The U.S. Department of Energy’s fluorescent lighting mandate is official.

As of July 1, 2010 magnetic ballasts most commonly used for the operation of T12 lamps are no longer be produced for commercial and industrial applications. Also, many other T12 lamps will be phased out of production starting July 2012.  

What should consumers be prepared for?

1. Manufacturers will be phasing out their production of T12 lamps and ballasts  
2. Progressively less availability of T12 lamps and ballasts  
3. Increased cost of T12 lamps and ballasts due to demand vs. limited supply   

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 11, 2011

New Jersey Solid Waste Management Facility Pleads Guilty to Illegal Dumping in Upstate New York Eagle Recycling Defrauded the United States and Violated Clean Water and Wire Fraud Laws WASHINGTON – Lieze Associates, dba Eagle Recycling of New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act and to defraud the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York and the U.S. Justice Department Environment and Natural Resources Division announced today. Eagle Recycling pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Hurd for the Northern District of New York to one criminal felony count for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act’s prohibition on filling wetlands and committing wire fraud to conduct that filling.

According to the charges, Eagle Recycling and other coconspirators, engaged in a multi-year scheme to illegally dump 8,100 tons of pulverized construction and demolition debris that was processed at Eagle Recycling’s North Bergen, N.J., solid waste management facility and then transported to a farmer’s property in Frankfort, N.Y.  According to court documents, Eagle Recycling and other conspirators concealed the illegal dumping by fabricating a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permit and forged the name of a DEC official on the fraudulent permit. 

Inventors may seek U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding for energy efficiency or renewable energy technologies through three routes: the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer program (SBTR), the Advance Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), or through an unsolicited proposal.

The SBIR/SBTR programs are operated by federal agencies that have substantial R&D budgets, through a set-aside mechanism tailored for competitions among small businesses only. For more information, see the Small Business Innovation Research Web site at Small Business Innovation Research.

ARPA-E was established within DOE under the 2007 America Competes Act. ARPA-E's mission is to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce America's dependence on foreign energy imports; reduce U.S. energy-related emissions (including greenhouse gasses); improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy and ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. For more information see the ARPA-E Web site at Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E).

Inventors may also seek funding by submitting an unsolicited proposal to EERE. For more information, see the unsolicited proposals page on this Web site.