Department of Energy

admin — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:40:20 +0000

Department of Energy Grants

Chris Franklin — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:00:16 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy that appears to have no less than 6 “GRANT PROGRAMS“ (look at the right sidebar of the page in the link) and, technically, maybe even a 7th (which I’ll mention at the end).

I’ll go through each of the 6 grant programs in the following:

Department of Energy Grants

Weatherization Assistance Program — This grant program involves funding to states, territories and tribal governments who then fund local agencies and non-profits. The funds are ultimately used to help low-income families permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient.
State Energy Program — Formula and competitive grants issued to US States. States use formula grants to develop goals and address energy priorities in their respective state. States appear to compete for the, well, “competitive grants” that have to do with a state’s adoption of energy efficiency/renewable energy products.
EECBG: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant – This grant program is particularly large, $3.2 Billion, and part of the 2009 Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Approximately 80% formula grants and 20% competitive grants. 60% of the money is shown as allocated to cities and counties. Use of funds is outlined at the foot of the page linked to.
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Funding Portal — Strangely, this link produced only, “Page not Found” and “Access Denied” when I checked it for you at 2AM, November 6, 2011 pacific time. Unfortunately this means I have nothing to expound upon about it here.
Office of Science — Grants & Contracts – This page is more for all the energy tech inventors in the U.S. Hit the link provided and then check out the sidebar for grants.gov. From there check out grant search and get to basic search. In basic search you can enter keywords like “energy,” “solar energy,” “wind energy,” “department of energy” and you’ll find several grant opportunities that haven’t reached their “close date,” that are effectively “sponsored” by Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Military, and that relate to “energy.” And frankly, even if the grant opportunity has already hit its “close date,” if you think you have some technology idea that fits the bill for the soliciting “agency,” submit it to them anyway. If they like it, they may disregard the “close date.”
Recovery Act — That page is a little tough to decipher. I’d recommend contacting the email address that is provided, RecoveryClearinghouse@hq.doe.gov and see if they or you have a means to fit-the-bill in some way.

Frankly what we could describe here as a 7th grant program is the following:

7. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Smal Business Technology Transfer (STTR) You see this mentioned underneath the 6 “GRANT PROGRAMS” in the right sidebar. When you click “here” you go to this page. This SBIR/STTR program is about providing funding for small businesses engaged in activities involving scientific and technological innovation.

I’d recommend that you check out the SBIR/STTR brochure, here’s the link. It shows how Phase 1 awardees (Application-to-award ratio – 10:1) get $150,000 and are allowed to apply for Phase 2 (Application to award – 2:1), which awards up to $1,000,000 for a prototype and two years of research. Phase 3, if it exists, offers probably even more. However, I can’t talk about it, so you better find out what its all about for yourself.

Department of Energy Jobs

Chris Franklin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:44:03 +0000

If you are seeking a job with the Department of Energy, chances are you are probably referring to the U.S. Department of Energy. Of course, you might consider state-level opportunities as well, if they exist. I put together a sample in the following:

Department of Energy Jobs

DOE.gov — Go right to the source. Link to takes you to USAjobs.gov. Jobs for US citizens currently shows at 31. If you are an existing federal employee (which meaning you’ve already had a background check) the numbers improve a bit to 87 positions.
Oregon Department of Energy – ODOE currently shows 2 job postings open to persons not currently employed by the State of Oregon. This appears to be the same number available to those already employed by the State of Oregon…No comment.
Connecticut Department of Energy (and Environmental Protection). Abbreviated as DEEP, the Connecticut Department of Energy ( and EP) came in to based on legislation signed in to law on July 1, 2011. DEEP will probably need a little time before they can start hiring.
Virginia Department of (Mines, Minerals and) Energy. See 2 positions currently listed. However, the DMME did, at the request of the Virginia General Assembly produce an updated assessment of the state’s “energy picture” in the form of the 2010 Virginia Energy Plan. One of the recommendations? “Make Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast (!)” I mention here because, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Virginia DMME hire more FT or contractor personnel over the next decade so that they might actually follow through on the aforementioned recommendation.”
Massachusetts Department of Energy (and Enviroronmental Affairs). We did a search and came up with…0 results. Check out “jobs” on left sidebar and give it a shot yourself.

Have to admit, I was expecting to see more job opportunities currently listed on the US Department of Energy and state-level Energy department sites. So, I get it if you read through all that and were a bit disappointed.

