================================================= EREN NETWORK NEWS -- May 29, 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/> =================================================
Featuring: *News and Events Ohio Governor Announces Fuel Cell Initiative Report: Distributed Generation to Grow 15-Fold by 2011 Companies Developing Alternative Home Power Technologies DOE Publishes Final Air Conditioning, Heat Pump Standards 300-Kilowatt Solar Power System Installed in Arizona California Renews its 20/20 Energy Conservation Program NREL Develops Low-Emissions Natural Gas Engine *Energy Facts and Tips Gas Prices Holding Steady Through Memorial Day Weekend *About this Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ohio Governor Announces Fuel Cell Initiative Ohio Governor Bob Taft announced in early May a new $100 million, three-year initiative to help Ohio take a leadership position in the fuel cell industry. The Ohio Fuel Cell Initiative will expand the state's research capabilities, invest in expanding Ohio's fuel cell industry, and allow the state to participate in hydrogen infrastructure demonstration projects. See the governor's press release at: <http://www.state.oh.us/gov/releases/050902fuelcell.htm>. New fuel cell technologies were advanced last week when Fuel Cell Technologies Corporation (FCT) announced the successful testing of its 5-kilowatt fuel cell prototype. The prototype uses a solid oxide fuel cell provided by Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation. According to FCT, the prototype produces electricity from natural gas at conversion efficiencies of greater than 40 percent -- that is, more than 40 percent of the energy in the natural gas is converted to electricity. FCT also won a contract in early May from California's South Coast Air Quality Management District for the demonstration of its fuel cell system in ten California homes. See the FCT press releases at: <http://www.fct.ca/press.html>. The FCT announcement is sure to be one topic of conversation at the 14th World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC), to be held in Montreal, Canada, from June 9th to 13th. The conference addresses all aspects of hydrogen and fuel cell developments. The Canadian Hydrogen Association and the National Hydrogen Association in the United States are jointly organizing this year's conference. See the WHEC Web site at: <http://www.hydrogen2002.com/>. Report: Distributed Generation to Grow 15-Fold by 2011 The global electric capacity of distributed generation sources will grow to 300,000 megawatts by 2011, according to a new report. Distributed generation includes modular forms of generating or storing electricity that can be located near the point of use -- for instance, fuel cells or solar electric systems. An upcoming report from Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) projects a 15-fold increase in the use of distributed generation from today's 20,000 megawatts. According to ABI, reciprocating engines and small gas turbines should dominate the market until about 2005, when fuel cells are expected to grow in prominence. The full report is due out in late June. See the ABI press release, in Adobe PDF format only, at: <http://www.alliedworld.com/pdfs/DGN02pr.pdf>. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has recognized the growing distributed generation market and the challenges that it faces. Because one of the major challenges is the interconnection of any generation system with the power grid, NRECA has created a "Distributed Generation Toolkit" to help its members address the legal, economic and technical issues raised by consumer-owned generation. The toolkit, which was rolled out in April, may also be helpful to others investigating distributed generation. See the toolkit on the NRECA Web site at: <http://www.nreca.org/leg_reg/DGToolKit/>. Ballard Power Systems Inc., a leading fuel-cell manufacturer, also appears to be anticipating the growing distributed generation market. The company has just produced a new power converter for microturbines and has opened an "Alternative Energy Laboratory" in Dearborn, Michigan, for the testing of generation systems using power sources such as fuel cells, microturbines, and internal combustion engines. See the Ballard press release, in Adobe PDF format only, at: <http://www.ballard.com/pdfs/EDP_May_21_02.PDF>. Companies Developing Alternative Home Power Technologies Two new technologies for distributed generation -- Stirling engines and liquid-injected cogeneration -- have recently appeared on the horizon, although commercial plans for both technologies remain several years in the future. Ocean Power Corporation claims to have developed a home energy system that uses a Stirling engine to generate up to 3 kilowatts of electricity while also providing hot water, space heating, and air conditioning. The company claims to have established the conditions for the sale of 10,000 units to a private real estate management company. Upon completion of performance and code compliance certifications, Ocean Power intends to install the units in late 2005, at a cost of about $3,800 per unit. Ocean Power currently has a unit being tested in Norway and plans to have tests performed by EPRISolutions, a subsidiary of the Electric Power Research Institute. See the press release, unit description, and frequently asked questions on the Ocean Power Web site at: <http://www.powerco.com/>. Stirling engines are a form of external combustion engine. Since they can be driven by a wide range of external heat sources, they are also known as heat engines. For more information, see the California Energy Commission's Distributed Energy Resource Guide at: <http://www.energy.ca.gov/distgen/equipment/equipment.html>. The second technology, liquid-injected cogeneration, is being developed by the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center and Yankee Scientific, Inc. It involves pumping water to a high pressure, heating it with a conventional oil or gas burner, and then expanding it to steam, which is used to drive a turbine. The exhaust steam from the turbine provides the energy for space heating and hot water. Although the Army developed the system for its field kitchens, a spin-off company plans to invest $5 million over the next three years to develop a residential version of the system. See the U.S. Army press release at: <http://www.natick.army.mil/pao/2001/01-35.htm>. DOE Publishes Final Air Conditioning, Heat Pump Standards DOE last week published a final rule that raises the minimum energy efficiency levels for most air conditioners and heat pumps by 20 percent. The new rule establishes a minimum Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) of 12 for most central air conditioners (including central air conditioning heat pumps) and a minimum Heating Systems Performance Factor (HSFR) of 7.4 for heat pumps. The rule goes into effect on August 6th. The new rule also withdraws a previous rule, published January 21, 2001, that would have established an SEER of 13 for most central air conditioners. DOE determined that the higher SEER standards were not economically justified. The rule was published in the May 23rd Federal Register and is posted on EREN at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/codes_standards/rules/index.htm>. 