BIOMASS Of all DOE's renewable energy programs, biomass development has been the most trouble-ridden by managerial and fiscal problems. Yet, biomass' potential to meet U.S. and world energy needs puts it in a class by itself. According to the Domestic Policy Review of Solar Energy, wood and other forms of biomass currently contribute between 1.8 and 2.4 quads of the nation's 78-quad energy budget. By 2000, biomass is projected to contribute more energy than any other renewable source: 3.1 quads in the $25/bbl Base Case, 4.4 quads in the $32/bbl Base Case, 5.5 quads in the Intermediate Case, and 7 quads in the High Case. Biomass' promise remains unfulfilled partly because biomass programs (particularly those centered on near-term applications) are underfunded and partly because program management has been inadequate. Some of the impediments to biomass development could, however, be eliminated and all could be alleviated. Making this resource live up to its awesome potential requires allocating additional funds and bringing together a DOE staff with the skills and determination needed to redress neglect of a major energy source. Research and Development $12 million more to conduct advanced research on pyrolysis and other thermochemical processes for converting biomass to fuel. Production Systems $11 million more to support the development and demonstration of forestry and agricultural residue-utilization techniques. Six different harvesting and transportation systems should be developed and demonstrated in the Northeast, four in the mid-Atlantic region, and five in the Northwest. In addition, six agricultural waste-utilization systems should be erected on farms in various crop belts. $3.9 million more to support testing, development, and engineering work associated with demonstrations. $1.6 million to engineer and demonstrate six advanced agricultural waste-conversion systems. Technology Support $2 million more to support the simulation and publication of data needed to mold a comprehensive commercialization program. The focus should fall on determining what is happening now in the private sector and what will and will not take place there in the near future. $4 million more to demonstrate small-scale wood and agricultural gasification units in homes and industry. $1 million more to support the initial work required to implement a commercialization assistance program in the forest products industry, the chief market for biomass systems today. SOLAR LOBBY'S ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT BIOMASS DEVELOPMENT... • Biomass is a major ongoing supply option with shortterm dividends, not a minor resource of little immediate use. • Most of biomass' near-term (up to five years) potential rests in the use of agricultural residues, forestry wastes, and wood for direct combustion. • Alcohol fuels obtained using familiar processes can economically substitute for gasoline. By 1990, at least 5 percent of the gas the U.S. uses could be supplied by alcohol fuels. PASSIVE SOLAR SYSTEMS The focus of DOE's Passive Solar Systems Development Program is on promoting the creation of a variety of building designs, marketable products for retrofitting existing buildings, and new components for improved passive design. DOE's current plans call for the creation of 75 building designs and for testing of the 15 best-scarcely enough to get a revealing cross-section of the various building types (residential, commercial, urban, and agricultural), passive concepts (direct gain, sun space, and trombe walls for both new and existing structures), and climate-influenced design modifications that the program was instituted to develop and test. Programs for developing and testing improved components of passive designs are similarly underfed, and the demonstration program has never been given the support needed to get off the ground. Development and Field Testing $31 million more to develop and field-test building designs. These funds would be spent on developing additional building designs (low-cost and multiple-family housing, dual purpose greenhouses and other light commercial applications, etc.) tailored to a spectrum of climatic conditions (perhaps the 20 zones that the NEA Residential Conservation Service regulations are based on). 180 designs should be developed, 60 (three per zone) tested. $3 million more to develop and test new components for improved passive designs. DOE plans to develop approximately 15 products and to involve one or two manufacturers in the production of each. Given climatic variations and market idiosyncrasies, twice as many manufacturers should participate. Demonstration Programs $10 million more to support effective demonstrations. Since the active-systems component of the Solar Heating & Cooling Program has a disastrous record, from now on only those passive systems that are commercially available, appropriate to local conditions, and economically attractive should be demonstrated. Even those systems and building designs that answer these three criteria in field-tests should be demonstrated around the country only on condition that local builders, community groups, and financial institutions are all involved. SOLAR LOBBY'S ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE PASSIVE SOLAR SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM... • Unless all the many design variables are taken into account in the development and demonstration of passive solar systems, the chances of satisfying the consumer's needs with the finished product are slim. • The more segments of industry and the more local industries involved in the development of passive solar systems, the better. • Those energy options that are most cost-effective over the short term deserve the heaviest support now. ACTIVE HEATING & COOLING The systems failures encountered in the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Program and in HUD's Hot Water Initiative have made plain the need to further develop solar heating and cooling systems. While collector development is proceeding apace on many fronts, much more work on component integration remains to be done. More effort must also be poured into systems engineering and development; many active solar-heating systems have been riddled with problems of collection, storage, and controls; and components for combined heating and cooling systems need extra work. Equally pressing is the need for further research and development aimed at improving the performance and reliability of active cooling sys tems. Tested designs for low-cost systems that can be built on site are also in short supply. Such designs grace the pages of how-to-do-it publications, but relatively few have been tried and adjusted. DOE's Systems Development Division's request represents an $18 million decrease from the FY-79 budget allotment for systems development. This ill-considered cut means that many of the programs under way will go unfinished and that many vital programs that were ready to go won't go. Systems Development $7 million more to improve components for storage, collection, and controls. $4 million more to support the engineering, integration, and testing of site-built systems worthy of widespread application. $4 million more to finance engineering field tests of solarassisted heat pumps for residential applications. $6 million more to complete testing of solar-cooling systems now in the prototype stage. $4 million more to engineer and test hybrid systems entailing both active and passive technologies. |