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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- January 16, 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
"FreedomCAR" Program to Advance Fuel-Cell Vehicles
Ford Shows Hybrid Escape SUV at Detroit Auto Show
Wind Capacity Surges Ahead in the U.S. and the World
Wind Turbine Installed on Novel Tower Without Large Crane
North Carolina Utilities to Pursue Green Power
New York Power Authority Buys Eight 200-Kilowatt Fuel Cells
*Energy Facts and Tips
U.S. Energy Companies Expanded Oil, Gas Reserves in 2000
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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"FreedomCAR" Program to Advance Fuel-Cell Vehicles
DOE announced last week a new government-industry
program for the advancement of high-efficiency cars:
"freedomCAR". The new program will focus on fuel cells and
hydrogen production from renewable energy sources. DOE
will carry out the freedomCAR program in partnership with
the U.S. Council of Automotive Research -- a cooperative
research organization formed by Ford Motor Company,
General Motors Corporation, and DaimlerChrysler
Corporation. In fact, the "CAR" in "freedomCAR" stands for
"Cooperative Automotive Research."
FreedomCAR replaces the Clinton-era "Partnership for a
New Generation of Vehicles" (PNGV), which aimed to
produce an affordable sedan that achieves 80 miles per
gallon by 2004. In contrast, the long-term goal for
freedomCAR is to develop technologies for hydrogen-
powered fuel cell vehicles that will require no foreign oil and
emit no harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases. An
interesting aspect of freedomCAR is its emphasis on
developing a hydrogen supply infrastructure: many
automotive companies are currently developing cars that
would be fueled with low-sulfur gasoline, methanol, or
natural gas fuels, which would be converted to hydrogen
using onboard fuel processors. FreedomCAR looks farther
ahead to an energy economy that is built around hydrogen
as the energy carrier.
See the DOE press release, with a link to a fact sheet, at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/janpr/pr02001.htm>.
So how do you produce hydrogen? Today, most hydrogen is
produced from fossil fuels. It can also be produced by
passing a current through two electrodes immersed in water,
but that technique tends to be expensive. Researchers are
now examining ways to make hydrogen from organic
materials, to generate it from organic processes, or to
produce it directly from sunlight and water. Some catalysts
help sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but
researchers are also using modified solar cells immersed in
water, called photoelectrodes. For more information, see the
Hydrogen Information Network on EREN at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/hydrogen/>.
For those more technically inclined, the proceedings of the
2001 DOE Hydrogen Program Review are posted on the
Hydrogen Information Network at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/hydrogen/docs/30535toc.html>.
Ford Shows Hybrid Escape SUV at Detroit Auto Show
Ford Motor Company is displaying the hybrid electric version
of its Escape sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the North
American International Auto Show, now underway in Detroit.
Ford confirmed that the vehicle will be available in 2003, and
announced that its emissions will be low enough to qualify as
a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) under California
law. The vehicle is expected to achieve nearly 40 miles to
the gallon. See the Ford Hybrid Electric Vehicle Web site at:
<http://www.hybridford.com/index.asp>.
While domestic auto companies continue to prepare their
hybrid-electric vehicles for production, U.S. sales of the
Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight continue to grow. Toyota
Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. announced that it sold 15,556
Priuses in the United States in 2001, up from 5,562 in 2000
(U.S. sales of the Prius began in mid-2000). American
Honda announced Insight sales of 4,726 in 2001, up from
3,788 in 2000.
See the Toyota press release, "Toyota Sets Sales Record
for Sixth Year in a Row," on the Toyota Pressroom Web site
at: <http://pressroom.toyota.com/>.
See the American Honda press release at:
<http://www.hondacars.com/news/press.html?y=2002&r=770>.
The Honda Civic Hybrid, unveiled in Japan last month, had
its U.S. debut in Los Angeles early this month. Honda claims
the Civic Hybrid will achieve about 50 miles per gallon and
will cost about $20,000. Honda expects to sell 2,000 vehicles
per month when it goes on sale in the United States in April.
See the American Honda press release at:
<http://www.hondacars.com/news/press.html?y=2002&r=774>.
Wind Capacity Surges Ahead in the U.S. and the World
U.S. wind power capacity increased by 66 percent in 2001,
according to figures released yesterday by the American
Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The record growth of
1,694 megawatts boosted the total U.S. wind power capacity
from 2,564 megawatts to 4,258 megawatts. AWEA says last
year's installations represent capital investments of about
$1.7 billion and will produce enough electricity to meet the
annual needs of 475,000 U.S. households. See the January
15th press release on the AWEA Web site at:
<http://www.awea.org/news/index.html>.
The U.S. growth in wind capacity is actually outpacing the
world growth: according to the Earth Policy Institute, world
wind power capacity increased 31 percent in 2001. In fact,
wind capacity grew faster in the United States than in the
other four leading wind-development countries: Germany,
Denmark, India and Spain. Germany, however, still has
nearly twice the wind power capacity as the United States,
thanks to aggressive government policies for wind power
development. German wind power capacity overtook
U.S. wind power capacity in 1997. According to the Earth
Policy Institute, the world's total wind power capacity is now
at 23,300 megawatts -- more than five times the U.S. capacity.
