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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- June 26, 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
United Solar Opens New 30-Megawatt Solar Cell Plant
New York State Energy Plan Increases Energy Efficiency,
Boosts Renewable Energy, and Cuts Greenhouse Emissions
U.S. National Efforts Aim to Promote Efficiency, Renewables
Countries Invited to Declare Themselves "GREEN"
Environment Commissioners Respond to NAFTA Energy Report
University of Wisconsin Team Wins FutureTruck Competition
DOE Awards $34 Million to 12 States for Home Weatherization
*Energy Facts and Tips
U.S. Electrical Grid Faces Terrorist, Wildfire Threats
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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United Solar Opens New 30-Megawatt Solar Cell Plant
United Solar Systems Corporation announced the official inauguration
on Monday of its new $55 million thin-film solar cell manufacturing
facility, capable of producing 30 megawatts of solar cells each
year. The facility's solar-cell-production machine -- designed and
built by Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) -- uses a continuous
web process similar to that used in printing newspapers, depositing
nine layers of amorphous silicon alloys onto a roll of stainless
steel 14 inches wide and a mile and a half long. The new 300-foot-
long machine will process six rolls at once, producing 9 miles of
solar cells in three days. At full production, the new facility will
boost U.S. solar cell production capacity by about 20 percent. See
the ECD/United Solar press release at:
<http://www.ovonic.com/news_events/5_2_press_releases/20020624.htm>.
To learn more about United Solar's technology, see the United Solar
Web site at: <http://www.uni-solar.com/Our_Technology_a_Si.html>.
Photos of the new machine are posted on the United Solar Web site
at: <http://www.uni-solar.com/PV%20Manufacturing.html>.
New York State Energy Plan Increases Energy Efficiency,
Boosts Renewable Energy, and Cuts Greenhouse Emissions
The New York State Energy Planning Board released its 2002 State
Energy Plan last week. The new plan includes goals to increase the
state's use of renewable energy by 50 percent by 2020, drawing on
renewable energy for 15 percent of the state's energy needs. It also
calls for increased energy efficiency, but sets the goal in terms of
energy intensity: reducing energy use per Gross State Product to
25 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. Those actions will contribute
to a third state goal, cutting its greenhouse gas emissions to
5 percent below 1990 levels by 2010, and further cutting them to
10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. According to the planning
board, the energy plan is "designed to provide statewide policy
guidance for energy-related decisions by government and private
market participants within the State for the next four years."
While achieving such goals may be questionable in most states, New
York has at least one thing acting in its favor: its successful New
York Energy Smart program, administered by the New York State Energy
Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA). In its first three years,
the $78 million-a-year program has helped construct two wind
facilities and has reduced annual carbon dioxide emissions by
670,000 tons.
Among the program's recent accomplishments are a rebate program that
replaced 20,000 inefficient room air conditioners, the installation
of energy efficiency improvements and a geothermal cooling system at
a pharmaceutical laboratory, the installation of a geothermal heat
pump system at Le Moyne College, the installation of an efficient
cooling system at a mall, financing for an efficient vapor pressure
swing adsorption system for an apple storage facility, and the
provision of $24 million to support 56 combined heat and power
systems in the state. See the recent NYSERDA press releases at:
<http://www.nyserda.org/press.html>.
See also Governor Pataki's announcements regarding NYSERDA programs
at: <http://www.nyserda.org/press/pressother2002.html>.
The full 2002 State Energy Plan is posted on the NYSERDA Web site
at: <http://www.nyserda.org/sep.html>.
U.S. National Efforts Aim to Promote Efficiency, Renewables
Energy efficiency and renewable energy may become a mainstream part
of U.S. society through new efforts by two national organizations.
For renewable energy, the newly formed American Council for
Renewable Energy (ACRE) aims to "bring renewable energy into the
mainstream of America's economy and lifestyle," with a scope that
includes solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy; hydropower;
biofuels; waste energy; and hydrogen energy systems. The new non-
profit organization will hold its Organizing Conference in
Washington, D.C., on June 10th and 11th. See the ACRE Web site at:
<www.AmericanRenewables.org>.
To increase U.S. awareness of ways to save energy, the Ad Council
recently approved the "National Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Campaign." Initiated by the Colorado Governor's Office of Energy
Management and Conservation, the new national campaign is thus far
supported by $125,000 from 11 state energy offices, up to $300,000
from the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association, and
$300,000 from Home Depot. Unfortunately, another $480,000 is needed
over the next three years to support the campaign.
The Ad Council is a non-profit organization that has produced,
distributed, and promoted such popular public service campaigns as
Smokey Bear's "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires," The Crash Test
Dummies' "You Could Learn A lot from a Dummy," McGruff the Crime
Dog's "Take A Bite Out of Crime," "A Mind is a Terrible Thing To
Waste," and "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk." A typical Ad
Council campaign receives $32 million worth of advertising exposure.
See the announcement on the National Association of State Energy
Organizations Web site at: <http://www.naseo.org/news/2002_06.htm>
Of course, some energy efficiency organizations are already quite
familiar with public service announcements. The Alliance to Save
Energy (ASE), for instance, recently had the honor of having its
"Static Electricity House" television commercial named as one of the
top ten commercials in the world. See the ASE press release at:
<http://www.ase.org/media/newsrel/wgc.htm>.
Countries Invited to Declare Themselves "GREEN"
The World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) held its first policy
and strategy forum in June, which led to the proposed formation of a
new coalition of nations: the Group of Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency Nations, or GREEN Nations. The WCRE proposes that if at
least two nations declare themselves to be members, it stands ready
to facilitate the group. At present, membership is loosely defined
as being willing to pursue renewable energy as a sustainable
development strategy and as being committed to the goal of globally
proliferating renewable energy.
