OCED Project Awards Updates
On Wednesdays, OCED will announce the latest projects that have successfully completed award negotiations. OCED will only issue an Award Wednesday notification on weeks when an award has been finalized.
AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS
Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas
Decarbonizing the Tongass with Tribally Owned Heat Pumps OCED issued a grant award to the Decarbonizing the Tongass with Tribally Owned Heat Pumps project, led by Spruce Root, committing up to $4.2 million in federal funding. Spruce Root plans to install air-source heat pumps in 240 tribally owned homes and community facilities on Prince of Wales Island, AK. Rural Alaskans require more heat than many other Americans. For those living on remote islands—like Prince of Wales—which are only accessible by small aircraft or ferry, the cost of importing heating oil can create a major energy burden. Converting existing heating oil and propane-based heating systems would provide tribal homes with consistent heat produced more efficiently than resistance electric heaters. These heat pumps would make use of existing clean, hydroelectric resources, keeping rates affordable for all consumers by spreading operating costs more widely. This project would reduce the need for residents to purchase expensive heating oil barged from out of state and store it in fuel tanks, which are subject to leaks and spills—a risk to Indigenous homelands. Finally, heat pumps would dramatically reduce emissions, improving indoor and outdoor neighborhood air quality.
View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.
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High Penetration Solar-Battery Project OCED issued a grant award to the High Penetration Solar-Battery Project, led by the Northwest Arctic Borough, committing up to $2.8 million in federal funding. The project would implement upgrades to Alaska Village Electric Cooperative power plant infrastructure to improve the efficiency and support the eventual integration of a 525 kW solar photovoltaic (solar PV) system and a 990 kWh battery energy storage system into Ambler, AK’s microgrid. Located 45 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Ambler experiences long daylight hours with abundant sunlight during the summer months, making solar PV technology an ideal choice. The solar PV and energy storage assets—which were selected for funding through DOE’s Office of Indian Energy and a separate OCED award—can only be integrated once this project’s power plant upgrades are completed. Once integrated, the solar PV and battery energy storage system could displace more than 20,000 gallons of diesel annually, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, noise and air pollution, and the risk of fuel spills. This system could meet 22% of Ambler’s power needs, enabling the community’s diesel generators to be turned off for the first time in more than 40 years.
View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.
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Industrial Demonstrations Program
Baytown Olefins Plant Carbon Reduction Project OCED awarded the Baytown Olefins Plant Carbon Reduction Project, led by ExxonMobil, with more than $11 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $331.9 million) to begin Phase 1 and 2 activities. The project would enable the use of hydrogen in place of natural gas across high heat-fired equipment using new burner technologies for ethylene production in Baytown, TX. Ethylene is a chemical feedstock used in the production of textiles, synthetic rubbers, and plastic resins, with applications in packaging, electronics, and vehicles. These equipment modifications would enable the use of up to 95% clean hydrogen fuel. At full implementation, the modifications would be expected to enable avoidance of an estimated 2.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year—equal to more than 50% of the olefin plant’s total emissions—and an estimated 200 tons per year of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Demonstrating clean hydrogen fuel switching in one of the largest ethylene plants in the U.S. would help de-risk viable decarbonization solutions for large, existing industrial facilities, prove the use of clean hydrogen in industrial processes, and provide a pathway for decarbonizing the chemical industry, which is responsible for more than one-third of the U.S. industrial sector’s carbon emissions. During Phases 1 and 2, development activities such as the project’s engineering and design, and outreach and engagement will progress to prepare for construction. Throughout Phases 1 and 2, ExxonMobil will provide documentation and reports necessary for OCED to complete the National Environmental Policy Act review.
View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.
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Decarbonization of Black Liquor Concentration through Energy Efficient Membrane Separation OCED awarded the Decarbonization of Black Liquor Concentration through Energy Efficient Membrane Separation project, led by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. LLC (NDP), with more than $1.2 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $46.6 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. In the project, NDP and Via Separations (Via) are partnering to decarbonize a thermal process at NDP’s Longview, WA, site. The project would use Via’s novel membrane-based technology, previously supported by Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The proposed membrane technology would enable a transformative energy efficiency improvement of industrial separations and would reduce 70% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per gallon of clean water removed during pulp production in this application. This project would not only reduce the facility’s process energy intensity but also demonstrate the viability of the membrane technology to potentially scale across all other domestic pulp and paper mills and other industrial sectors, such as chemical manufacturing. During Phase 1, NDP and Via will conduct planning and design, provide documentation and reports necessary for OCED to complete the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, and continue engagement activities with the community, project partners, and stakeholders.
View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.
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Heat Batteries for Deep Decarbonization of the Beverage Industry OCED awarded the Heat Batteries for the Deep Decarbonization of the Beverage Industry project, led by Diageo Americas Supply, Inc. (Diageo), with more than $1.5 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $75 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. Diageo plans to partner with Rondo Energy, Inc. and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to replace natural gas-fired heat with Rondo Heat Batteries, electric boilers, and other thermal solutions. These assets would be powered by onsite renewable energy at facilities in Shelbyville, KY and Plainfield, IL. These upgrades to beverage production facilities would reduce direct carbon emissions by over 14,000 metric tons per year. They would also provide a highly replicable blueprint that manufacturing companies could use to integrate thermal heat batteries with intermittent renewable energy into their facilities, while reliably and competitively delivering products to their consumers. During Phase 1, Diageo will begin initial planning, engineering, and design tasks for two separate facilities, provide documentation and reports necessary to complete the National Environmental Policy Act review, and conduct initial engagements with community and labor stakeholders.
View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.
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Sustainable Ethylene from CO2 Utilization with Renewable Energy OCED awarded the Sustainable Ethylene from CO2 Utilization with Renewable Energy (SECURE) project, led by Technip Energies USA, Inc., with more than $19.7 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $200 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. Technip Energies USA, in partnership with LanzaTech, Inc., plans to demonstrate an integrated process to utilize captured carbon dioxide from ethylene production. This project aims to use a biotech-based carbon recycling process and low carbon intensity hydrogen to create sustainable ethanol and ethylene. LanzaTech’s Gas Fermentation technology, previously supported by DOE, can also be deployed in any industry with waste carbon, allowing other industries to capture and upcycle carbon-rich waste streams instead of emitting them to the atmosphere or needing to sequester them. echnip Energies USA, in partnership with LanzaTech, (FEED), develop project plans, provide documentation and reports necessary to complete the National Environmental Policy Act review, and engage with community and labor stakeholders.
View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.
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