300-Kilowatt Solar Power System Installed in Arizona APS, Arizona's largest electric utility, dedicated a new 300-kilowatt solar electric system in Scottsdale, Arizona, last week. The new facility is supported in part by APS customers through the APS Solar Partners program. APS plans to reach 3 megawatts of installed solar power capacity by the end of 2003. See the May 20th press release on the APS Web site at: <http://www.aps.com/general_info/newsrelease/default.html?year=2002>. A new solar power system was also added in South Jersey in mid-May. A 52-kilowatt solar electric system was installed on the roof of BJ's Wholesale Club in Deptford, New Jersey. The New Jersey Clean Energy Fund provided financial support for the facility. See the May 16th press release from Green Mountain Energy Company at: <http://www.prnewswire.com/micro/greenm>. California Renews its 20/20 Energy Conservation Program California Governor Gray Davis signed an executive order last week that renewed the state's 20/20 energy conservation program, which offers an additional 20 percent discount on electric bills for California consumers that manage to reduce their electricity use by 20 percent. A similar program last year is credited with helping to achieve a peak demand reduction of 2,600 megawatts during the critical summer months. This year's program is somewhat revised: it applies only to residential customers and is in effect one month later, from July 1st to October 31st. To avoid penalizing those households that saved energy last summer, this year's program is again based on a comparison with electricity use in 2000. See the Governor's May 23rd press release on the California Energy Commission Web site at: <http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/index.html>. NREL Develops Low-Emissions Natural Gas Engine A prototype medium-duty natural gas engine that uses an innovative fuel injection technology shows promise for achieving high fuel efficiency with low emissions, according to a new report from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In tests conducted by Southwest Research Institute, an 8.1-liter compressed natural gas engine was equipped with fuel-injection pre-chamber (FIPC) technology and achieved a 17 percent boost in fuel efficiency with low emissions. The tests show promise for developing natural gas engines for trucks that will compete with diesel engines in terms of fuel efficiency and emissions. See the April 25th press release, with a link to the full report, on the NREL Web site at: <http://www.nrel.gov/hot-stuff/press/news.html>. Commercial interest in alternatives to diesel fuel may increase under regulations that will go into effect with model year 2007. At that time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require reduced emissions from diesel trucks and buses and lower levels of sulfur in diesel fuel. The D.C. District Court of Appeals upheld the EPA rule in early May. See the May 3rd press release by selecting "Press Releases" on the EPA Web site at: <http://www.epa.gov/epahome/newsroom.htm>. Diesel engine manufacturers are already facing an October deadline for improved emissions. Thus far, only Cummins Inc. has had an engine certified by the EPA to meet the new standards. According to Cummins, its new engines achieve slightly better fuel economy and are 80 percent quieter than their predecessors. See the Cummins "Toughest Standards" Web site at: <http://www.tougheststandards.cummins.com/>. NREL's latest natural gas engine report is one of a series issued by the laboratory to provide information about promising alternative transportation technologies. In fact, as a lead DOE laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency, NREL produces hundreds of publications on these topics each year. How to keep up? Try subscribing to NREL's Electronic Outreach Network (NEON). The new service sends out a weekly email listing of the latest additions to the NREL publications database. This week's issue includes energy design guidelines for schools in hot and dry climates, as well as several publications on energy saving improvements at a newsprint company in Augusta, Georgia. See the NEON page on the NREL Web site at: <http://www.nrel.gov/publications/neon/>. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Gas Prices Holding Steady Through Memorial Day Weekend With Memorial Day weekend marking the start of the summer tourist season in the United States, a check on the latest gasoline trends shows that regular unleaded gasoline prices are holding steady at an average of about $1.40. Although prices often increase during the Memorial Day weekend, prices actually dropped slightly over the past week in most of the country . See the Weekly U.S. Retail Gasoline Prices on DOE's Energy Information Administration Web site at: <http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/fwd/wrgp.html>. If you're looking to save on gasoline, be warned that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating deceptive marketing of energy-saving products on the Internet. The FTC sent letters to 50 companies in April warning of potential future law enforcement actions against companies that make deceptive claims. While some of the products are aimed at home energy savings, most are aimed at consumers wishing to save gasoline, including "implausible claims for various aftermarket automotive devices (fuel-line magnets, air bleed devices, and other retrofit gadgets) and additives that supposedly increase gas mileage." According to the FTC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has evaluated or tested more than 100 purported gas-saving devices and additives, and has not found any product that significantly improves gas mileage. See the FTC press release at: <http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/04/energysurf2002.htm>. Want to know how to REALLY save gasoline? See the "Gas Mileage Tips" on the DOE/EPA Fuel Economy Web site at: <http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml>. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to this newsletter using the online form at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/subscribe/>. This Web page also allows you to update your email address or unsubscribe to this newsletter. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN) home page is located at <http://www.eren.doe.gov/>. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact the editor, Kevin Eber, at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4 and no minimums. 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