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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- October 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
New 48-Megawatt Wind Plant Begins Operation in Washington
Washington State Organizations Buy 10 Percent Green Power
Two New England States Provide $11 Million for Solar Power
Crowder College Wins People's Choice as Solar Decathlon Ends
Energy Star Program Earns Award and Launches New Campaign
General Motors Investigates Energy-Efficient Metal Casting
Twelve Ethanol Plants to Cut Air Emissions in Minnesota
*Site News
Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA)
*Energy Facts and Tips
Reliability Group: U.S. Power Supplies are Adequate to 2005
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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New 48-Megawatt Wind Plant Begins Operation in Washington
The Nine Canyon Wind Project began operating in late September,
adding 48 megawatts of new wind power capacity to the Pacific
Northwest's power grid. Located about eight miles southeast of
Kennewick, Washington, near the Oregon border, the new facility
consists of 37 wind turbines, each capable of generating
1.3 megawatts of power. Bonus A/S, a Danish company, manufactured
the wind turbines, and Renewable Energy Systems developed the
project. Energy Northwest owns and operates the wind power plant,
which is providing power to eight Washington Public Utility
Districts (PUDs). Benton PUD, one of the eight power purchasers,
also built an electrical substation and a four-mile transmission
line to connect the new facility to the regional power grid. See the
Energy Northwest press release at:
<http://www.energy-northwest.com/Information/09.25.02.html>.
For more information on the Nine Canyon Wind Project, see the
project description on the Energy Northwest Web site at:
<http://www.energy-northwest.com/NewFiles/NineCanyon.html>.
Washington State Organizations Buy 10 Percent Green Power
With a large and growing wind power capacity in the Pacific
Northwest, a number of organizations are signing up to buy wind
power, including DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
The laboratory is buying 8.8 million kilowatt-hours of wind-
generated electricity this fiscal year -- enough to meet 10 percent
of PNNL's energy needs. PNNL's purchase of wind power from the
263-megawatt Stateline Wind Power Project will increase the
laboratory's total use of renewable energy to 13.7 percent of its
energy use. See the PNNL press release at:
<http://www.pnl.gov/news/2002/02-32.htm>.
The Clark County government in southwest Washington State is also
buying 10 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.
Clark Public Utilities announced in late September that the county
government has become its largest purchaser of green power, buying
120,600 kilowatt-hours each month through the utility's "Green
Lights" program. See the September 25th press release by selecting
"News Releases" on the Clark Public Utilities Web site at:
<http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/events.html>.
See also the Clark Public Utilities Green Lights program at:
<http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/green_lights.htm>.
Green power purchases in the Pacific Northwest have more than
tripled since last year. A report released last month by the
Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) found that the region's retail
electricity customers are now buying enough green power to equal the
annual output of more than 56 megawatts of wind turbines. See the
RNP report at: <http://www.rnp.org/htmls/pr_PwrChcs3.htm>.
And there's plenty of room for more: according to a recent report
from the RAND Corporation, the Pacific Northwest could use renewable
energy and energy efficiency to replace 20 percent of the projected
growth in natural gas power plants over the next 20 years, with
minimal impacts on the region's economy. The RAND report accounts
for the availability of intermittent resources like the sun and
wind, concluding that 1,000 megawatts of new solar capacity and more
than 2,200 megawatts of new wind capacity could be built in the
region. Combined with energy efficiency improvements, the
diversified energy portfolio causes only a 0.5 percent decrease in
the region's gross product over the 20-year period. See the RAND
report at: <http://www.rand.org/hot/press.02/electric.html>.
Two New England States Provide $11 Million for Solar Power
The organizations that are promoting renewable energy in Connecticut
and Massachusetts both announced new programs last week, providing
a total of $11 million to fund solar power advances in the two
New England states.
