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EERE NETWORK NEWS -- July 23, 2003
A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
<http://www.eere.energy.gov/>
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Featuring:
*News and Events
DOE Awards $75 Million for Advanced Hydrogen Fuel Cells
DOE Promotes Smart Energy Use at Atlanta Forum
Missouri-Rolla Leads as American Solar Challenge Nears End
DOE to Fund Half of New York Superconductor Cable Project
Court Ruling Adds Uncertainty to California Ethanol Market
Ford Report: Company to Fall Short of SUV Fuel Economy Goal
*Energy Connections
2003 Shaping Up as Third-Warmest Year on Record
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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DOE Awards $75 Million for Advanced Hydrogen Fuel Cells
DOE announced on July 17th that it will award a total of $75 million
to 13 firms and educational institutions for research in advanced fuel
cells for vehicles and buildings. The projects will tackle such
technical challenges as fuel reformers (to convert common fuels into
hydrogen), more durable fuel cell components that can withstand higher
temperatures, methods to manage heat and moisture within fuel cells,
recycling of expensive platinum catalysts, and replacement of platinum
catalysts with less-expensive metals. DOE also recently awarded
$21 million to 11 firms and universities for hydrogen storage,
production, and sensor technologies. See the July 17th press release
on the DOE Web site at:
<http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?BT_CODE=PR_PRESSRELEASES>.
All together, DOE has awarded $96 million this year in support of
the President's FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Initiatives, and several
additional solicitations are in progress. See DOE's Hydrogen,
Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program Web site at:
<http://www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/>.
DOE Promotes Smart Energy Use at Atlanta Forum
U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham traveled to Atlanta on
July 18th for DOE's first regional natural gas forum, held at
Atlanta's Southface Energy Institute. The forum brought together
representatives from consumer groups, industry and government for an
open discussion on short-term solutions to the natural gas problem.
"While we work to increase our production and storage capacity for
natural gas, we must also focus on using our natural gas resources
wisely," Secretary Abraham said. "Individuals, business and government
can play an important role in reducing energy use."
The Atlanta meeting was the first of several regional forums to be
held across the country as part of DOE's Smart Energy Campaign,
announced on July 9th. The campaign features the Energysavers.gov
Web site, which provides consumers with specific steps they can take
to conserve energy. The Web site also includes public service
announcements for downloading and use by radio stations throughout the
country. See the Web site at: <http://www.energysavers.gov>.
As part of the campaign, Secretary Abraham sent a letter on Tuesday to
state public utility commissioners, encouraging them to consider such
options as new energy efficiency programs, efforts to reduce
electrical demand, and the use of more efficient power sources.
See the July 18th and 22nd press releases on the DOE Web site at:
<http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?BT_CODE=PR_PRESSRELEASES>.
Missouri-Rolla Leads as American Solar Challenge Nears End
The University of Missouri-Rolla has established a commanding lead in
the American Solar Challenge, the 2,300-mile solar car race from
Chicago to Los Angeles. Missouri-Rolla took the lead on the fourth day
and has held it since, averaging nearly 44 miles per hour overall --
often limited only by the local speed limit. The University of
Minnesota is in second place, nearly five hours behind Missouri-Rolla,
while the University of Waterloo is in third place. The top seven race
leaders arrived in Barstow, California, on Monday, completing the
third stage of the race a day early. The final stage, from Barstow to
Claremont, California, takes place today. See the American Solar
Challenge press releases and race standings at:
<http://www.americansolarchallenge.org/news_releases.html> and
<http://www.americansolarchallenge.org/daily_race_standings.html>.
DOE's Richard King has been posting daily accounts of the race on the
Web site, chronicling the trials and tribulations of the teams as they
face blown tires, burned-out motors, electrical shorts, flaming solar
arrays, and even wind-tossed components, thanks to tractor-trailer
rigs passing at high speeds. The race has mostly been blessed with
sunny skies, although a heavy rainstorm on Sunday proved costly for
the University of Arizona. See King's "Reports from the Road" and the
daily photos on the American Solar Challenge Web site at:
<http://www.americansolarchallenge.org/diaries.html> and
<http://www.americansolarchallenge.org/daily_photos.html>.
Meanwhile, the tenth-anniversary run of the Dell-Winston Solar
Challenge is also nearing its end, with the team from Houston,
Mississippi, in the lead with the most miles logged and the fastest
average speed (29 miles per hour). In the last ten years, the race
organizers have worked with about 8,500 high-school students from more
than 900 schools in 22 countries. This year's race is being documented
with daily photos and high-quality online videos. See the Dell-Winston
Solar Challenge Web site at: <http://winstonsolar.org/race/>.
The 1,500-mile Dell-Winston Solar Challenge will draw to a close this
afternoon in Cocoa, Florida, at the Florida Solar Energy Center
(FSEC). See the FSEC press release at:
<http://dbase.fsec.ucf.edu/pls/operation/press_display?pressid=2124>.
