Fighting Oil Addiction: North Carolina 18th Most Vulnerable State

Natural Resources Defense Council, August 11, 2009

America's addiction to oil continues to threaten not only our national security and global environmental health, but also our economic viability. NRDC analyzed how heavily drivers in each state are affected by increases in oil prices and ranked states on their adoption of solutions to reduce their oil dependence -- measures they are taking to lessen their vulnerability and to bolster America's security. NRDC found that rising gas prices, combined with economic downturn, are making people more vulnerable to changes in oil prices. But many states are taking significant steps to reduce oil dependence through smart clean-transportation policies.

Our analysis shows that:

• Oil dependence affects all states, but some drivers are hit harder economically than others.
• The trends in states' vulnerability to oil price increases over the past couple of years are not encouraging -- drivers in every state were more vulnerable in 2008 than they were in 2006.
• While some states are pioneering solutions and many are taking some action, a fair number of states re still taking few (if any) of the steps needed to reduce their oil dependence.
  

By promoting clean vehicle and fuel technologies as well as transportation alternatives, states can reduce oil dependence. These measures can, in turn, create clean energy jobs, reduce vulnerability to fuel price hikes, and lessen air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

North Carolina drivers spend 5.93% of their income on gasoline, or approximately $2041.98, making it the 18th most vulnerable state.

You can read the entire study here: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/states/files/states.pdf

North Carolina awards $950,000 in "Green Business" grants to 14 firms

Local Tech Wire, August 7, 2009

North Carolina awarded $950,000 in "Green Business Fund" grants to 14 companies Friday as Gov. Bev Perdue signed legislation that moved the State Energy Office to the Department of Commerce from the Department of Administration.
Firms working on biofuel, battery solar energy and a variety of other so-called green technologies were selected.
The biggest grant of $99,486 went to Semprius, a startup focused on solar cells. Semprius is based in Durham.
In 2008 in the first year of hte program, the state awarded 13 grants worth nearly $1 million. Grants ranged in size from $18,000 to $100,000. The grants with detailed description of each program as provided by the governor's office:

• Aerofab Manufacturing Corp., Apex - $45,435
• Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, Lenoir - $81,000
• Centralina Council of Governments, Charlotte - $85,000 - Greater Charlotte Region Biofuel Facility: "Brown" grease is waste oil from food preparation. It often is responsible for clogging sewers, causing overflows. In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region, brown grease contributes to more than 55% of sewer overflows. The grant will help develop a Greater Charlotte Region Biofuel Facility that will turn brown grease from the region into bioful that can be used by consumers.
• Clean Marine Solutions, Wilmington - $84,602
• CPS biofuels Inc., Raleigh - $50,000 High Performance Biofuel Product Dervice from Biodiesel Waste: This project develops a fuel additive made from glycerol, a waste product of biodiesel production. The additive improves fuel economy in gasoline and diesel engines by increasing octane.
  
• EnSolve Biosystems, Inc., Raleigh - $50,000
• FLS Energy Finance LLC, Black Mountain - $60,000
• Innova Homes LLC, Asheville - $51,160
• InnovaTech Inc., Research Triangle Park - $53,317 Cost Effective Harvesting of Algae in Phytobioreactor Bio-fuel Systems: The grant funds development of a prototype phytobioreactor - a large tank for growing algae - to harvest algae for use in biofuel production. This project will increase the efficiency of algae-to-biofuels conversion.
• Microcell Corp. Raleigh - $80,000
• NC State University Solar Center, Raleigh $95,000
• Semprius Inc., Durham - $99,486
• Vesture Corp., Asheboro - $75,000
• Visible Energy Inc., Durham - $40,000