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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- April 3, 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 Solar Cell Design Combines Plastics, "Nanorods"
36 Businesses and Organizations Win Energy Star Awards
Fuel Cell-Microturbine Hybrid Passes Performance Test
Wisconsin to Draw on Animal Waste for 15 Megawatts of Power
New Minnesota Law Mandates 2-Percent Biodiesel Blend
BC Hydro Announces Second Agreement for Ocean Wave Energy
DOE Awards $2 Million to Industry, $2.8 Million to Oregon
*Site News
DOE's Subject Portals
*Energy Facts and Tips
EIA Sees 60 Percent Growth in World Energy Use by 2020
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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New Solar Cell Design Combines Plastics, "Nanorods"
Researchers at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (LBNL) have developed a new recipe for
producing solar cells: combine nanometer-sized rods
("nanorods") of semiconducting material with a conductive
plastic called P3HT, and spin-cast the mixture onto glass.
The result: an inexpensive device that can convert about
6.9 percent of indoor light into electricity. The results in
sunlight are less promising -- converting only 1.7 percent of
sunlight into electricity -- but the researchers expect to be
able to improve on that number. The research, conducted in
collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley,
was published in the March 29th edition of the journal
Science.
The researchers used cadmium selenide rods measuring
just 7 nanometers -- that's one billionth of a meter -- in
diameter and 60 nanometers in length. They found that
modifying the diameter of the nanorods allowed them to
"tune" the solar cells to respond to light of varying
frequencies. This intriguing result suggests that the cells
could possibly be built in several layers, each of which would
respond to different frequencies of sunlight. Such "tandem"
solar cell designs have achieved high efficiencies in the past
using more traditional semiconducting materials. The use of
plastic to form the solar cells suggests that they could be
cast into a variety of flexible or rigid shapes, opening up a
wide range of potential applications. See the March 29th
press release on the LBL Web site at:
<http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/News-Releases.html>.
While plastics and nanotubes may one day be the basis of a
new solar cell industry, for now the industry continues to rely
heavily on the same material that fuels computer chips:
silicon. And although the solar cell industry has often played
the neglected stepsister to the semiconductor industry, that
may be changing. In late March, Advanced Silicon Materials
LLC (ASiMI), a producer of high-purity silicon for the
semiconductor industry, announced a joint venture with
Renewable Energy Corporation of Norway to produce
polycrystalline silicon for solar cells at its plant in Moses
Lake, Washington. The plant, which accounts for 40 percent
of the company's production capability, was largely shut
down in early March due to a slowdown in the semiconductor
industry. Converting the plant to produce solar-grade silicon
will provide a stable supply of the material for the solar cell
industry while providing new growth potential for ASiMI. See
the ASiMI press releases at:
<http://www.asimi.com/newsreleaseslist.html>.
36 Businesses and Organizations Win Energy Star Awards
DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
honored 36 businesses and organizations with Energy Star
Partner Awards in a ceremony last week. Of the many
awards for excellence, 12 went to manufacturers of energy
efficient products, 9 were awarded for energy management,
7 were for energy efficient homes, and 4 were for consumer
education. In addition, three companies were singled out for
special recognition, and one company -- Verizon
Communications Inc. -- earned the "Corporate Commitment
Award." Verizon not only promoted energy efficiency within
the company, but also spearheaded efforts to encourage
energy efficiency within the entire telecommunications
industry. See the press release and awards brochure on the
Energy Star News Room Web page at:
<http://www.epa.gov/nrgystar/news.html>.
One example of Verizon's corporate commitment to energy
efficiency is the company's purchase of seven 200-kilowatt
fuel cells for a critical call-routing center in Garden City on
New York's Long Island. The 1.4-megawatt system will be
the world's largest fuel cell installation and will also produce
more than 6 million Btu of usable heat. Verizon will also
install four generators powered by natural gas to form a
hybrid power system capable of generating up to
4.4 megawatts of electrical power. UTC Fuel Cells will
provide the fuel cells for the system. See the UTC Fuel Cells
press release at:
<http://www.utcfuelcells.com/news/archive/032002.shtml>.
