*News and Events
New 48-Megawatt Wind Plant Begins Operation in Washington
*Site News
Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA)
*Energy Facts and Tips
Reliability Group: U.S. Power Supplies are Adequate to 2005
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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New 48-Megawatt Wind Plant Begins Operation in Washington
The Nine Canyon Wind Project began operating in late September, adding 48 megawatts of new wind power capacity to the Pacific Northwest’s power grid. Located about eight miles southeast of Kennewick, Washington, near the Oregon border, the new facility consists of 37 wind turbines, each capable of generating 1.3 megawatts of power. Bonus A/S, a Danish company, manufactured the wind turbines, and Renewable Energy Systems developed the project. Energy Northwest owns and operates the wind power plant, which is providing power to eight Washington Public Utility Districts (PUDs). Benton PUD, one of the eight power purchasers, also built an electrical substation and a four-mile transmission line to connect the new facility to the regional power grid. See the Energy Northwest press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available].
For more information on the Nine Canyon Wind Project, see the project description on the Energy Northwest Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available].
Washington State Organizations Buy 10 Percent Green Power
With a large and growing wind power capacity in the Pacific Northwest, a number of organizations are signing up to buy wind power, including DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The laboratory is buying 8.8 million kilowatt-hours of wind-generated electricity this fiscal year — enough to meet 10 percent of PNNL’s energy needs. PNNL’s purchase of wind power from the 263-megawatt Stateline Wind Power Project will increase the laboratory’s total use of renewable energy to 13.7 percent of its energy use.
The Clark County government in southwest Washington State is also buying 10 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources. Clark Public Utilities announced in late September that the county government has become its largest purchaser of green power, buying 120,600 kilowatt-hours each month through the utility’s “Green Lights” program. See the September 25th press release by selecting “News Releases” on the Clark Public Utilities Web site at: http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/events.html. See also the Clark Public Utilities Green Lights program at: http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/green_lights.htm
Green power purchases in the Pacific Northwest have more than tripled since last year. A report released last month by the Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) found that the region’s retail electricity customers are now buying enough green power to equal the annual output of more than 56 megawatts of wind turbines. See the RNP report at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
And there’s plenty of room for more: according to a recent report from the RAND Corporation, the Pacific Northwest could use renewable energy and energy efficiency to replace 20 percent of the projected growth in natural gas power plants over the next 20 years, with minimal impacts on the region’s economy. The RAND report accounts for the availability of intermittent resources like the sun and wind, concluding that 1,000 megawatts of new solar capacity and more than 2,200 megawatts of new wind capacity could be built in the region. Combined with energy efficiency improvements, the diversified energy portfolio causes only a 0.5 percent decrease in the region’s gross product over the 20-year period. See the RAND report at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Two New England States Provide $11 Million for Solar Power
The organizations that are promoting renewable energy in Connecticut and Massachusetts both announced new programs last week, providing a total of $11 million to fund solar power advances in the two New England states.
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), which manages the state’s $150-million Renewable Energy Trust, announced the launch of the trust’s new $10-million Solar-to-Market Initiative. As a first step, the initiative is awarding $2.6 million in grants to six organizations that will install roughly 250 solar power systems on homes, businesses, farms, institutions, and local government uildings throughout the state. The new initiative also includes a $5.3 million loan fund to support solar photovoltaic (PV) businesses in the state. In addition, MTC intends to award $600,000 to support public education programs; training programs for solar installers, inspectors, and utility representatives; and
metering and evaluation programs to document solar power system performance. See the MTC press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) launched its Solar PV Program with $1 million in funds. The fund is seeking pre-applications for the program, which aims to install photovoltaic systems on commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings in the state. The pre-applications are due by December 13th. See the CCEF press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
According to DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), 15 states have established such clean energy funds, which are expected to collect $3.8 billion between 1998 and 2012 for renewable energy investments. LBNL and the Clean Energy Group have prepared and compiled 21 case studies that examine these state-level clean energy funds. See the “Case Studies of State Support for Renewable Energy” on the LBNL Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Crowder College Wins People’s Choice as Solar Decathlon Ends
Crowder College proved the popular favorite at the Solar Decathlon last week by winning the “People’s Choice Award,” which was determined by ballots handed out to the touring public on October 5th and 6th. In addition to the main awards associated with the decathlon, a number of awards were presented by the event’s sponsors and organizers. See the new “Awards” page on the Solar Decathlon Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
The Solar Decathlon is a team competition among universities to design and build the most energy-efficient solar-powered homes. Fourteen teams from throughout the United States and Puerto Rico brought their solar homes to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for this year’s competition, which ran from September 26th through October 5th. And as the final entries in the team diaries indicate, the 14 teams found the experience to be educational in a variety of ways. See the team diary entries at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
So now that it’s over, what happens to the houses? The answer is as varied as the houses themselves. Some will find a permanent place on the teams’ campuses, and several are destined to visit museums, fairs, and other public venues. Carnegie Mellon University plans to be philanthropic, donating its house to a nonprofit community organization, while Crowder College was uniquely capitalistic, financing the house by selling it in advance on eBay, earning $75,000 to fuel the project. See the lead article in the August/September edition of the Solar Decathlon newsletter, in Adobe PDF format only, at: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy02/32491.pdf
Energy Star Program Earns Award and Launches New Campaign
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Christie Whitman, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), accepted the Charles H. Percy Award for Distinguished Public Service on October 9th on behalf of the DOE/EPA Energy Star program. The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) presents the award to federal government programs for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of energy efficiency. ASE is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders that promotes energy efficiency worldwide.