Perhaps, if you are set on a “Department of Energy Job,” you look not to government, but to energy-related work with private-sector start-ups that requires you to interact with, say, the U.S. Department of Energy. Frankly, that’s where a good deal of money, and corresponding energy-related employment opportunities appear to be destined in the future.

Case in point, June 14th of this year, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs, David Sandalow stated the following before Congressional Subcomittee: “at the Department of Energy (DOE), we’re investing 35 billion in Recovery funds in electric vehicles; batteries and advanced storage; a smarter and more reliable electric grid and wind and solar technologies, among many other areas.”

admin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:30:48 +0000

Is Nuclear Energy Renewable?

Chris Franklin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:23:29 +0000

Is Nuclear Energy Renewable?

Let’s first consider a general definition of renewable energy. It is, “energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, geothermal sources, and biomass, all of which are replenished naturally.”

Uranium, the fissile element typically used to make nuclear energy, is not replenished naturally and so is not “renewable.”

So, when asked the question, “Is Nuclear Energy Renewable?,” we’d reply, “no.”

To help you better distinguish the characteristics of renewable energy from those of nuclear energy, we recommend reviewing the following sites:

For a basic over-view of Renewable Energy:

RenewableEnergyWorld.com — Provides an an excellent basic over-view concerning types of renewable energy.
NREL.gov — National Renewable Energy Lab at the U.S. Department of Energy. Link is to NREL’s “Learning about Renewable Energy” page.
EnergyPlanet — A superb Renewable Energy directory that lists an array of resources about Renewable Energy technology.

For a basic overview of the nuclear fuel, Uranium, typically used to produce Nuclear Energy:

Wikipedia — Its “Uranium” page appears to be well-managed. Section 4 “Occurrence” discusses Uranium’s production and mining, resources and reserves, and global supply.
NRC.gov — Link leads to page, “Stages of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle.” Uranium is, of course, the nuclear fuel.

How Does Nuclear Energy Work?

Chris Franklin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:29:37 +0000

How does nuclear energy work?

How Does Nuclear Energy Work?

We know that to generate nuclear power (nuclear-generated electricity), uranium atoms are split in a process called fission, a great deal of heat results, and said heat is ultimately converted to electricity.

The resources mentioned in our previous post, “What is Nuclear Energy?,” provided an over-view concerning this process.

In this post, however, we add video to help you visualize the process involved with making nuclear energy “work,” — that is, “operate for productive purposes” such as when it is converted to nuclear power.

The first video, at 3:40 in length, is from the Nuclear Energy Institute:

The second video, at 4:37 in length, is from the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) Nuclear Energy Education Channel. Yes, you read that correctly.

What is Nuclear Energy?

Chris Franklin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:33:49 +0000

We’ve noticed a great deal of search activity concerning nuclear energy in the past calendar month. So we will focus on nuclear energy topics in the next three posts.

Nuclear energy results from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process known as fission. In simpler terms, it is a way of creating heat, and from that, boiling water, and from that steam. This steam powers turbines, which turn generators that produce electricity.

Certain resources online provide, in our opinion, the best answers to the question: What is Nuclear Energy?

What is Nuclear Energy

We recommend you consult the following links to gain an answer:

USNRC – Kids page - Basic reference concerning nuclear energy
Westinghouse Electric – This page shows a “flash” type animation of a reactor and describes how nuclear energy is created and how it is used to produce nuclear power.
Daily Energy Report — Article written by Scott Petersen of the Nuclear Energy institute defines nuclear energy production in non-technical manner and discusses its relation to the environment and the opinions of its proponents with regards to meeting the world’s energy needs and environmental concerns.
What is Nuclear — Page touches on the military application of nuclear energy, but also provides interesting data concerning the energy density of uranium compared to other materials in a lower diagram.
World Nuclear Association Page provides a series of facts and diagrams that provide a very complete over-view of nuclear energy’s importance as a means of generating electrical power around the globe. Also discusses land-based nuclear reactor construction trends and performance, as well as marine-based nuclear reactors.

Energy Star Appliances

Chris Franklin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 06:10:44 +0000

When you are in the market for Energy Star Appliances, you may, understandably, have questions such as the following:

Who sells them?
What are the available “makes” and models?
Who makes the best?
What’s the best price for the make/model I want?

In answer to questions “1.” and “2.” above, we examined the listings of the major online retailers dealing in Energy Star Appliances.