Fuel Cell-Microturbine Hybrid Passes Performance Test
A unique power system that combines a solid-oxide fuel cell
with a microturbine has successfully completed a 1000-hour
performance test, DOE announced last week. The 190-kilowatt
mini-power plant, about the size of a small house trailer, was
gradually brought up to its full performance level during tests
at the National Fuel Cell Test Center on the University of
California-Irvine campus. The system is now converting
about 53 percent of the energy in the natural gas into
electricity, and DOE and other project participants hope to
boost that conversion efficiency to at least 70 percent. The
system will now undergo an extended test run to determine
the reliability of the system. See the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/marpr/pr02053.htm>.
The State of Connecticut is also supporting fuel cell
technologies through its Clean Energy Fund. Last month, the
Fund announced eight finalists for its commercial and
demonstration fuel cell projects. Among the final projects are
a 25-kilowatt solid-oxide fuel cell produced by ZTEK
Corporation and a project to build a 50-megawatt fuel-cell
power plant. See the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Web
site at: <http://www.ctcleanenergy.com/news/news.htm>.
Fuel cell systems are one type of distributed generation
-- electricity generation systems located close to where the
power is used, so they require less supporting infrastructure
such as power lines and transformers. Fuel cells also offer
the advantages of being clean, quiet, and modular. And
according to a recent report from the Rocky Mountain
Institute (RMI), fuel cells will become economical over the
next decade if their installers are able to take full advantage
of these benefits. See the March 7th press release on the
RMI Web site at: <http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid485.php>.
The full report is also available for download on the RMI Web site
at: <http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid171.php#LibFuelCellsHydro>.
Wisconsin to Draw on Animal Waste for 15 Megawatts of Power
Environmental Power Corporation announced last week that
it has entered into a 15-year contract to produce electricity
from animal wastes for the Wisconsin Public Service
Corporation. The company will use anaerobic digesters to
convert animal and other wastes into methane, which will
then be burned to produce electricity. Environmental Power
will draw on multiple installations to provide up to 15 megawatts
of generating capacity. See the March 25th press release on
the Environmental Power Web site at:
<http://www.environmentalpower.com/news.htm>.
Researchers at New Mexico State University (NMSU) have
developed a process that may be more efficient at producing
methane from waste. Their two-stage fermentation process
involves first mixing solid waste with cattle manure, then
adding water and bacteria to convert the mixture into volatile
fatty acids. In the second stage of the process, a different
type of bacteria is used to generate methane from the
mixture. The process is capable of producing a gas
consisting of 70 to 80 percent methane, according to the
researchers. See the NMSU press release at:
<http://www.nmsu.edu/~ucomm/Releases/2002/February/Methane_rel.html>.
New Minnesota Law Mandates 2-Percent Biodiesel Blend
All diesel fuel sold in Minnesota may one day consist of at
least 2 percent biodiesel, thanks to a new law that was
passed by the state legislature last month. The 2-percent
biodiesel mandate will kick in when the state's production
capacity for biodiesel reaches 8 million gallons and when
18 months have passed since a federal action (such as a tax
credit) creates a two-cent drop in the price of such a
biodiesel blend. If there is no federal cost break for the
biodiesel blend, the mandate will kick in on July 1, 2005, as
long as the production capacity is at 8 million gallons. And
should the mandate be repealed, the law allows some
compensation to distributors who have upgraded their
equipment to meet the mandate. See Senate File 1495 on
the Minnesota legislature Web site at:
<http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/Departments/scr/billsumm/#2001reg>.
Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura allowed the bill to
become law without his signature, noting that he approves of
the outcome but disagrees with the idea of government
mandates. See the Governor's press release at:
<http://www.governor.state.mn.us/march_15_biodiesel.html>.