Energy Star is a voluntary program that strives to increase consumer awareness, interest, and desire for energy efficient products. To help consumers easily identify energy efficient products, the program confers the Energy Star label on appliances and electronic equipment that significantly exceed the minimum national efficiency standards. Energy Star works with more than 7,000 partners to improve the energy efficiency of products, homes and commercial buildings and schools. See the DOE and EPA press releases at: [sorry this link is no longer available] and [sorry this link is no longer available]
From now through the end of the year, the EPA’s “Change a Light, Change the World” campaign challenges all Americans to install at least one Energy Star-labeled light bulb or fixture in their homes. To encourage Americans to do so, EPA is partnering with more than 140 manufacturers, retailers, state governments and utilities throughout the United States to make finding and buying energy efficient lighting easier. Major retail chains and regional utility companies will provide special offers and rebates to help you save on compact fluorescent light bulbs, fixtures and ceiling fans with lighting. Nationwide promotions and in-store lighting workshops will be held through a national home improvement chain. Local events where customers can exchange older technology halogen floor lamps for discounts on more energy-efficient ones will also take place. See the EPA press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
One participant in the EPA campaign is the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEAA), which has teamed up with Westinghouse and Ace Hardware to offer instant $6 rebates on two-packs of 15-watt compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. That allows consumers in parts of Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio to purchase a CFL two-pack for just 99 cents! See the MEAA Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
For more information on the campaign, and to find offers in your area, see the Energy Star Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
General Motors Investigates Energy-Efficient Metal Casting
General Motors Corporation (GM) completed in early October the first phase of a $1.37-million project to improve an energy-efficient metal casting process now being used at its factory in Massena, in upstate New York. GM is trying to perfect the “lost foam” casting process, in which polystyrene foam is formed into a shape like the parts to be cast — in this case, engine blocks or cylinder heads. The foam shape is placed into a box of compacted sand, and molten meta
l is added. The hot metal vaporizes the foam shape, leaving behind a precise metal mold of the part to be cast.
The lost foam process uses 25 percent less energy than traditional casting methods and allows the molds to be designed in more complex shapes, eliminating some of the finishing steps required with traditional methods. To improve the process, GM worked with Buffalo Wire Works and others to develop sophisticated equipment that measures the quality of both the coating applied to the foam shapes and the sand packed around them. DOE is providing a $500,000 grant to the project, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is providing an additional $125,000. See the NYSERDA press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Lost foam casting is being improved through DOE’s Metal Casting Industry of the Future program, which aims to increase energy efficiency and productivity in metal casting processes. See the fact sheet on lost foam casting, in Adobe PDF format only, at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
See also the Metal Casting Industry of the Future Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Twelve Ethanol Plants to Cut Air Emissions in Minnesota
Twelve ethanol production plants will drastically reduce their emissions of volatile organic carbons (VOC) and other pollutants under a settlement announced on October 2nd by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Under the settlements, the plants will install thermal oxidizers that reduce VOC emissions from their feed dryers by 95 percent while meeting new, more restrictive emission limits for nitrous oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and other hazardous air pollutants. The 12 ethanol plants comprise 17 percent of the nation’s ethanol production capacity. See the press release on the MPCA Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
At least one ethanol plant in Minnesota has already made the needed changes: last week, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced that Pro-Corn LLC has installed a thermal oxidizer as part of the plant’s expansion. The farmer-owned plant also increased its annual production capacity from 22 to 40 million gallons, an 82 percent increase. See the RFA press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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SITE NEWS
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Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA):
http://www.biobased.org/association/index.html
BMA helps manufacturers market their biobased products. Through a cooperative brokerage, it organizes the efficient purchase and sale of raw resources and finished goods. Its Web site provides information on these efforts as well as basic information on biobased products.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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Reliability Group: U.S. Power Supplies are Adequate to 2005
The United States has adequate power supplies to meet its electrical needs at least through 2005, according to the latest assessment from the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). The NERC report finds that projected generating capacity margins vary from region to region, but NERC does not anticipate capacity shortages in any of the U.S. regions. Although power plant developers have announced plans to install 260,000 megawatts of new generating capacity by 2005, NERC does not expect all of these plants to be built, although enough should be built to provide adequate generating capacity margins. The NERC report attempts to look ahead to 2011, but notes that shifting trends in power generation make such assessments difficult. Yet the report expresses confidence that the long-term power supply will continue to meet the nation’s needs.
However, the report is much less confident about the U.S. transmission system’s ability to deliver that power where it is needed, concluding that heavy transmission loadings and congestion will continue to occur, with system limitations expected to increase in some areas. According to the report, “the only way to remove these constraints is to increase the capability of the transmission system or build new generation close to the demand centers, removing the need for the electricity transfers in the first place.” See the NERC press release, in PDF format only, at: ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/pressrel/10-02-RAS-PR.pdf
The full report is also available, in PDF format only, at: ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/pubs/2002ras.pdf
++++ Kevin Eber is the Editor of EREN Network News, a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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