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), which manages the
state's $150-million Renewable Energy Trust, announced the launch of
the trust's new $10-million Solar-to-Market Initiative. As a first
step, the initiative is awarding $2.6 million in grants to six
organizations that will install roughly 250 solar power systems on
homes, businesses, farms, institutions, and local government
buildings throughout the state. The new initiative also includes a
$5.3 million loan fund to support solar photovoltaic (PV) businesses
in the state. In addition, MTC intends to award $600,000 to support
public education programs; training programs for solar installers,
inspectors, and utility representatives; and metering and evaluation
programs to document solar power system performance. See the MTC
press release at:
<http://www.mtpc.org/NewsandReports/press/pr_10_10_02_smi.htm>.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) launched its Solar PV
Program with $1 million in funds. The fund is seeking pre-
applications for the program, which aims to install photovoltaic
systems on commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings in
the state. The pre-applications are due by December 13th. See the
CCEF press release at:
<http://www.ctcleanenergy.com/news/archives/n102002_solor_pv.html>.
According to DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL),
15 states have established such clean energy funds, which are
expected to collect $3.8 billion between 1998 and 2012 for renewable
energy investments. LBNL and the Clean Energy Group have prepared
and compiled 21 case studies that examine these state-level clean
energy funds. See the "Case Studies of State Support for Renewable
Energy" on the LBNL Web site at:
<http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/EMS/cases/EMS_case.html>.
Crowder College Wins People's Choice as Solar Decathlon Ends
Crowder College proved the popular favorite at the Solar Decathlon
last week by winning the "People's Choice Award," which was
determined by ballots handed out to the touring public on October
5th and 6th. In addition to the main awards associated with the
decathlon, a number of awards were presented by the event's sponsors
and organizers. See the new "Awards" page on the Solar Decathlon Web
site at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/solar_decathlon/awards.html>.
The Solar Decathlon is a team competition among universities to
design and build the most energy-efficient solar-powered homes.
Fourteen teams from throughout the United States and Puerto Rico
brought their solar homes to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.,
for this year's competition, which ran from September 26th through
October 5th. And as the final entries in the team diaries indicate,
the 14 teams found the experience to be educational in a variety of
ways. See the team diary entries at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/solar_decathlon/diaries.html>.
So now that it's over, what happens to the houses? The answer is as
varied as the houses themselves. Some will find a permanent place on
the teams' campuses, and several are destined to visit museums,
fairs, and other public venues. Carnegie Mellon University plans to
be philanthropic, donating its house to a nonprofit community
organization, while Crowder College was uniquely capitalistic,
financing the house by selling it in advance on eBay, earning
$75,000 to fuel the project. See the lead article in the
August/September edition of the Solar Decathlon newsletter, in Adobe
PDF format only, at: <http://www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy02/32491.pdf>.
Energy Star Program Earns Award and Launches New Campaign
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Christie Whitman,
Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
accepted the Charles H. Percy Award for Distinguished Public Service
on October 9th on behalf of the DOE/EPA Energy Star program. The
Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) presents the award to federal
government programs for their outstanding contributions to the
advancement of energy efficiency. ASE is a coalition of prominent
business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders that
promotes energy efficiency worldwide.
Energy Star is a voluntary program that strives to increase consumer
awareness, interest, and desire for energy efficient products. To
help consumers easily identify energy efficient products, the
program confers the Energy Star label on appliances and electronic
equipment that significantly exceed the minimum national efficiency
standards. Energy Star works with more than 7,000 partners to
improve the energy efficiency of products, homes and commercial
buildings and schools. See the DOE and EPA press releases at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/octpr/pr02217.htm> and
<http://www.epa.gov/epahome/headline_100902.htm>.
>From now through the end of the year, the EPA's "Change a Light,
Change the World" campaign challenges all Americans to install at
least one Energy Star-labeled light bulb or fixture in their homes.
To encourage Americans to do so, EPA is partnering with more than
140 manufacturers, retailers, state governments and utilities
throughout the United States to make finding and buying energy
efficient lighting easier. Major retail chains and regional utility
companies will provide special offers and rebates to help you save
on compact fluorescent light bulbs, fixtures and ceiling fans with
lighting. Nationwide promotions and in-store lighting workshops will
be held through a national home improvement chain. Local events
where customers can exchange older technology halogen floor lamps
for discounts on more energy-efficient ones will also take place.
See the EPA press release at:
<http://www.epa.gov/epahome/headline_100102.htm>.
One participant in the EPA campaign is the Midwest Energy Efficiency
Alliance (MEAA), which has teamed up with Westinghouse and Ace
Hardware to offer instant $6 rebates on two-packs of 15-watt compact
fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. That allows consumers in parts of
Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio to purchase a CFL
two-pack for just 99 cents! See the MEAA Web site at:
<http://www.mwalliance.org/cal2002/>.
