RTI International has received one of the biggest federal grants in its history to modify a coal-burning power plant in Florida and bury carbon dioxide emissions from the plant.

The nonprofit research organization in Research Triangle Park said today it has been awarded a $169 million grant for the multi-year project from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The RTI technology turns coal into a gas before the fuel is burned in a power plant. The gas is then chemically treated to remove carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, as well as toxic contaminants like sulfur, mercury, arsenic and selenium.

Two Triangle companies have received nearly $1 million each out of a total of $34 million in federal stimulus funds awarded to small businesses in 34 states to promote technology development.

The 201 awards from the U.S. Department of Energy will support the development of prototype or pilot operations for innovative technologies that have advanced beyond the initial conceptual stage.

Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro was awarded $969,970 to develop a biodiesel refining process that uses enzymes to convert sludge, grime and other low-quality organic waste into automobile fuel.

The company is collaborating with Novozymes, a Danish biochemical company with its U.S. headquarters in Franklinton. Novozymes is supplying the enzymes for the project.

3TEX in Cary was awarded $999,370 to develop a 3D fiber to double the strength of joints that secure the blades of wind turbines used to generate electricity.

A pair of Triangle technology companies won two of the biggest federal grants announced today for technology research.

Cree, the Durham lighting company, and ABB, the Cary-based heavy electrical equipment maker, won $7.9 million in grants for advanced research in energy efficiency.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the grants today as part of $92 million in federal funding for 43 research projects in 18 states.

ABB will lead a $4.2 million research project, and Cree will head up a $3.7 million project. Additionally, one of Cree's research partners will be ABB, while Cree will also be participating in a research project directed by Arkansas Power Electronics International.

A Cary company that specializes in military recruitment has received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help veterans translate their military skills into jobs in the wind industry.

Orion International, which has 25 employees at its Cary headquarters, will develop a training curriculum for veterans that is tailored to the wind industry.

The grant was awarded to Gemini Energy Services, a division of Orion that focuses on the wind industry.

Orion has also committed an additional $154,000 to help with training, tools and equipment costs, and will oversee the continuation of the program once the grant funding has been exhausted.

“Veterans are ideally suited for the wind industry due to their leadership experience, technical skill, and proven performance under the most difficult of situations, and yet a lack of wind-specific training can present a barrier to entry,” said Mike Starich, president of Orion International, in a release. 

Orion, founded in 1991, specializes in placing military veterans into the civilian workforce.

Colleen Whiteside, the company's marketing director, said the Department of Energy grant would result in the hiring of an instructor and up to 25 military technicians.

Orion says it has thus far place more than 450 veterans in jobs in the wind industry.

Two North Carolina research organizations were among 37 nationwide that will share more than $106 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for research projects that, in the DOE's word, "could fundamentally change the way the country uses and produces energy."

N.C. State University was awarded $2.7 million and Research Triangle Institute was awarded $2 million through the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy initiative.

N.C. State University has been awarded nearly $3.5 million in federal stimulus funds as part of a federally-sponsored initiative to train the nation's workers in smart grid technologies.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced N.C. State's grant Thursday as one of 54 projects nationwide. As part of the $100 million program, Charlotte-based Duke Energy was named for a $2.5 million grant to train more than 3,100 workers at the company's electric utilities in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

The term "smart grid" refers to a computerized digital electricity delivery management system of the network that will one day replace the nation's aging electro-mechanical power grid. Smart grids will allow customers to use the Internet to make thermostat settings, control appliances, check household energy usage and recharge electric cars.

N.C. State's grant is to create a Master's program in engineering in electric power systems. This an intensive, 10-month program will be offered to new graduates as well as experienced professionals.

Durham semiconductor maker Semprius qualified today for $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to speed up development of its next-generation solar energy technology.

Semprius is the only North Carolina out of four nationwide that qualified for $12 million in stimulus funds and federal grants announced today. The money will be awarded in stages over 18 months upon completion of project milestones.

The five-year-old company is developing a technology that concentrates solar rays by means of smaller semiconductors and special lenses. By concentrating solar rays by a factor of 1000, Semprius is attempting to reduce the area -- and cost -- of the solar photovoltaic cells required to generate electricity.

Semprius employs 28 people and has received nearly $20 million in venture capital and other investments. 

A North Carolina energy project today received the lion's share of federal stimulus funds designated for improving the nation's aging hydroelectric power plants.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded up to $13 million to Alcoa to replace four 90-year-old turbines at the Tapoco Cheoah plant near the Little Tennessee River in Graham and Swain counties.

The grant will provide an additional 22 megawatts of capacity to the Alcoa facility, boosting power output by 23 percent.