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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- August 7, 2002
A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN).
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/>
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Featuring:
*News and Events
Proposed Federal Rules for Power Markets to Help Renewables
Government, Private Organizations Push Grid Interconnection
States and Cities Launch Renewable and Efficiency Programs
DOE Releases Energy Design Guidelines for Schools
NREL Updates Design Software for Energy Efficient Buildings
Ethanol Production Increases; USDA Confirms Energy Benefit
San Diego Wins U.S. Competition for its Regional Energy Plan
*Site News
Hawaii Natural Energy Institute
*Energy Facts and Tips
Manufacturing Energy Use Grew Slower Than GDP in the 90s
*About this Newsletter
Editor's Note: Due to an extended local power outage on Tuesday,
this issue of the EREN Network News was delayed by a day. We
apologize for the inconvenience.
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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Proposed Federal Rules for Power Markets to Help Renewables
New rules for electric power markets were proposed last week by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the federal agency that
regulates the transmission and wholesale sales of electricity in
interstate commerce. FERC's proposed "standard market design" aims
to achieve fair and open transmission access for power generators
and intends to "open doors for demand-response providers and other
energy service companies...and enhance opportunities for new
technologies such as generation, renewables, efficiency and grid
measures." The rules are also intended to prevent abuses of the
power market previously carried out by energy traders such as Enron
Corporation.
Connecting to the electrical grid and selling power on a day-to-day
basis are among the many nuts-and-bolts activities required to make
renewable energy projects successful. Unfortunately, some electrical
grid operators have rules that make such grid connections difficult
and set rates that seem to discriminate against intermittent power
sources like wind power. That combination is a one-two punch that
hampers the development of renewable energy resources in the United
States. The new FERC rules include measures intended to eliminate
those barriers for renewable energy sources. The new rules are also
intended to encourage technologies that reduce energy use.
FERC will accept comments on the proposed rules until mid-October,
and intends to phase in the plan over the next two years. See the
"Standard Market Design Activities" under "Featured Topics" on the
FERC Web site at: <http://www.ferc.gov/>.
One example of the types of rules that hamper renewable energy
development is the case of DOE's Bonneville Power Administration
(BPA), which until recently charged a penalty of up to $100 per
megawatt-hour for power generators that failed to deliver power on
schedule. Since future wind power generation cannot be predicted
accurately, the penalty discouraged wind power development in BPA's
service territory. In late July, BPA announced a new rate proposal
that will remove the penalty for wind power, requiring wind
generators to pay only the cost of providing the power from other
power sources. The new rate proposal requires approval from FERC.
See the July 25th press release on the BPA Web site at:
<http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/KC/home/nreleases/press.cfm>.
Government, Private Organizations Push Grid Interconnection
While the FERC rules apply to large power generators and wholesale
power markets, similar barriers to connecting to the electrical grid
exist for homeowners and business owners that wish to generate their
own power. Such so-called "distributed generation" sources --
including solar power, small wind turbines, fuel cells, microturbines,
and other power technologies -- have the potential to contribute
significantly to U.S. energy needs while boosting the reliability and
security of our power supplies.
Thankfully, a number of government and private organizations have
been working at a variety of levels to lower barriers to grid
interconnection. In late July, for instance, the National
Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) released a
report that includes model procedures and agreements for grid
interconnection that could be adopted by each state. DOE funded the
report, which intends to catalyze the development of distributed
generation policies by states. It provides a model for uniform
interconnection standards that are not unduly burdensome or
expensive, yet still ensure safety and system reliability. See the
NARUC report, in Adobe PDF format only, at:
<http://www.naruc.org/Programs/dgia/dgiaip_final.pdf>.
>From the utility perspective, distributed generation presents
potential safety problems as well as a possible source of degraded
power quality. Analyzing the possible impacts of a distributed
generation source on a power system is not always straightforward,
which is why the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) stepped in
back in May with software that will help make it easy for utilities.
EPRI also established a facility for testing new distributed energy
technologies in June. See the May and June announcements by
selecting "News Releases" on the EPRI Web site at:
<http://www.epri.com/corporate/discover_epri/news/index.html>.
California is one of many states encouraging distributed generation.
In June, the California Energy Commission (CEC) issued a
"Distributed Generation Strategic Plan," which aims to make
distributed generation an integral part of the California energy
system. See the strategic plan and related documents on the CEC Web
site at:
<http://www.energy.ca.gov/distgen/strategic/strategic_plan.html>.
California also offers an example of how utilities can create
barriers to distributed generation: in early June, the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power (LADWP) decided that it needed to
enhance its training for electrical workers and update its
procedures for connecting solar power systems to its electrical
grid. In the meantime, it padlocked any new solar power systems
installed through its Solar Power Incentive Program, preventing any
use of the electricity generated by the systems. The utility
anticipates resolving the situation next week, at which point it
will arrange to reconnect the systems. See the LADWP announcement
at: <http://www.ladwp.com/whatnew/solaroof/solarnotice.htm>.
States and Cities Launch Renewable and Efficiency Programs
The states of California and Wisconsin and the cities of Los Angeles
and Portland have recently launched new programs to encourage the
use of energy efficiency technologies and the installation of
renewable energy projects.
In California, the California Power Authority (CPA) launched its
"Public Leadership Solutions for Energy" (PULSE) program on July 11th.
PULSE is a low-interest loan fund for California public agencies
installing energy efficiency improvements or clean on-site power
generation. The CPA is seeking expressions of interest from public
agencies by the end of this month. The authority is also seeking
small manufacturers interested in below-market financing for similar
types of projects. See the July 11th and 17th press releases on the
CPA Web site at:
<http://www.capowerauthority.ca.gov/MediaRelease/default.htm>.
See also the PULSE program Web page at:
<http://www.capowerauthority.ca.gov/financing/PULSE.htm>.
In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water
(LADWP) is offering rebates as high as $500 through the end of this
year for customers who purchase Energy Star appliances and energy
saving products. The rebates apply to a wide range of products.
LADWP is also offering $750,000 in co-funding for projects that
demonstrate new, innovative, energy efficiency technologies.
Proposals are due August 30th. See the LADWP press releases at:
<http://www.ladwp.com/whatnew/dwpnews/072902.htm> and
<http://www.ladwp.com/whatnew/dwpnews/080602.htm>.
In Portland, the Climate Trust is providing $1 million in funding to
improve the energy efficiency of apartments and commercial
buildings. Over the next five years, the Portland Office of
Sustainable Development will use the Climate Trust funding to work
with the owners of over 12,000 apartment units and about 40
commercial buildings statewide to improve energy efficiency. The
funds will come from power plant developers: Oregon legislation
requires new power plants to offset their carbon dioxide emissions
through payments to the Climate Trust. See the press release, in
Adobe PDF format only, on the Portland Office of Sustainable
Development Web site at:
<http://www.sustainableportland.org/news_climate_trust.pdf>.
In Wisconsin, the Focus on Energy Renewable Energy program is
offering cash incentives, low-interest loans, and grants for a wide
variety of renewable energy projects. For those interested in the
renewable energy field, scholarships are also available. See the
August 7th press release under the "Renewable Program" heading on
the Wisconsin Focus on Energy Web site at:
<http://www.wifocusonenergy.com/pressRelease/pressRelease.jsp>.
DOE Releases Energy Design Guidelines for Schools
DOE released last week six books that complete the "Energy Design
Guidelines for High Performance Schools," a series of seven
publications that will help school districts save millions of
dollars on annual utility bills by designing energy efficient
schools compatible with regional climates. The first set of
guidelines, released in February, is tailored to hot and dry
climates. The new books address the following climates: hot and
humid, temperate and humid, cool and humid, cold and humid, cool
and dry, and temperate and mixed.
DOE also released the "National Best Practices Manual for High
Performance Schools," which provides engineering and architectural
specifications and other details on how to apply the guidelines. See
the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/julpr/pr02154.htm>.
For the full guidelines, see the EnergySmart Schools Web site at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/energysmartschools/>.
NREL Updates Design Software for Energy Efficient Buildings
DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released an update
of its popular Energy-10 software last week. The design program
allows architects to watch detailed simulations of how their
building will use energy and shows ways to reduce energy
consumption. The software simulates a year of hour-by-hour
operations and displays annual, monthly, or hour-by-hour energy
performance graphs. It also helps analyze the contributions of
approaches such as daylighting, passive solar heating, and natural
ventilation.
The new Energy-10 Version 1.5 contains seven upgrades, including a
discounted cash-flow evaluation of a building over its lifetime and
a more powerful graphing package. NREL collaborated with DOE's
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Berkeley Solar Group
to produce the update. See the NREL press release at:
<http://www.nrel.gov/hot-
stuff/press/2002/3102_new_design_tool.html>.
The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) distributes the
Energy-10 software. See the SBIC Web site at:
<http://www.sbicouncil.org/enTen/index.html>.
If the newest data from the 2000 U.S. census can be trusted, the
United States needs more architects to use Energy-10. According to
the census figures, only 47,069 U.S. homes were heated with solar
energy in 2000, down from 54,536 homes in 1990. It's unclear,
however, if people using passive solar energy may consider their
homes to use no fuel for heating. In 1990, the census lists 543,907
homes that used no heating fuel; that rose to 731,506 in 2000. The
census also appears to allow only one answer, which might prompt
solar home residents to claim their backup heating source. See the
2000 census results on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at:
<http://censtats.census.gov/data/US/01000.pdf>.
More data and comparisons to 1990 are available on the Web site at:
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/demoprofiles.html>.
and <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>.
