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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- February 20, 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
President Bush Unveils U.S. Global Warming Initiative
California Power Authority Issues Resource Investment Plan
Distributed Generation Powers Much of the Winter Olympics
California Sets Tough Air-Conditioner Efficiency Standard
Soy-Based Biodiesel Firm Earns $7.5 Million Subsidy
DOE Awards Florida $3.5 Million for Energy Efficiency
*Energy Facts and Tips
NRC Orders Nuclear Plants to Tighten Security
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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President Bush Unveils U.S. Global Warming Initiative
President Bush unveiled a new U.S. initiative for addressing
global climate change last week. Rather than focusing on the
absolute amount of greenhouse gases emitted each year,
the Bush administration's plan emphasizes "greenhouse gas
intensity," that is, the amount of greenhouse gases produced
per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP). The initiative
sets a goal of reducing the U.S. greenhouse gas intensity by
18 percent in the next ten years -- from 183 metric tons of
emissions per million dollars of GDP to 151 metric tons of
emissions per million dollars of GDP. The initiative relies on
a combination of voluntary emissions reductions, advances
in energy technologies, and tax credits for renewable energy
installations, energy efficient vehicles, and other energy
technologies.
President Bush also announced a new initiative for cutting
power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and
mercury. The "Clean Skies" initiative proposes a system of
tradable emissions credits that will lead to lower emissions,
similar to the system already in place for sulfur dioxide
emissions. If enacted into legislation, the initiative will mark
the first time that power plant emissions of mercury have
been regulated.
See the "Global Climate Change Policy Book," with links to
the President's speech and the "Clean Skies" documents, on
the White House Web site at:
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/climatechange.html>.
DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted last
week that voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions are making headway. Companies that are
currently reporting on their voluntary greenhouse gas
reductions achieved 269 million metric tons of equivalent
carbon dioxide reductions in 2000. The 222 companies
participating in the voluntary program implemented 1,882
projects to achieve those reductions, which equaled nearly
4 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2000.
See the EIA press release at:
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/press/press189.html>.
EIA included such advances in its Annual Energy Outlook
2002, released last November. Based on past trends toward
a more energy-efficient economy, the outlook projected that
the "carbon intensity" of the economy -- essentially
equivalent to the greenhouse gas intensity -- would decline
at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent per year through
2020. That projection would result in a 14 percent reduction
in carbon intensity by 2012. But with the anticipated growth
in the U.S. economy, the projection shows actual
greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion
increasing to about 1.9 billion metric tons -- about 40 percent
above 1990 levels. See the EIA press release at:
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/press/press185.html>.
California Power Authority Issues Resource Investment Plan
California's Consumer Power and Conservation Financing
Authority released its energy resource investment plan last
week. Based on a number of gaps in the state's electricity
supply -- including inadequate reserves of electrical capacity,
an inadequate diversity of fuels to provide the state's power,
and a lack of power choices for the state's consumers -- the
power authority proposes a "cost-effective energy resource
investment strategy" based on "an aggressive investment in
energy efficiency and renewable energy resources." The
power authority proposes to provide 3,500 megawatts of
reserve electrical capacity by 2006 through investments in
energy efficiency, electrical load management, clean forms
of distributed generation, and renewable energy. By issuing
bonds for up to $5 billion, the authority plans to finance a
variety of projects, including 1,275 megawatts of new
generating capacity powered by renewable energy.
The power authority's investment plan was approved by its
board last Thursday and sent on to the California legislature.
See the power authority's Web site, with a link to the full
plan, at: <http://www.capowerauthority.ca.gov/default.asp>.
Distributed Generation Powers Much of the Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, are
drawing on 350 portable generators to supply 100 megawatts
of power for such critical functions as broadcasting, security,
timing and results operations, and information technology.
Aggreko LLC has had a 107-member team installing power
systems at the Salt Lake City site for the past 18 months.
Although many of Aggreko's systems are providing backup
power for utility-powered systems, the company's press
release notes that most of the 20 Olympic venues are
powered by temporary generation systems. The next stop for
the team: the 2002 World Cup Games in Japan. See the
press release on the Aggreko home page at:
<http://www.aggreko.com/>.
