarily
used in the petroleum refining and fertilizer industries. DOE's hydrogen R and D
program is focused on developing technologies for production and delivery,
storage, conversion, and end-use applications and on standards formulation and
other research. The program's goal is to develop the technology needed to allow
industry to make a technology readiness decision in 2015 and introduce new
hydrogen vehicles by 2020. However, these technologies are not expected to
penetrate the market or significantly displace oil before 2030.
Geothermal
DOE's geothermal R and D program is developing technologies to improve
the efficiency and cost competitiveness of geothermal technologies, which
currently provide about 0.3 percent of total U.S. electricity and heating needs.[11]
DOE's R and D program has changed over time from a resource-oriented, long-
term, high-risk program to a cost-shared, competitively selected R and D program
to meet immediate industry needs in geosciences, drilling, resource engineering,
and energy conversion technologies. The program has developed drilling tools
that oil and gas companies have adapted for exploration and helped introduce
geothermal heat pumps into the market.[12] The current goals of the geothermal R
and D program are to (1) decrease the cost of geothermal electricity from about 8
to 9 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2004 to about 3 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour by
2010; (2) improve hydrothermal technologies by increasing the productivity and
lifetime of reservoirs, improve technology performance, and reduce the costs
associated with drilling geothermal wells; (3) develop additional geothermal
resources; and (4) explore the technical feasibility of mining heat from hot dry
rock and magma. However, the administration's fiscal year 2007 budget proposed
eliminating funding for the geothermal R and D program.