For more information on the campaign, and to find offers in your
area, see the Energy Star Web site at:
<http://yosemite1.epa.gov/estar/consumers.nsf/lighting.htm>.
General Motors Investigates Energy-Efficient Metal Casting
General Motors Corporation (GM) completed in early October the first
phase of a $1.37-million project to improve an energy-efficient
metal casting process now being used at its factory in Massena, in
upstate New York. GM is trying to perfect the "lost foam" casting
process, in which polystyrene foam is formed into a shape like the
parts to be cast -- in this case, engine blocks or cylinder heads.
The foam shape is placed into a box of compacted sand, and molten
metal is added. The hot metal vaporizes the foam shape, leaving
behind a precise metal mold of the part to be cast.
The lost foam process uses 25 percent less energy than traditional
casting methods and allows the molds to be designed in more complex
shapes, eliminating some of the finishing steps required with
traditional methods. To improve the process, GM worked with Buffalo
Wire Works and others to develop sophisticated equipment that
measures the quality of both the coating applied to the foam shapes
and the sand packed around them. DOE is providing a $500,000 grant
to the project, and the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA) is providing an additional $125,000.
See the NYSERDA press release at:
<http://www.nyserda.org/press/2002/oct4_02.html>.
Lost foam casting is being improved through DOE's Metal Casting
Industry of the Future program, which aims to increase energy
efficiency and productivity in metal casting processes. See the fact
sheet on lost foam casting, in Adobe PDF format only, at:
<http://www.oit.doe.gov/metalcast/factsheets/mciof.pdf>.
See also the Metal Casting Industry of the Future Web site at:
<http://www.oit.doe.gov/metalcast/>.
Twelve Ethanol Plants to Cut Air Emissions in Minnesota
Twelve ethanol production plants will drastically reduce their
emissions of volatile organic carbons (VOC) and other pollutants
under a settlement announced on October 2nd by the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Region 5, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Under the
settlements, the plants will install thermal oxidizers that reduce
VOC emissions from their feed dryers by 95 percent while meeting
new, more restrictive emission limits for nitrous oxides,
particulate matter, carbon monoxide and other hazardous air
pollutants. The 12 ethanol plants comprise 17 percent of the
nation's ethanol production capacity. See the press release on the
MPCA Web site at: <http://www.pca.state.mn.us/news/nr100202.html>.
At least one ethanol plant in Minnesota has already made the needed
changes: last week, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced
that Pro-Corn LLC has installed a thermal oxidizer as part of the
plant's expansion. The farmer-owned plant also increased its annual
production capacity from 22 to 40 million gallons, an 82 percent
increase. See the RFA press release at:
<http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pr021010.html>.
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SITE NEWS
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Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA)
<http://www.biobased.org/association/index.html>
BMA helps manufacturers market their biobased products. Through a
cooperative brokerage, it organizes the efficient purchase and sale
of raw resources and finished goods. Its Web site provides
information on these efforts as well as basic information on
biobased products.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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Reliability Group: U.S. Power Supplies are Adequate to 2005
The United States has adequate power supplies to meet its electrical
needs at least through 2005, according to the latest assessment from
the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). The NERC
report finds that projected generating capacity margins vary from
region to region, but NERC does not anticipate capacity shortages in
any of the U.S. regions. Although power plant developers have
announced plans to install 260,000 megawatts of new generating
capacity by 2005, NERC does not expect all of these plants to be
built, although enough should be built to provide adequate
generating capacity margins. The NERC report attempts to look ahead
to 2011, but notes that shifting trends in power generation make
such assessments difficult. Yet the report expresses confidence that
the long-term power supply will continue to meet the nation's needs.
However, the report is much less confident about the U.S. transmission
system's ability to deliver that power where it is needed, concluding
that heavy transmission loadings and congestion will continue to
occur, with system limitations expected to increase in some areas.
According to the report, "the only way to remove these constraints
is to increase the capability of the transmission system or build
new generation close to the demand centers, removing the need for
the electricity transfers in the first place." See the NERC press
release, in PDF format only, at:
<ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/pressrel/10-02-RAS-PR.pdf>.
The full report is also available, in PDF format only, at:
<ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/pubs/2002ras.pdf>.
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