Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: Oct. 23, 2002

*News and Events

New Large Wind Plants Slated for New Mexico, California, Iowa, and Colorado

*Site News

Renewable Energy Atlas of the West

*Energy Facts and Tips

Arrest Proves Energy Trading Role in California Power Crisis

———————————————————————-

NEWS AND EVENTS

———————————————————————-

New Large Wind Plants Slated for New Mexico, California, Iowa, and Colorado

New Mexico will gain its first large wind power plant late in 2003, announced Public Service of New Mexico (PNM) on Monday. The 204-megawatt New Mexico Wind Energy Center will be built, owned, and operated by FPL Energy, LLC, a leading wind plant developer. The project will feature 135 1.5-megawatt wind turbines and will span the borders of Quay and De Baca counties, about 50 miles west from the center of the state’s eastern border. PNM intends to sell some of the wind power to its customers through a green power program, selling any excess wind power on the wholesale power market. Construction will begin this year on the facility, which will generate enough electricity to supply 94,000 homes in the state. See the PNM press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

In addition to the New Mexico Wind Energy Center, FPL Energy has several projects in the works, including large wind facilities in northern California and Iowa. In California, the High Winds Energy Center, a 150-megawatt wind plant, is expected to begin commercial operation in mid-2003, providing electricity to PacifiCorp Power Marketing Inc. In Iowa, the 98-megawatt Hancock County Wind Energy Center will begin operation this year; Interstate Power and Light Company and several local electric cooperatives and municipal utilities will buy the wind power. Hancock County is located in the north-central part of Iowa, just west of Mason City. The area is already populated by small wind projects in Algona and Forest City, and a 42-megawatt wind project near Clear Lake. See the Iowa Wind Energy Project page on the American Wind Energy Association Web site: [sorry this link is no longer available].

FPL Energy will also add 37 megawatts to its Stateline Clean Energy Center, located on the Washington-Oregon border, increasing the total capacity of that wind facility to 300 megawatts. That project will be complete by year-end. See the FPL Energy press release: http://www.fplenergy.com/news/2002/contents/02113.shtml

Colorado will join the greater-than-100-megawatts wind club next year, thanks to an order issued in early October by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Under the order, Xcel Energy will contract with GE Wind Energy, LLC to build a 162-megawatt wind facility near Lamar in southeastern Colorado. The Colorado PUC originally ordered Xcel Energy to pursue a wind facility in February 2001, but the project was jeopardized when Enron Wind Corporation’s parent company, Enron Corporation, filed for bankruptcy. A new contract was negotiated successfully after GE Power Systems purchased Enron Wind and committed to move forward with the project. Several parties, including the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, participated in the contract settlement. [sorry this link is no longer available]

See the full order: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, a scientific data tower is now being installed on Horseshoe Shoal, located off the coast of Massachusetts in Nantucket Sound. The structure will provide essential data for a proposed 420-megawatt offshore wind plant proposed by Cape Wind Associates, LLC. On October 8th, the data tower installation overcame a legal challenge that sought to halt the project. [sorry this link is no longer available]

Facing Increasing Interest, BLM Announces New Wind Policy

With companies showing a growing interest in developing new wind energy projects in the West, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a new wind energy policy on Thursday. The new policy provides guidance on the timely processing of wind energy right-of-way applications and addresses BLM requirements for land use planning, environmental reviews, and authorization of wind energy projects, as well as land rental fees for such projects.

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, currently administers 25 wind energy right-of-way authorizations on public lands in California and Wyoming. The sites cover roughly 5,000 acres of land and produce about 500 megawatts of wind power. However, the BLM has recently received about 30 new applications for wind energy projects in Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, California, Wyoming and Washington. [sorry this link is no longer available]

DOE National Laboratories Garner 24 “R&D 100” Awards

DOE national laboratories contributed to 24 of the year’s top 100 practical applications of science, according to R&D Magazine, which presented its 40th annual “R&D 100” awards on October 16th. The awards encompass all industries and are conferred only upon leading-edge products of technical significance that are currently available to license or purchase. Of the nine DOE national laboratories
that earned awards, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory garnered the most accolades, having contributed to six of the winning entries. Descriptions of all 100 awardees were published in the September edition of R&D Magazine and are published online at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

A number of this year’s R&D 100 awards relate to energy efficiency and renewable energy, including a translucent solar module developed by BP Solar and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL); a hybrid electric engine developed by Toyota Motor Corporation; a supercapacitor with the energy density of a battery, developed by Telcordia Technologies, Inc.; a technology for removing carbon dioxide from landfill gas, developed by Acrion Technologies, Inc.; a soybean-based plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride plastics, developed by Battelle and the Ohio Soybean Council; and a corrosion-resistant coating for carbon steel tubing in geothermal power plants, developed by NREL, DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Bob Curran & Sons Corporation, and Ticona Corporation. Of particular interest is a high-throughput production process for solar cells, developed by Astropower Inc. The company produces its APx-8 solar cells using a lower-quality silicon at a production rate of 3.1 meters per minute. According to the award, the next best competitor’s production rate is only 0.02 meters per minute. See the R&D Magazine link above, and for further information on the two relevant NREL awards: [sorry this link is no longer available]

As R&D Magazine celebrates the 40th anniversary of its R&D 100 awards, DOE is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. [sorry this link is no longer available]

October is also Energy Awareness Month, and DOE has named this year’s theme “A Secure Energy Future: Conserve Energy to Ensure Affordable, Reliable Power Supplies.” See the announcement from DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

DOE Secretary Abraham Hosts Renewable Forum in South Dakota

Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham hosted a “Renewable Energy Roundtable” in South Dakota on October 18th. The forum addressed the Bush administration’s energy policy and the latest developments in renewable power production and biofuels. It featured local representatives from the biofuels industry, the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, the South Dakota Rural Electrical Association, wind energy companies, and renewable energy advocates.

