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EERE NETWORK NEWS -- June 25, 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
G8 Plans to Boost Energy Efficiency and Renewables Worldwide
DOE, USDA, and Interior to Promote Woody Biomass for Energy
New Large Wind Power Additions Planned for Oklahoma, Oregon
Massachusetts Launches $30 Million Green Power Project
World's First Offshore Tidal Power Prototype Now Operating
Hydrogen Group Disputes Study on Potential Ozone Impacts
*Energy Connections
Report Finds Carbon Emissions Growing Despite Restrictions
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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G8 Plans to Boost Energy Efficiency and Renewables Worldwide
The group of eight leaders of large industrialized countries, known
simply as the G8, recently set forth plans to encourage energy
efficiency and renewable energy development around the world.
The early-June G8 Summit, which brought together the leaders of the
United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia, and France, resulted in a document that noted "the need ... to
support the development of cleaner, sustainable and more efficient
technologies." The document commits to promoting energy efficiency and
encouraging rapid innovation and market introduction of clean energy
technologies. To increase the share of renewable energy in global
energy use, and to accelerate the development of fuel cell and
hydrogen technologies, the G8 emphasizes collaborative research with
an emphasis on achieving competitive energy prices. The G8 will also
encourage the Global Environment Fund to increase energy efficiency,
renewable energy, and sustainable energy use when setting up its
programs. See the action plan, "Science and Technology for Sustainable
Development" by choosing "Summit Documents" on the G8 Summit Web site
at: <http://www.g8.fr/evian/english/>.
See also the Global Environment Fund at:
<http://www.globalenvironmentfund.com/Energy.htm>.
DOE has recently demonstrated its commitment to global sustainable
energy development by steadily expanding its efforts to collaborate
with international partners. In the most recent example, DOE signed a
memorandum of understanding with Brazil on Friday. The agreement calls
for a broad partnership to develop renewable energy and energy
efficiency technologies, as well as hydrogen technologies. Brazil will
also become the first Latin American country to join President Bush's
proposed International Partnership for a Hydrogen Economy. See the
DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases03/junpr/pr03132.htm>.
DOE, USDA, and Interior to Promote Woody Biomass for Energy
DOE, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S.
Department of Interior (DOI) will all work together to encourage the
use of woody biomass products as a source of energy, the agencies
announced last week. Secretaries Abraham, Veneman, and Norton signed a
memorandum of understanding that establishes consistent policies and
procedures across the three agencies to support the use of woody
byproducts from forest thinning and other land management practices.
The agencies agreed to explore opportunities to create a reliable,
sustainable supply of woody biomass and to encourage the formation of
stable markets for converting that biomass supply into energy. The
agencies will also support Indian Tribes that wish to make use of
their woody biomass resources. See the DOI press release at:
<http://www.doi.gov/news/030619a.htm>.
Meanwhile, farmers interested in adding renewable energy systems or
making energy efficiency improvements have only a couple days left to
apply for a piece of the $23 million in funds available through the
USDA. In May, the agency extended the application deadline to
June 27th. See the USDA press release at:
<http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/newsroom/2003/9006extension.html>.
New Large Wind Power Additions Planned for Oklahoma, Oregon
The use of wind power is continuing to grow in the United States, as
new wind power projects in Oklahoma and Oregon will add another
92 megawatts of generating capacity by year's end.
Early in June, FPL Energy doubled the planned size of its Oklahoma
Wind Energy Center to 102 megawatts. All the energy from the project,
now under construction near Woodward, will be sold to Oklahoma Gas and
Electric. Despite the expanded scope, FPL Energy still intends to
complete the project by year's end. See the FPL Energy press release
at: <http://www.fplenergy.com/news/2003/contents/03065.shtml>.
In Oregon, a 41-megawatt wind plant will soon be built west of Milton-
Freewater, just south of the Washington border in the northeast part
of the state. The Eurus Combine Hills I wind facility will consist of
41 one-megawatt wind turbines manufactured by Mitsubishi. Construction
should be underway by mid-July and the project should be complete by
year-end. PacifiCorp will buy the power from the wind plant for sale
to its Pacific Power and Utah Power customers. See the Pacific Power
press release at:
<http://www.pacificpower.net/Article/Article28609.html>.
The project is the first foray into large-scale wind power for the
Energy Trust of Oregon, which administers a fund to promote energy
efficiency and renewable energy development in the state. The fund,
generated by a 3 percent charge on all power sold within the state, is
contributing $3.8 million toward the construction of the new wind
facility. See the Energy Trust of Oregon Web site at:
<http://www.energytrust.org/>.
PacifiCorp appears to have a growing market for its wind power, if
Moab, Utah, is any indication. Five percent of Moab's citizens have
signed up for PacifiCorp's Blue Sky wind power program, making it the
first city to earn the designation as a Blue Sky community. The city
is now aiming to draw on renewable energy for 3 percent of its energy
in order to earn recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Green Power Partner Program. See the PacifiCorp press release
at: <http://www.pacificorp.com/Press_Release/Press_Release28155.html>.
Massachusetts Launches $30 Million Green Power Project
The Massachusetts Technology Cooperative (MTC) launched in early June
a new $30 million project to encourage renewable energy projects
within the state. The project, called the Massachusetts Green Power
Partnership, will begin with a competition for $20 million in price
supports for renewable power projects, with the intent of helping such
projects obtain financing. MTC hopes to enable the construction of
200 megawatts of renewable generating capacity through the project.
