The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the Zero Energy Districts Accelerator, an initiative to develop best practices for establishing commercial districts that have net-neutral energy consumption. The accelerator is now one of 12 listed under the Better Buildings Initiative, which also includes dedicated programming for community and manufacturing initiatives.
Green jobs have been at the center of a number of controversies in economic development circles over the past decade. Key among these debates is whether or not sufficient job opportunities exist to justify large public investments in green job-training programs. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that, at least at the federal level, a great deal of uncertainty remains about the green job labor market.
Last week, the Obama administration announced that it would commit $200 million to establish three new manufacturing innovation institutions in 2013 (see the May 8, 2013 issue of the digest).
Ahead of the president' FY 2014 budget proposal release date (April 10, 2013) and amid federal sequestration, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two reports that contend duplication, fragmentation and a lack of cooperation between federal agencies may plague federal support for wind energy deployment and entrepreneurial assistance. To address these issues, the GAO reports recommend enhanced collaboration between agencies and consolidation of funding programs.
In an effort to develop domestic renewable energy production, the Department of the Interior released details on the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). PEIS provides an outline for utility-scale solar energy development in six states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) — a $30 million initiative to support up to 10 research and development (R&D) projects focused on advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. Projects should propose integrated science and engineering research in three technical areas of interest: