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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- May 22, 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
Spire Opens New Solar Plant; ASE Americas Plans Addition
U.S. Solar, Wind Companies Thrive on Exports
Oregon Utility Buys Wind Power for the Next 25 Years
GM Study Examines Greenhouse Effects of 36 Fuel Technologies
DOE Announces 2002 Clean Cities Program Awards
California Announces Summer Energy Conservation Plan
*Energy Facts and Tips
North America Expected to Dodge Power Shortages this Summer
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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Spire Opens New Solar Plant; ASE Americas Plans Addition
The U.S. solar power industry continued to advance this
month with the opening of a new facility in Chicago and the
planned addition to a manufacturing plant in Billerica,
Massachusetts.
Spire Corporation announced in early May the opening of its
Spire Solar Chicago manufacturing plant, located in the new
Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT). The 14,000-
square-foot facility incorporates photovoltaic module
manufacturing along with office space and will eventually
employ about 55 people. Spire Solar Chicago has already
installed about 500 kilowatts of solar power within the city,
including a 38-kilowatt installation on Chicago's 911
Emergency Communications Center early this year. The
company has also installed 35 kilowatts of solar power on
the CCGT, and has signed a multi-year extension of its
partnership with the City of Chicago. See the Spire press
release at: http://www.spirecorp.com/Spire/news/news/PV371.htm>.
In Billerica, ASE Americas announced plans to add a new
10-megawatt solar cell manufacturing line to its existing
20-megawatt facility. Solar cell manufacturers measure their
production capacity in terms of the peak power capacity of
all the cells produced in one year, so the expanded facility
will produce 30 megawatts of solar cells each year. The new
manufacturing line will be fully automated and will create
30 new jobs at the facility. The first equipment should arrive
by December. See the ASE Americas press release at:
<http://www.asepv.com/News/pr020520.html>.
Spire and ASE Americas may soon face new competition
from overseas: Pacific Solar, an Australian company,
released details of its new solar power technology on
Monday. The company has developed a method of
depositing thin films of crystalline silicon on glass that it
claims could achieve costs as low as $1.95 per watt. The
company also claims the process is ready for commercialization.
See the press release, in Adobe PDF format only, on the
Pacific Solar Web site at:
<http://www.pacificsolar.com.au/MediaReleases/2002May20.pdf>.
The Pacific Solar announcement was made at the
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., now underway in
New Orleans. Abstracts of the papers being presented at the
technical conference are now posted on the conference Web
site at: <http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pvsc/index.html>.
U.S. Solar, Wind Companies Thrive on Exports
While U.S. renewable energy companies face stiff
competition from foreign competitors, they also rely heavily
on the international market. And while solar companies have
traditionally counted on exports of their products, a recent
trend in the solar power industry involves the export of the
actual production technologies.
A case in point is GT Solar Technologies, which in April
announced the sale of a photovoltaic wafer production line to
China and the sale of a number of furnaces for growing
multicrystalline silicon ingots (used for making solar cells) to
a company in Germany. In early May, Spire Corporation
added to the trend when it sold a 10-megawatt solar module
production line to a company in Cyprus. See the press
releases from GT Solar and Spire at:
<http://www.gtsolar.com/press/2002_04_11.asp>,
<http://www.gtsolar.com/press/2002_04_29.asp> and
<http://www.spirecorp.com/Spire/news/news/PV370.htm>.
Meanwhile, the U.S. wind energy industry appears to be
staying with the more traditional business model of exporting
its products. Southwest Windpower, in fact, was honored in
early May with the 2002 Small Business Exporter of the Year
award from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Using the Ex-Im
Bank's export credit insurance program, Southwest
Windpower was able to offer open accounts to its small
foreign distributors in markets such as Canada, Brazil,
Argentina, Turkey, India, South Africa and St. Lucia, easing
the distributors' cash flow and allowing them to place larger
orders. As a result, 50 percent of the company's revenues
came from exports last year, and its products are now sold in
more than 50 countries. See the Ex-Im Bank press release
at: <http://www.exim.gov/press/may0202d.html>.
Oregon Utility Buys Wind Power for the Next 25 Years
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) in Oregon
made a substantial commitment to renewable energy last
week with its purchase of 25 megawatts of wind power from
the Stateline Wind Energy Center. EWEB signed a 25-year
contract with PacifiCorp Power Marketing, Inc., owner of the
entire output of the wind plant, which is located on the
Washington-Oregon border. EWEB's purchase will equal the
annual power needs of about 4,800 homes, or about 2.5 percent
of the utility's retail electricity needs. The utility will sell the
power to its customers through its green power program.
See the EWEB press release at:
<http://www.eweb.org/news/2002/0513_wind.html>.
A Vermont utility is also offering its customers a chance to
support renewable energy sources. Green Mountain Power
Corporation has teamed up with Clean Air - Cool Planet in a
program that allows its customers to make tax-deductible
donations for renewable energy developments. The
donations will support a Vermont farm methane power
system as well as the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Wind Farm in
South Dakota. The Rosebud Sioux wind project was covered
in last week's edition of this newsletter. See the Green
Mountain Power press release at:
<http://www.gmpvt.com/whoweare/pressrel/pr020506.htm>.
Despite such signs of progress, a recent report by E Source
Green Energy Service, part of Platts Research and
Consulting, finds that green power marketing by utilities is
still an immature and relatively unsophisticated effort. The
report estimates that the total U.S. market size for green
power is about 8,500,000 households, or approximately
8 percent of U.S. households. This largely untapped demand
is equivalent to 28,000 megawatts of renewable energy
generation. See the May 1st press release on the Platts Web
site at: <http://www.platts.com/pressreleases/index.shtml>.
GM Study Examines Greenhouse Effects of 36 Fuel Technologies
A study released yesterday by the General Motors
Corporation (GM) examined the greenhouse gas emissions
resulting from 36 fuel pathways and 18 propulsion concepts
that ranged from conventional engines to fuel cells. The
study found that greenhouse gas emissions are lowest
overall when renewable sources such as biomass or wind
power are used to generate hydrogen, which then fuels a
fuel-cell-powered vehicle. Fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen
produced from natural gas could also reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, according to the study.
The study also found advantages for compressed natural
gas vehicles, but found that producing hydrogen from natural
gas and burning it directly in a combustion engine would be
inferior to using conventional gasoline engines. Likewise,
methanol produced from natural gas and used to power a
fuel cell vehicle provided no benefit over conventional
vehicles.
The study included a "well-to-wheel" analysis of the
complete fuel chain, from the production of fuels from their
basic feedstock components to the actual consumption of
the fuel in the car. It focused on European driving conditions
and looked toward technologies likely to be in use by 2010.
The study examined fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas
emissions but did not consider cost or other air emissions.
See the GM press release at:
<http://www.gm.com/cgi-bin/pr_display.pl?3006>.
A similar study released last year examined the North
American market. That study, prepared with the help of
DOE's Argonne National Laboratory, is posted on Argonne's
Transportation Technology R&D Center Web site at:
<http://www.transportation.anl.gov/ttrdc/whatsnew.html>.
DOE Announces 2002 Clean Cities Program Awards
DOE announced this year's Clean Cities Program Awards on
May 14th. The awards honor companies, municipal agencies,
and individuals who have made significant, long-term
contributions to advance the use of alternative fuels in cars
and trucks. The awards included eight National Partner
Awards, 11 awards to Clean Cities Coalitions, one
Outstanding Coordinator Award, and the Rookie Coordinator
of the Year Award. The awards were announced at the
8th National Clean Cities Conference, which was held last
week in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. See the DOE press
release, which includes the full list of winners, at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/maypr/pr02082.htm>.
General Motors Corporation (GM) had a substantial
presence at the Clean Cities Conference, displaying a van
fueled with compressed natural gas and pickups and SUVs
that can be fueled with either E85 (a blend of 85 percent
ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) or gasoline. See the GM
press release at: <http://www.gm.com/cgi-bin/pr_display.pl?2983>.