DOE to Fund Half of New York Superconductor Cable Project
DOE will contribute $13 million toward a $26 million project to
install a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) cable in Albany,
New York, a lead company in the project announced last week. As
announced in November 2002, SuperPower, Inc. will lead a project to
install a 350-meter length of high-temperature superconductor (HTS)
cable connecting two electric substations in Albany, New York, by
2005. As part of DOE's Superconductivity Partnership Initiative, the
project will demonstrate the feasibility of using HTS cables in an
electric utility grid. SuperPower is a subsidiary of Intermagnetics
General Corporation, which made the announcement. See the July 14th
announcement by selecting "Press Releases" from the pull-down menu
under "News & Events" on the Intermagnetics Web site at:
<http://www.igc.com/news_events/news_events.asp>.
Court Ruling Adds Uncertainty to California Ethanol Market
A federal court ruling last week will force the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider whether California fuel blends
must include an oxygenate such as ethanol. Concerns about groundwater
pollution led California to phase out its use of MTBE, another
oxygenate, by the end of this year, leaving ethanol as the only
practical alternative. Oxygenates are added to gasoline blends as a
means of reducing ozone emissions. California sought a waiver from the
oxygenate requirement, but EPA denied that waiver in June 2001,
effectively requiring the state to switch to ethanol as an additive.
The new ruling finds that EPA "abused its discretion in refusing to
consider and weigh the effect of the proposed waiver on particulate
matter pollution along with its effect on ozone pollution" and
requires EPA to reconsider the waiver. See the July 17th ruling,
"Davis v. EPA," by clicking on "Opinions" on the Ninth Circuit Court
of Appeals Web site at: <http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/>.
The ruling creates uncertainty for the California fuel market, which
is currently in transition between gasoline blends containing MTBE and
blends made with ethanol. California Governor Gray Davis responded
positively to the news, but also maintained that California is not
anti-ethanol. "We want our refiners to have maximum flexibility in
what they put into gasoline, as long as they produce the cleanest
burning gas in the world," said Governor Davis. See the July 17th
announcement by selecting "Press Releases" on the Governor's Web site
at: <http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_pressroom_main.jsp>.
For its part, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) does not
see the ruling as a setback for ethanol fuel, noting that the court
affirmed most of the technical and procedural aspects of the original
EPA decision, questioning only the potential impact of ethanol on
particulate emissions. See the NCGA press release at:
<http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2003/july/071803.htm>.
Ford Report: Company to Fall Short of SUV Fuel Economy Goal
A report released by Ford Motor Company on July 18th says that the
company will not achieve its goal to improve the fuel economy of its
fleet of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) by 25 percent by 2005. The goal
received considerable attention when Ford announced it in July 2000.
See the original Ford announcement at:
<http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=5482>.
According to the new report, Ford's SUV fleet for the 2003 Model Year
will achieve an average fuel economy only 5.2 percent better than its
2000 Model Year. That marks a decrease in fuel economy relative to
Ford's 2002 Model Year, which had achieved an 8.4 percent improvement.
Ford notes that some of the key technologies slated to help reach the
goal were delayed or eliminated "in large part because of cost-based
decisions," notably an integrated starter-generator for the 2003
Explorer that would have automatically turned off the engine while
stopped. On the positive side, Ford will introduce the Escape Hybrid
next year, and will introduce fuel-saving variable cam timing and
six-speed transmissions by 2005. See the report by selecting
"Corporate Citizenship Report" on the Ford home page at:
<http://www.ford.com/en/default.htm>.
To find the section of the report on SUV fuel economy goals, select
"Our Actions," then "Our SUV Fuel Economy Commitment."
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ENERGY CONNECTIONS
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2003 Shaping Up as Third-Warmest Year on Record
With 2003 half over, the year is currently on track to be the third-
warmest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). For January through June, the global average
surface temperature was 1.0 degree Fahrenheit (0.55 degrees Celsius)
above the long-term mean. Since record keeping began in 1880, only the
first six months of 2002 and 1998 were warmer. On a global scale,
June 2003 is also the third-warmest June on record. See the analysis
from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) at:
<http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2003/jun/global.html>.
Most of the United States was spared the hot temperatures in June.
In fact, the eastern two-thirds of the nation was cooler than average
in June, and the nation as a whole experienced its sixth coolest and
seventh wettest June on record. The West proved the exception, with
hotter-than-normal temperatures and continuing drought. See the
NOAA press release and the NCDC Web site at:
<http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s1197.htm> and
<http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2003/jun/national.html>.
The below-normal temperatures for most of the United States have
reduced the demand for electricity, allowing large injections of
natural gas into underground storage and greatly increasing the
prospects for sufficient U.S. natural gas supplies this winter.
According to DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA), the amount
of natural gas in storage remains 14 percent below the 5-year average
for this time of year, but with current rates of injection into
storage, the situation continues to improve. See the "Storage" section
of the Natural Gas Weekly Update on the EIA Web site at:
<http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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