Proposals for the initial competition are due in September. See the
MTC press release at:
<http://www.mtpc.org/NewsandReports/press/pr_06_03_mgpp.htm>.
Green power -- electricity produced from renewable energy sources --
has been steadily expanding in the United States in recent months. In
April, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) expanded its Green Power
Switch program to 12 additional local power companies in east
Tennessee and north Georgia. In May, American Municipal Power-Ohio
(AMP-Ohio) began offering green power to its 80 member communities in
Ohio, as well as six additional communities in the states of
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan. Green Mountain Energy
Company won the AMP-Ohio contract, and also began offering green power
to commercial customers in Texas. This month, Public Service Company
of New Mexico (PNM) is preparing to sell green power and has lowered
its proposed premium to only 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour above the
usual cost of electricity. The proposal still needs regulatory
approval. And for those of you in Rhode Island, the Green-e Renewable
Energy Certification Program has just launched a new campaign to let
you know about your options for buying green power. See the press
releases from TVA, AMP-Ohio, Green Mountain Energy Company, and PNM,
as well as the Green-e Rhode Island Web site at:
<http://www.tva.gov/news/releases/aprjun03/expand.htm>,
<http://www.amp-ohio.org/pressreleases/flash/pr_listing.php>,
<http://www.greenmountain.com/about/press_events/2003_05_12.jsp>,
<http://www.pnm.com/news/2003/0617_tariff.htm>, and
<http://www.green-e.org/RI/>.
World's First Offshore Tidal Power Prototype Now Operating
A prototype turbine for producing power from tides is now generating
power in the United Kingdom. The tidal power turbine resembles a wind
turbine and has a rated power of 300 kilowatts. Located more than half
a mile north of Foreland Point in northeast Devon, the device captures
tidal flow in the Bristol Channel. The turbine is mounted on a column
driven into the seabed and is bolted to an elevator-like structure,
allowing it to be raised out of the sea for maintenance. Since it
would be impractical to run a cable from a single prototype turbine to
the shore, the prototype is not grid-connected, but is instead dumping
the energy it generates into the ocean as heat. The unit is still
being commissioned but is expected to start automatic operation in
August, and will undergo extensive testing over the next year. See the
announcement and photos from Marine Current Turbines, Ltd., one of the
project developers, at: <http://www.marineturbines.com/news.htm>.
Tidal and wave energy is all the rage in the U.K., so much so that a
major renewable energy trade group, the Renewable Power Association
(RPA), is sponsoring a wave and tidal energy technology symposium on
July 17th. And in a country where most wind power projects are
expected to be located offshore, the British Wind Energy Association
(BWEA) announced in May that it would work with Seapower Europe to
promote wave and tidal energy as well. According to BWEA, that will
allow a "single unified voice" for offshore renewable power in the
U.K. See the RPA and BWEA announcements at:
<http://www.r-p-a.org.uk/article_default_view.asp?articleid=563> and
<http://www.bwea.com/view/news/seapower-merger.html>.
Hydrogen Group Disputes Study on Potential Ozone Impacts
Leakage from a future hydrogen infrastructure could cause damage to
the Earth's ozone layer, according to a recent study by the California
Institute of Technology. The study, published in the June 13th edition
of Science magazine, examined the potential effects of a future
hydrogen economy in which hydrogen is stored and shipped as a fuel in
place of natural gas, gasoline, and other fuels. Assuming a leakage of
10 to 20 percent of the hydrogen along the way, the study found that
hydrogen could cause a 10 percent thinning of Earth's ozone layer.
However, the Caltech group noted that hydrogen's behavior in the
atmosphere is not well understood, and the predicted ozone effects
could be a worst-case scenario. See the Caltech press release at:
<http://atcaltech.caltech.edu/tech-today/subpage.tcl?story_id=9281>.
The group's findings, however, were immediately disputed by a number
of energy experts. As noted by Schatz Energy Research Center at
Humboldt State University, the actual losses of hydrogen from storage
and pipelines is expected to be much lower than the 10 to 20 percent
assumed by the Caltech group. The research center also noted that any
hydrogen that is intentionally vented could easily be destroyed by
catalytic oxidation to prevent its release to the atmosphere. See the
Schatz letter to the editor of Science, posted on the National
Hydrogen Association Web site at: <http://www.hydrogenus.com/>.
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ENERGY CONNECTIONS
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Report Finds Carbon Emissions Growing Despite Restrictions
Greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries are expected to
increase by the end of this decade, according to a report released in
early June by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCC). The report anticipates that the combined greenhouse
gas emissions from Europe, Japan, the United States, and other
industrialized countries could grow by 8 percent from 2000 to 2010 --
to about 17 percent greater than 1990 levels -- despite measures to
limit emissions. Meanwhile, improving economies in central and eastern
Europe will cause emissions from the developed world as a whole to
increase 11 percent from 2000 to 2010, to about 10 percent above 1990
levels.
The news bodes poorly for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires
developed countries to reduce their average emissions to 5 percent
below 1990 levels by 2012 at the latest. Although the United States
does not intend to ratify the treaty, the Kyoto Protocol can still
enter into force if the Russian Federation chooses to ratify it.
See the UNFCC press release and report, both in PDF format only, at:
<http://unfccc.int/press/prel2003/pressrel030603.pdf> and
<http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2003/sbi/07.pdf>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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