DOE's Clean Cities Program supports public-private
partnerships that deploy alternative fuel vehicles and build
supporting alternative fuel infrastructure. See the Clean
Cities Web site at: <http://www.ccities.doe.gov/>.
California Announces Summer Energy Conservation Plan
California Governor Gray Davis announced in early May the
state's plans for continued energy conservation this summer.
The governor's plan includes a continuation of the state's
"Flex Your Power" media campaign, as well as a new
program with 1,100 retailers to promote energy efficient
lighting, appliances and equipment. The state also plans to
help agricultural users install energy-efficient pumps for
irrigation and other uses. See the May 7th press release by
selecting "Press Releases" on the governor's Web site at:
<http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_pressroom_main.jsp>.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) reported in mid-May
that the state should have sufficient electricity supplies this
summer, so long as consumers continue to use energy
efficiently. Although the CEC doesn't expect consumers to
repeat last summer's achievements, it is counting on
consumers using less energy than they did in 2000. See the
May 14th press release on the CEC Web site at:
<http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/index.html>.
The CEC might expect less conservation this summer, since
a CEC report issued yesterday showed that a major
motivator last summer was "to stop energy suppliers from
overcharging." On the other hand, there are reasons to
expect continued energy savings, since 19 percent of
Californians installed compact fluorescent light bulbs and
17 percent bought energy-efficient appliances. Other
common actions were to turn off lights and appliances when
not in use, to reduce air conditioner use, and to shift some
energy use to off-peak hours. See the press release and
other documents on the CEC Web site at:
<http://www.energy.ca.gov/efficiency/behavior/>.
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is doing its
part in California: together with the CEC, AWEA has
launched a campaign to encourage consumers to install
small wind power systems in the state. AWEA sent out a
mailing in early May to 65,000 rural California households
that could benefit from owning a home wind power system.
See the AWEA press release at:
<http://www.awea.org/news/news020502sws.html>.
Despite hefty state incentives, AWEA and other renewable
energy advocates are facing marketing challenges in the
state: a study commissioned by the CEC in November found
that only 8 percent of businesses and 15 percent of
homeowners thought they would "probably" or "definitely"
install a renewable energy system -- and nearly all of those
said "probably." In contrast, 53 percent of businesses and
62 percent of homeowners said they "probably" or "definitely"
would NOT install a renewable energy system. See the
CEC report, available in Adobe PDF format only, at:
<http://www.energy.ca.gov/reports/2002-04-03_500-02-016.PDF>.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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North America Expected to Dodge Power Shortages this Summer
A report issued last week by the North American Electric
Reliability Council (NERC) anticipates that the continent has
enough generating capacity to avoid power shortages during
the coming summer. But despite the generally rosy forecast,
NERC's "2002 Summer Assessment" does point to two areas
of concern: southern Nevada, which suffers from tight
capacity margins, and southwestern Connecticut, which is
limited by transmission constraints. Drought conditions are
not expected to impact electric reliability. See the May 15th
press release on the NERC Web site at:
<http://www.nerc.com/~filez/pressreleases.html>.
The full report, available in Adobe PDF format only, is posted
on the NERC Web site at:
<ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/pubs/summer2002.pdf>.
One potential wrench in the NERC projection, unfortunately,
is hotter than expected weather. Currently, the Climate
Prediction Center is calling for warmer than average
temperatures in many parts of the United States. The Center
is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). See the Center's Web site at:
<http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/>.
Indeed, U.S. temperatures in April were the 9th warmest on
record, while global temperatures for April were the second
warmest on record. On the positive side, the currently
predicted El Nino event is expected to be only weak or
moderate, developing slowly over the next six to nine
months. As a result, the El Nino should result in
"considerably weaker" global impacts than were experienced
during the very strong El Nino during 1997 and 1998,
according to the Climate Prediction Center. See the NOAA
press releases at:
<http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s909.htm> and
<http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s905.htm>.
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