The WCRE forum also led to an "Action Plan for the Proliferation of
Renewable Energy," which proposes a number of actions, including a
Renewable Energy Proliferation Treaty, an International Renewable
Energy Agency, an integrated approach to renewable energy within the
United Nations, lowered trade barriers for renewable technologies,
and aggressive financing of renewable energy by national and
international development banks. See the WCRE Web site at:
<http://www.world-council-for-renewable-energy.org>.
Environment Commissioners Respond to NAFTA Energy Report
The environment commissioners for the United States, Canada, and
Mexico held an annual meeting last week in their capacity as the
council for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The
CEC was established by Canada, Mexico and the United States to build
cooperation among the partners in implementing the environmental
accords included in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Christie Whitman, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator, serves as the U.S. environment commissioner.
Among other topics, last week's council meeting reviewed a recent
advisory board report that examined environmental challenges and
opportunities in the North American electricity market. As reported
in the June 19th issue of EREN Network News, that report recommended
forming a carbon emissions trading system among the NAFTA members
and promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy within North
America.
In response to the report, the commissioners agreed to several
actions, including the establishment of a North American Air Working
Group to provide guidance to the council and facilitate future
cooperative work on air related issues. The council also agreed to
study the issues related to emissions trading systems and to perform
comparative studies of the air quality controls and power station
emission standards used in each country. In addition, the council
agreed to support further analysis related to the environmental
aspects of development of renewable energy markets; public awareness
and education; consistency of databases; emerging renewable low-
impact energy technology development and commercialization;
transmission and distribution of emerging renewable electricity; and
promotion of energy efficiency and combined heat and power. See the
commissioners' announcement on the CEC Web site at:
<http://www.cec.org/news/details/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=2485>.
The CEC might get a head start on its analysis activities by drawing
on the results of the Energy Analysis Forum 2002, hosted by DOE's
National Renewable Energy Laboratory in collaboration with DOE and
the EPA. This year's forum examined analysis related to the role of
renewable energy in air-quality improvement. The full presentations
from the forum are available on the NREL Energy Analysis Web site
at: <http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/presentations_02.html>.
University of Wisconsin Team Wins FutureTruck Competition
A hybrid electric Ford Explorer running on biodiesel fuel led the
student team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to victory in
the FutureTruck competition last week. The team managed to cut the
greenhouse gas emissions of a Ford Explorer in half while boosting
its fuel efficiency by 45 percent. The revamped vehicle was built on
a frame of both aluminum and steel and featured a titanium exhaust
system.
Second place in the competition was earned by Michigan Tech
University, which entered a hybrid electric Explorer fueled with
reformulated gasoline. Of 15 teams in the competition, 7 managed to
improve the Explorer's fuel economy and 2 succeeded in improving the
vehicle's performance. See the FutureTruck press release at:
<https://www.futuretruck.org/media/media5.htm>.
DOE Awards $34 Million to 12 States for Home Weatherization
DOE awarded $34.4 million in weatherization assistance funds to
12 states last week. Funds were awarded to Arizona, Georgia,
Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In addition, DOE
awarded $90,231 to the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, which
represents 20 tribes in the state. The funds will be used to improve
the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income families in the
12 states. For every dollar spent, DOE's Weatherization Assistance
Program returns $1.80 in energy savings over the life of the
weatherized home, based on recent energy prices. See the DOE press
releases at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/junpr/pr02107.htm> and
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/junpr/pr02108.htm>.
See also the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Web site at:
<http://www.itcaonline.com/>.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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U.S. Electrical Grid Faces Terrorist, Wildfire Threats
A report issued yesterday by the National Academies examines actions
that the United States should take to detect, thwart, and respond to
terrorist attacks. Among the actions identified are several to
protect and prepare for attacks on the U.S. electrical grid. The
report suggests that near-term actions could include the
installation of physical barriers to help protect the grid from
attack. In the long term, the report advises that DOE and its
national laboratories take the lead and work with other government
agencies and industry in developing, testing, and implementing an
"intelligent," adaptive power grid. Such a system could, for
example, use high-speed sensors and controls to isolate parts of the
power grid during a system failure.
The report also suggests that DOE examine ways to temporarily
replace extra-high-voltage transformers should they be damaged, that
cybersecurity should be enhanced on power grid control systems, and
that existing surveillance technologies used by defense and
intelligence operations be investigated for their use in defending
the U.S. energy infrastructure.
The National Academies report suggested that the U.S. scientific and
engineering communities could provide continuing contributions to
U.S. homeland defense, and recommended the creation of an
independent Homeland Security Institute. See the National Academies
press releases at:
<http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/By+Date?OpenView>.
The full report is posted on National Academy Press Web site at:
<http://books.nap.edu/html/stct/index.html>.
The concept of an intelligent, adaptive power grid was proposed by
the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) back in 1999 as part of
its Electricity Technology Roadmap Initiative. See the EPRI Web site
at: <http://www.epri.com/corporate/discover_epri/roadmap/index.asp>.
While the National Academies try to anticipate future terrorist
attacks, the largest near-term threat to the electrical grid in the
West appears to be wildfires. In California, a fire south of Gorman
knocked two 500-kilovolt transmission lines out of service last
week, forcing Southern California Edison to temporarily cut power to
some of its commercial customers. The Rodeo-Chediski fire in Arizona
is also threatening a 500-kilovolt transmission line there. Two
weeks ago, the Hayman fire in Colorado also knocked out two
transmission lines, but those have since been re-energized. See the
press release from the California Independent System Operator, in
Adobe PDF format only, at:
<http://www.caiso.com/docs/2002/06/18/200206181637523756.pdf>.
See also the June 24th press release on the APS Web site at:
<http://www.aps.com/general_info/newsrelease/default.html?year=2002>.
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