Biodiesel also continues to advance in California, where
Southern States Power Company is developing a new facility
to produce 30 million gallons per year of the fuel. The
company signed an agreement to purchase land for the
facility in mid-March, and announced yesterday that it had
signed a preliminary engineering contract with Lurgi PSI Inc.
for the design and construction of the facility. See the
company's press release at:
<http://www.sspowerco.net/newspress.cfm>.
BC Hydro Announces Second Agreement for Ocean Wave Energy
BC Hydro, the electric utility for British Columbia, Canada,
announced last month that it has signed a memorandum of
understanding with Ocean Power Delivery Ltd. to contribute
to a 3- to 4-megawatt ocean wave energy demonstration
project on Vancouver Island. Ocean Power Delivery, based
in the United Kingdom, uses a floating offshore device that
consists of several sections connected together through
hinged joints. As a wave passes, it causes the sections to
swivel on their hinges, activating hydraulic pumps that drive
electric generators. See the BC Hydro press release at:
<http://eww.bchydro.bc.ca/news/2002/mar/mar02-13a.html>
BC Hydro announced in February that Energetech Australia
Pty Ltd. would also contribute to the wave energy
demonstration project. See the March 6th edition of EREN
Network News at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/archives/2002/mar06_02.html>.
DOE Awards $2 Million to Industry, $2.8 Million to Oregon
DOE announced yesterday its award of more than $2 million
for cost-shared projects to improve energy efficiency in
industrial processes. The award is part of DOE's Industries
of the Future BestPractices Program, which focuses on the
nine most energy-intensive industries in the United States.
The six research and development projects will examine
technologies for the production of polyurethane foam; the
processing of taconite, a flint-like mineral that is a low-grade
source of iron; the rapid heat-treatment of metals; the rolling
of heat-treated steel; the measurement of temperature when
forging metal; and the removal of zinc coatings from scrap
steel via an electrochemical process. The industrial partners
on the projects will contribute more than $9 million toward
the research. See the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/aprpr/pr02055.htm>.
DOE also announced last week its award of more than
$2.8 million to Oregon as one of a continuing series of
weatherization assistance grants. The funds will be used to
improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income
families in the state. See the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/marpr/pr02054.htm>.
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SITE NEWS
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DOE's Subject Portals
<http://www.osti.gov/subjectportals/>
Through subject-specific Web sites or portals, the DOE
Office of Scientific and Technical Information provides
access to full-text DOE scientific and technical reports on
energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, as
well as links to news releases and journal literature. These
"subject portals" include photovoltaics, geothermal energy,
hydrogen energy, superconductivity, heavy vehicle
technology, wind energy, biopower, biofuels, concentrating
solar power, fuel cell technologies, hydropower, and solar
buildings. Each portal also features a distributed search
capability, which allows the user to conduct parallel searches
across other databases with similar collections of
information.
For this and other recent additions to the EREN Web site,
see: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/new/whats-new.html>.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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EIA Sees 60 Percent Growth in World Energy Use by 2020
World energy use will increase 60 percent over the next two
decades, according to a new report by DOE's Energy
Information Administration (EIA). The "International Energy
Outlook 2002" expects much of the growth to occur in the
developing world, particularly in the developing parts of Asia
-- China, India and South Korea -- and in Central and South
America. The growth in world energy use is expected to
result in a 59 percent increase in petroleum production and a
near doubling in production of natural gas.
Energy efficiency is expected to contribute to a steady
decline in energy intensity, the amount of energy used per
unit of gross domestic product. That, combined with a shift
away from carbon-intensive fuels, will lead to a reduction in
carbon intensity, the amount of carbon dioxide produced per
unit of gross domestic product. But overall world carbon
emissions are still expected to increase by 62 percent by
2020.
The report anticipates a 53 percent growth in renewable
energy use by 2020, but that growth rate would actually lead
to a drop in world market share, from 9 percent of total
energy consumption down to 8 percent. Much of the
anticipated growth is expected to come from large-scale
hydropower facilities in Asia.
See the EIA press release, with a link to the full report, at:
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/press/press190.html>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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