Portable generators are one example of distributed
generation, the production of electricity via a large number of
relatively small generators, usually located close to the
electrical load. Distributed generation can meet many needs:
DOE's Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), for example,
is evaluating distributed generation as one means of
avoiding the construction of new power lines. BPA
announced last week that it will examine energy efficiency,
distributed generation, and other alternatives before building
new power lines. See the BPA press release at:
<http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/KCC/nr/02nr/nr021302x.shtml>.
For more information about distributed generation and other
distributed energy sources, see the Distributed Energy
Resources Web site on EREN at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/der/>.
California Sets Tough Air-Conditioner Efficiency Standard
The California Energy Commission (CEC) announced last
week that it has adopted the nation's toughest energy
efficiency standard for central air conditioners. The new
standard is 30 percent better than the existing federal
standard. It is also 10 percent better than the proposed new
federal standard, so it will require a waiver from the federal
government to be enacted into law. In addition, the CEC
adopted new state standards for commercial refrigerators,
beverage vending machines, exit signs, traffic signals,
torchiere lighting fixtures, coin-operated clothes washers,
and electrical transformers. See the February 14th press
release on the CEC Web site at:
<http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/index.html>.
New homebuyers want energy-efficient appliances,
according to a survey commissioned by Sears, Roebuck and
Company. The survey found that despite 70 percent of
prospective homebuyers claiming to want energy-efficient
appliances, only half of U.S. homebuilders provide them.
Sears, of course, sells a number of energy-efficient
appliances. See the February 8th press release by selecting
"News Releases" on the Sears Web site at:
<http://www.sears.com/sr/misc/sears/about/aboutmain/mainpage.jsp>.
Soy-Based Biodiesel Firm Earns $7.5 Million Subsidy
Southern States Power Company, a producer of biodiesel
from soy, has been awarded a subsidy of up to $7.5 million
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
company announced last week. The USDA's Bio-Energy
Subsidy Program will provide a quarterly subsidy based on
the company's purchase of soy for the production of
biodiesel. See the Southern States press release at:
<http://www.sspowerco.net/newspress.cfm>.
Farmers help produce soy-based biodiesel, so why shouldn't
they use it as well? That's the thinking at FS/GROWMARK, a
farmer's cooperative that operates in the U.S. Midwest and
in Ontario, Canada. With the help of the Illinois Soybean
Association, FS/Growmark is now selling diesel blends
containing from 2 to 20 percent biodiesel through
participating cooperatives throughout Illinois. For
convenience, the biodiesel blends are delivered directly to
the farmer. See the FS/GROWMARK press release at:
<http://www.growmark.com/Room/Features/Fuels/biodiesel.htm>.
DOE Awards Florida $3.5 Million for Energy Efficiency
DOE announced last week its award of $3.5 million for
Florida's weatherization and state energy programs. Florida
will receive nearly $2 million for energy efficiency
improvements to an estimated 800 low-income homes. An
additional $1.5 million will go towards improving the state's
building energy codes and educating Floridians about
energy efficiency in homes, schools, and businesses. See
the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/febpr/pr02026.htm>.
The funds are being provided through DOE's Weatherization
Assistance Program and State Energy Program, both part of
the DOE Office of Building Technology, State and
Community Programs (BTS). See the BTS Web site on
EREN at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/>.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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NRC Orders Nuclear Plants to Tighten Security
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced last
week that it will issue orders to all commercial nuclear power
plants and other key nuclear facilities to implement new
security measures "for the high-level threat environment."
The new orders will formalize measures taken after the
September 11th terrorist attacks, and includes such actions
as additional personnel access controls, enhanced
requirements for guard forces, increased stand-off distances
for searches of vehicles approaching nuclear facilities, and
heightened coordination with appropriate local, state, and
federal authorities. The NRC says the orders are prudent
because "the generalized high-level threat has persisted
longer than expected." See the February 14th press release
on the NRC Web site at:
<http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/>.
The NRC announcement follows a mention by President
Bush last month of potential threats to nuclear power plants.
In the President's State of the Union Speech, he noted that
"Our discoveries in Afghanistan confirmed our worst
fears...(we) have found diagrams of American nuclear power
plants..." See the State of the Union Speech on the White
House Web site at:
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html>.
Dams may also be in jeopardy, according to the National
Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC). The center released
a bulletin in late January that warns of potential terrorist
interest in the structural engineering of dams. See the NIPC
Information Bulletin at:
<http://www.nipc.gov/publications/infobulletins/2002/ib02-001.htm>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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