We found that the following 10 online retailers, listed 1-10 below left, with 1 being the highest, appeared to possess the largest selection of new Energy Star Appliances for sale on the web:

Energy Star Appliances

In answer to question “3.” above, “Who makes the best?” we suggest that you may gain some clues about how a particular Energy Star Appliance will work for you by closely examining the buyer reviews at the following sites (Even if you do not actually purchase your appliance there):

Amazon.com — You’ll see a drop-down menu at the top right corner of each results page. Open it and you’ll see the category – “Avg. Customer Review.” Click on that and let it reorganize say all, Energy Star Refrigerators, by Avg. customer review, best-to-worst. In our experience we’ve found Amazon purchases with 4-5 stars from 10 or more reviewers to yield us a purchase that rarely fails to meet our performance and quality expectations.
Buzzillions.com — Not nearly as extensive as Amazon.com’s customer reviews, Buzzillions still contains quite a few reviews concerning Energy Star Appliances. Check them out also.
GoodHousekeeping.com — Check the appliance reviews conducted by Good Housekeeping staffers, then check again elsewhere to see which of their picks are Energy Star Certified.

In answer to question “4.” above, “What’s the best price for the makes/models I want?” we recommend that you also consult the following price-shopping sites at the specific Energy Star Appliance pages that we’ve linked to below:

If you are coming in “cold” to the process of shopping for Energy Star Appliances, we do believe that this guide may save you time, money and, after your purchase of an Energy Star Appliance, energy!

Biomass Energy

Chris Franklin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 05:00:44 +0000

Biomass energy is also commonly known as “bioenergy.” It is any biological material, such as plants, plant- based materials and even animal wastes, that can be used as fuel.

Often times biomass energy is biological material that people classify as waste or garbage, such as sawdust, dead trees, tree branches and wood chips. In fact, waste or garbage dumps, themselves, often times contain biomass energy that yields methane gas that is converted to electricity or heat

In other instances, biomass energy is food crops such as corn or soybeans, or non-food crops such as switchgrass or the previously-mentioned, tree-related waste products. Depending on the food-crop, and after its processing, this type of biomass energy can yield biofuels, such as ethanol (from corn) and biodiesel (from soybeans), that can power certain vehicles; Corn-based ethanol, of course, is the chief component of the flex-fuel E85.

If you seek additional information concerning biomass energy in general, we highly recommend that you review the following links:

1. Basic overview of biomass energy:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Superb summary of biomass energy basics.
Biomass Power Association – “About Biomass” page serves as an excellent summary of Biomass energy “positives.”
Wikipedia – Covers biomass sources, thermal and chemical conversion processes using biomass energy, and environmental impact of biomass energy use.
Union of Concerned Scientists – Outlines differences between “beneficial biomass” and biomass energy seen as questionable or harmful. Provide best break-down of sources of “beneficial biomass.” Also thorough discussion of environmental risks and benefits of biomass energy.
U.S. Energy Information Administration – Offering a number of overviews and tables in PDF format concerning biomass energy.
Biomass Energy

2. Magazines covering biomass energy:

Biomass Magazine – News articles on the activities of the “players” in the biomass energy industry. Very up-to-date and specific information provided.
Science Daily – Over 1100 articles to date on Biomass-related topics

3. Businesses in the biomass energy sector:

DMOZ — 212 biomass energy businesses listed alphabetically.
Open Energy Info — An alphabetical listing showing over 500 businesses world-wide apparently working in the biomass energy sector. This is a wiki-type listing showing results from 10/5/11 — companies listed are apparently added by users.

Energy Star Refrigerators

Chris Franklin — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:15:58 +0000

Some might have the impression that Energy Star Refrigerators represent but a “handful” of the total number of refrigerator makes/models sold in the present day. In reality, however, the selection of new Energy Star Refrigerators available for sale is vast in number.

To help you sort out this selection in rapid fashion, we thought it important to isolate the online retailers apparently doing the most business in Energy Star Refrigerators.

After considerable research, we’ve determined that the following online retailers, below left, appear to possess the largest selection of new Energy Star Refrigerators and related items for sale (Total selection numbers for each retailer listed to right of name):

Sears.com – 1000+
BestBuy.com – 897
Lowes.com – 699
AJMadison.com – 516
ApplianceConnection.com – 439
US-Appliance.com – 419
Amazon.com – 317
HomeDepot.com – 174
Build.com – 49
Vanns.com – 44
Energy Star Refrigerators

The following 5 links to price shopping sites lead you directly to each site’s respective Energy Star Refrigerator listings:

It is our desire that this guide may help you to simplify the research and price-shopping you may undertake before purchasing your new Energy Star Refrigerator.