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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- February 13, 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
Massachusetts Moves Ahead on Renewable Energy Requirement
DOE Releases Design Guidelines for Energy Efficient Schools
U.S. Ethanol Fuel Industry Sets Production Record in 2001
Environmental Assessment: GM Falls Short on Fuel Efficiency
DOE Awards $6 Million to Missouri for Home Weatherization
*Energy Facts and Tips
EIA: Expect a Rise in Gasoline Costs, Drop in Heating Costs
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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Massachusetts Moves Ahead on Renewable Energy Requirement
The Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources (DOER)
released last week its final renewable energy portfolio
regulation, which sets a minimum requirement for generating
electricity from new renewable energy sources. The regulation
requires all retail electricity providers in the state to draw on
new renewable energy sources for at least one percent of
their power supply in 2003, increasing to four percent by
2009. The state mandated the renewable energy regulation
in its Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Act, enacted in
1997.
The DOER regulation allows the use of solar, wind, and
ocean energy, as well as landfill methane gas, anaerobic
digester gas, and low-emission biomass power (but not from
municipal waste), to meet the requirement. In general, only
facilities that started commercial operation in 1998 or later
will qualify. Biomass can also be co-fired with other fuels for
partial credit if the facility meets certain criteria. Electricity
providers that fall short of the requirements can opt to pay
5 cents per kilowatt-hour to the Massachusetts Technology
Park Corporation (MTPC), which administers the
Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. The MTPC, in turn,
will use the funds to maximize the commercial development
of new renewable generation facilities in the state. See the
DOER press release, with a link to the full regulation, at:
<http://www.state.ma.us/doer/pub_info/nr020207.htm>.
The State of New York is also pressing ahead with plans to
encourage renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency.
The state's draft energy plan, now being reviewed in public
hearings, includes plans to solicit long-term contracts for
electricity from renewable energy sources, examine the
feasibility of a requirement similar to Massachusetts' new
regulation, help create a biofuels industry in the state, and
encourage the use of distributed generation and combined
heat and power technologies. The plan also proposes a
statewide energy efficiency standard, voluntary energy-
efficiency agreements with businesses, efforts to encourage
alternative modes of transportation, and programs to
promote energy efficiency in buildings. The plan specifically
suggests a coordinated effort to include energy efficiency
and other green building principles in rebuilding efforts in
New York City. See the draft energy plan on the New York
State Energy Research and Development Authority Web site
at: <http://www.nyserda.org/sep.html>.
DOE Releases Design Guidelines for Energy Efficient Schools
DOE released last week the first of seven volumes of design
guidelines for energy-efficient schools, providing the detailed
information needed for schools to save millions of dollars in
energy costs. U.S. schools for kindergarten through the
twelfth grade spend a total of about $6 billion on energy
each year, a quarter of which could be saved through energy
efficiency. In addition, a number of recent studies show that
students learn better in comfortable classrooms that make
use of natural sunlight.
The new design guidelines cover a wide range of
technologies for schools in hot and dry climates, and also
include numerous case studies. The remaining six volumes
will cover the other U.S. climate zones and will be released
by this summer. DOE aims to help school districts achieve
energy savings as they renovate old schools or build new
ones -- U.S. school districts are expected to spend
$79 billion on such projects over the next three years. See
the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/febpr/pr02021.htm>.
The design guidelines are a product of EnergySmart
Schools, a part of DOE's Rebuild America Program. See the
EnergySmart Schools Web site, including a link to the new
design guidelines, on EREN at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/energysmartschools/>.
U.S. Ethanol Fuel Industry Sets Production Record in 2001
The U.S. ethanol fuel industry achieved a record production
of 1.77 billion gallons in 2001. The Renewable Fuels
Association (RFA) announced in late January that production
in 2001 increased to nearly 10 percent above 2000
production levels. Construction began on nearly 20 new
ethanol plants in 2001, in part to meet an increase in
demand for ethanol in California, which is phasing out its use
of MTBE as a gasoline additive and is required to replace it
with ethanol. See the RFA press release at:
<http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pr020128.html>.
The RFA also called attention on Monday to a DOE report
that shows "no major infrastructure barriers exist" for a
greatly expanded ethanol industry. The report examines the
infrastructure impacts of producing and using more than
5 billion gallons of ethanol in the United States each year.
See the RFA press release, with a link to the full report, at:
<http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pr020211.html>.
Environmental Assessment: GM Falls Short on Fuel Efficiency
The first outside environmental assessment of General
Motors Corporation (GM) has found that despite progress on
many environmental fronts, GM has failed to improve the
overall fuel economy of its fleet. The assessment was
performed by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible
Economies (CERES) with the cooperation of GM, and the
results were released in late January. Back in 1994, GM was
the first Fortune 50 manufacturing company to endorse the
CERES Principles, which include goals for protecting human
health, natural resources, and the global environment. The
environmental assessment is one requirement of companies
that endorse the CERES Principles.
The CERES review did credit GM with increasing the fuel
efficiency of its vehicles model-by-model, but concluded that
increased sales of sport utility vehicles and trucks held
steady the overall fuel efficiency of the GM fleet of cars and
trucks. See the CERES press release at:
<http://www.ceres.org/events_news/press_gm.htm>.
With the emphasis on aluminum components in some high-
efficiency cars, particularly the Honda Insight, you might
think the steel industry would be averse to fuel-efficiency
increases. If so, you'd be wrong. According to the American
Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), advanced high-strength steels
can help vehicles achieve five-star crash ratings while
doubling fuel efficiencies, without increasing their cost. An
AISI study developed conceptual vehicle designs using the
high-strength steels and compared the vehicles' predicted
performance to high-efficiency concept cars such as the
GM Precept. The AISI conceptual vehicles achieved similar
vehicle weights and fuel efficiencies at lower costs,
according to the study. Computer simulations showed the
vehicles would earn a five-star crash rating in U.S. tests. See
the AISI press release at:
<http://www.autosteel.org/press_release_output.php3?prjob_num=1222>.
DOE Awards $6 Million to Missouri for Home Weatherization
DOE announced last week the award of more than $6 million
to Missouri for weatherization assistance to low-income
households. The award will boost the energy efficiency of an
estimated 1,726 homes in the state. The grant is part of
DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides
funds to state and local agencies, as well as American
Indian tribes, for measures that improve the energy
efficiency of the homes of people that can least afford to
waste energy. This year, the program will reduce the energy
bills of roughly 105,000 low-income families, saving each an
average of $218 per year. See the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/febpr/pr02020.htm>.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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EIA: Expect a Rise in Gasoline Costs, Drop in Heating Costs
Crude oil prices are expected to gradually increase this year,
pushing U.S. gasoline prices up too, says the latest "Short-
Term Energy Outlook" from DOE's Energy Information
Administration (EIA). Meanwhile, a mild winter is causing a
low demand for heating fuels such as heating oil, propane
and natural gas, causing a price slump for those fuels. The
combination of a mild winter and a reduced energy demand
due to the economic slowdown has allowed inventories of
fuels to recover from last year's lows. The amount of natural
gas in storage is high, causing lower prices and reduced
drilling for natural gas. For gasoline prices, the combination
of increased demand as the weather gets warmer and
reduced OPEC oil production should push prices up about
15 cents by late spring, says EIA. See the EIA report at:
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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