Ethanol Production Increases; USDA Confirms Energy Benefit
The U.S. ethanol industry continues to boom, with record production
in June -- up 13 percent from June 2001 -- and lots of new capacity
coming online. In the past two weeks, the Renewable Fuels
Association (RFA) has announced the completion of two major ethanol
plant expansions and one new plant, totaling 67 million gallons per
year in new production capacity. The new farmer-owned Adkins Energy
plant in Illinois has the capacity to produce 40 million gallons of
ethanol per year and includes a co-generation facility to produce
steam and electricity for the plant. See the RFA press releases at:
<http://www.ethanolrfa.org/press.shtml>.
Meanwhile, Philips Petroleum Company has stopped blending MTBE in
the gasoline it sells through its 1,500 stations under the "76"
brand in California, with the exception of some racing gasoline sold
in limited locations. The company continues to provide a small
amount of MTBE-blended gasoline to independent gasoline stations.
The move makes the "76" brand the first large gasoline retailer
selling only ethanol-blended gasoline in the state. See the Philips
Petroleum press release at:
<http://www.phillips66.com/newsroom/NewsReleases/rel399.html>.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also has good news for the
ethanol industry: a new USDA study found that ethanol produces
34 percent more energy than is used in growing and harvesting the
corn and distilling it into ethanol. Going against claims that
ethanol production consumes more energy than it produces, the report
concludes that the net energy value of corn ethanol has become
positive in recent years due to technological advances in ethanol
conversion and increased efficiency in farm production. See the USDA
press release at:
<http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2002/08/0322.htm>.
DOE continues to develop technologies that will boost the energy
yield of ethanol from corn and other feedstocks. DOE's "Bridge to
the Corn Ethanol Industry" initiative aims to expand the number of
feedstocks used, including making use of corn waste products (called
"corn stover"). See the initiative Web site at:
<http://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/cornbridge.html>.
San Diego Wins U.S. Competition for its Regional Energy Plan
The San Diego Regional Energy Office won the U.S. Competition for
Metropolitan Energy Design in late July. The city's winning energy
plan focuses on a region-wide planning process and a first-of-its-
kind, comprehensive assessment of the region's gas and electric
energy infrastructure. Energy self-reliance was the overall goal for
the city's planning process, which began with a focus on
conservation and efficiency strategies to reduce the demand for
energy, and then addressed the role of distributed generation
technologies such as solar and fuel cells. In addition, the plan
highlights a variety of clean transportation strategies and energy
efficient land use plans to reduce energy-related emissions, curb
urban sprawl, and revitalize the region's commercial centers. The
Gas Technologies Institute (GTI) sponsored the competition with
support from DOE.
The energy plan will now serve as the official U.S. entry to the
International Competition for Sustainable Urban System Design,
competing against entries from seven other countries. The winning
plan will be announced at an international conference on sustainable
urban design in Tokyo, Japan, in June 2003. See the January 24th
press release from GTI at:
<http://www.gastechnology.org/pub/news/index.asp>.
Feeling left out? There's an upcoming opportunity to learn from the
winners: As a culmination of the competition, GTI is also sponsoring
the first-ever conference devoted exclusively to sustainable
metropolitan energy planning. "Energizing America's Cities:
Developing Sustainable Energy Solutions," will be held September
19th and 20th in Chicago. See the GTI conference Web site at:
<www.gastechnology.org/energizeamerica>.
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SITE NEWS
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Hawaii Natural Energy Institute
<http://www.hnei.hawaii.edu/>
Since 1974, the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute has coordinated the
research and development (R&D) of the island's renewable energy
resources. Its current R&D efforts include thin films, biomass
technologies, ocean energy, and electrochemical power systems.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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Manufacturing Energy Use Grew Slower Than GDP in the 90s
A recent comparison of manufacturing energy consumption surveys from
1994 and 1998 should that U.S. manufacturing energy use grew much
slower than the gross domestic product (GDP) over that time period.
The comparison, performed by DOE's Energy Information Administration
(EIA), found that the GDP for manufacturing grew 5 percent annually
during the four-year period, while energy consumption only increased
1.8 percent per year. Even counting the use of energy products as a
manufacturing raw material -- such as using oil to make petroleum
products or using coal to make steel -- yields a growth rate of only
2.4 percent per year, still much smaller than the GDP growth rate.
The report notes that some of the slow growth in energy use is due
to a shift from energy-intensive manufacturing to less energy-
intensive high-tech industries. But the report also credits energy-
efficiency improvements as a partial cause of the slow growth in
energy use, specifically citing industry participation in DOE's
Industries of the Future. See the report on the EIA Web site at:
<http://eia.doe.gov/emeu/mecs/trends/94compare98.htm>.
For more information about Industries of the Future, see the
Industrial Technologies Program, part of the reorganized Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, on the EREN Web site at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/industrial.html>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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