See the Earth Policy press release, with links to detailed
tables and graphs, at:
<http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update5.htm>.
(Note that the Earth Policy numbers are preliminary, so they
are slightly lower than the AWEA numbers.)
If the latest news is any indication, world wind power
capacity will continue to grow rapidly in 2002. Ireland gave
the go-ahead for the world's largest offshore wind power
facility last week. Ireland's Minister for the Marine and
Natural Resources approved a wind power lease of the
Arklow Bank, a sand bank located more than four miles off
the coast of Ireland. Eirtricity, Ireland's largest renewable
energy developer, intends to build a 520-megawatt wind
plant along the sand bank, beginning with 60 megawatts in
2002 and completing the site by 2005. See the eirtricity Web
site at: <http://www.eirtricity.ie/news-11-01-2002.htm>.
Wind Turbine Installed on Novel Tower Without Large Crane
A single 660-kilowatt wind turbine was installed in December
in Omaha, Nebraska, to serve a green power program run
by the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD). The installation
uses an innovative tower designed by Valmont Industries Inc.
that incorporates a lifting platform for installing the turbine.
The platform eliminated the need for a large crane to install
the turbine. See the OPPD Web site at:
<http://www.oppd.com/news/GreenPower.htm>.
Valmont Industries believes its wind turbine tower could help
expand the installation of wind turbines into rugged terrains
that present access problems for large cranes. See the
Valmont Web site at:
<http://www.valmont.com/poles/poles7.shtml>.
North Carolina Utilities to Pursue Green Power
A Green Power Program Advisory Committee formed last
year in North Carolina has led the electric utility companies
throughout the state to pursue a green power program.
According to Advanced Energy, which helped form the
advisory committee, the three investor-owned utilities in
North Carolina have publicly declared their intentions to file
for a green power program with the state's utility commission.
The state's municipal utilities and electric cooperatives have
also agreed to participate. A statewide program should be in
place by mid-year. Advanced Energy is a non-profit energy
consultancy founded by the North Carolina Utilities Commission
in 1980. See the Advanced Energy Web site at:
<http://www.advancedenergy.org/greenpower/index.html>.
Green power also continues to advance in Washington
state, where all the utilities are now required by law to offer a
green power program. The latest offerings come from Avista
Utilities, which serves nearly 310,000 electric customers in
eastern Washington and northern Idaho, and from Clark
Public Utilities in southwest Washington. Clark Public
Utilities is buying so-called "green tags" from the Bonneville
Environmental Foundation, while Avista is buying wind
power from the Stateline Wind Project that went online at
year end.
See the Avista Web site at:
<http://www.avistautilities.com/account/windpower.asp>.
And see the January 7th press release from Clark Public
Utilities by selecting "News Releases" on the Web site at:
<http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/events.html>.
Utah Power's "Blue Sky" green power program is also
gaining ground -- Salt Lake City's Uinta Brewing Company
opened its new brewery last week with the announcement
that it will buy 100 percent renewable energy to power the
facility. The brewery expects to purchase more than a
quarter million kilowatt-hours of wind power per year. See
the announcement on the Utah Green Power Web site at:
<http://www.utahgreenpower.org/News.htm#uinta>.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
encouraging more companies to buy green power through its
Green Power Partnership Program. Companies that commit
to buying green power will gain technical support and public
recognition from EPA by joining the partnership. See the
newly revised Green Power Partnership Program Web site
at: <http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/>.
New York Power Authority Buys Eight 200-Kilowatt Fuel Cells
UTC Fuel Cells announced last month the sale of eight fuel
cell systems to the New York Power Authority (NYPA), which
will use them at four wastewater treatment facilities in New
York City. NYPA will use waste gas (primarily methane) from
the water treatment process to power the fuel cells. Each of
the units generates 200 kilowatts of electricity. See the
UTC Fuel Cells press release at:
<http://www.utcfuelcells.com/news/archive/121901.shtml>.
Other recent fuel cell developments include the installation of
a Nuvera Fuel Cell at a Verizon telecommunications site in
Massachusetts and the shipment of a 5-kilowatt fuel cell --
produced by DCH Technologies, Inc. -- to the Houston
Advanced Research Center (HARC).
See the December 18th press release on the Nuvera Web
site at: <http://www.nuvera.com/>.
See also the HARC press release at:
<http://www.harc.edu/pressroom/02_0103.html>.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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U.S. Energy Companies Expanded Oil, Gas Reserves in 2000
The major U.S. energy companies achieved great success
with their drill bits in 2000, significantly boosting oil and gas
reserves, according to a report released last week by DOE's
Energy Information Administration (EIA). The major U.S.
energy producers expanded their worldwide oil and gas
reserves by an equivalent of 6.6 billion barrels of crude oil in
2000, exceeding their worldwide oil and gas production by
22 percent, allowing the reserves to gain some ground over
production.
Meanwhile, the companies actually gained 60 percent of
their oil and gas reserve increases through mergers and
acquisitions. The companies nearly doubled their worldwide
capital expenditures in 2000, and most of the growth in
spending went toward mergers and acquisitions. The
companies also posted record profits, as their net income
increased 133 percent from 1999 levels to a new record of
$53.2 billion. See the EIA press release, with a link to the full
report, at: <http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/press/press188.html>.
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