“President Bush and I are convinced that renewable energies must play a large role in meeting our challenging future energy needs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” Secretary Abraham said. “For every improvement in renewable energy technology we develop, for every new megawatt of electricity or gallon of alternative fuel that is produced, we make our nation a little more secure.”

Secretary Abraham highlighted the recent award of $5.4 million to Broin and Associates Inc. of Sioux Falls to develop a “Second Generation” dry mill biorefinery pilot project. The $11.3-million pilot project is a joint effort of DOE and Broin and will be located at Broin’s biorefinery in Scotland, South Dakota. [sorry this link is no longer available]

Two Advanced Battery Technologies Show Commercial Promise

Two advanced battery technologies — sodium sulfur and lithium-metal-polymer (LMP) batteries — have been in the news recently, indicating that these technologies are making strides commercially.

American Electric Power (AEP) dedicated a sodium sulfur battery system at its suburban office park near Columbus, Ohio, in late September. Sodium sulfur batteries have the advantage of providing very high power outputs for short durations. For instance, the AEP battery system is rated to provide 100 kilowatts of power for about seven hours, but up to 500 kilowatts of power for short durations. AEP claims the system to be the first of its kind in the United States. DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories was one of many partners in the project, which will be used to reduce peak power loads and guarantee high-quality power at the office park. See the September 23rd press release by selecting “Third Quarter 2002” on the AEP Web site at: http://www.aep.com/newsroom/newsreleases/default.asp

For LMP batteries, a Canadian company called AVESTOR is taking the lead: the company announced in mid-September that it was starting production of the world’s first commercial LMP battery at its new plant in Boucherville, Quebec. According to the company, LMP batteries are one-third the size and one-fifth the weight of traditional valve-regulated lead-acid batteries. Although the company’s initial product is designed to provide power backup for telecommunications relays, the batteries could also be used in hybrid electric and fully electric vehicles, as well as in utility applications similar to the AEP installation. [sorry this link is no longer available]

But don’t write off lead-acid batteries just yet: GNB Industrial Power, part of Exide Technologies, announced on October 11th that it will collaborate with DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories to analyze the performance of valve-regulated lead-acid batteries in large battery energy storage systems. The company claims that lead-acid batteries are still the preferred technology for such energy storage systems. See the October 11th press release under “Technology News Releases” on the Exide Technologies Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Solar-Powered Aircraft Successfully Surveys Coffee Fields

For most people, the only connections between the sun and coffee are that the former helps the latter grow, and they are both welcome sights in the morning. But thanks to scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the sun may now have a role in determining when coffee growers should harvest their fields.

In a test of remote sensing from uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs), NASA’s solar-powered and remote-controlled Pathfinder Plus airplane hovered for four hours over the island of Kauai on September 30th, relaying 300 high-resolution images of the island’s largest coffee plantation to the ground. Despite clouds covering as much as 80 percent of the plantation, the airplane was able to fly over clearings in the clouds and photograph virtually all of the coffee fields. At one point, the aircraft was even controlled by a rese
archer in California. The photos were provided to the plantation’s harvest manager, who can judge the ripeness of the coffee beans in each field by the color. Unfortunately, bad weather limited the test to only a single flight. [sorry this link is no longer available]

Stan Herwitz, a professor of earth science at Clark University, is the principal investigator for the project. Images of the airplane and the coffee fields, as well as a mission log and other information, are available on his Clark University Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Future UAVs may be powered by fuel cells, thanks to the Boeing Company. Boeing announced in early September that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency had awarded the company a contract to develop a fuel-cell-based propulsion system for UAVs that will allow them to fly for extended periods of time. [sorry this link is no longer available]

———————————————————————-

SITE NEWS

———————————————————————-

Renewable Energy Atlas of the West: http://www.energyatlas.org/

This online Atlas profiles wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass power resources in the West using high-resolution maps. An interactive map tool allows you to control your view and printing of the maps. The Atlas was designed as a resource for policy makers, advocates, landowners, and developers interested in producing electricity from renewable energy. The Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development, Green Info Network, and Integral GIS created the Web site. Sponsors include the Hewlett Foundation and The Energy Foundation.

———————————————————————-

ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS

———————————————————————-

Arrest Proves Energy Trading Role in California Power Crisis

Back in 2000 and 2001, when California was facing skyrocketing electricity costs, near-bankrupt utilities, and rolling blackouts, energy analysts struggled to explain the reasons for the crisis. Although many factors contributed to the problems, some analysts pointed to the energy companies themselves, claiming that they used their market power to push electricity prices higher. That viewpoint, which was greeted with some skepticism at the time, was confirmed last week when the former Chief Energy Trader for Enron Corporation agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Timothy N. Belden, who worked in Enron’s West Power Trading Division in Portland, Oregon, will admit that Enron’s manipulation of California’s energy markets was illegal, and has agreed to cooperate in the continuing investigation into the manipulation of California energy markets.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan said, “These charges answer the question that has long troubled California consumers: whether the energy crisis was spurred in part by criminal activity. The answer is a resounding yes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco and the Justice Department will bring to justice those who served their own selfish purposes by intentionally and criminally manipulating energy consumers in California and on the West Coast.” [sorry this link is no longer available]

Another contributor to the crisis was the price and availability of natural gas, which fuels a large percentage of California’s power plants. A report prepared in August by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) found “preliminary indications” that natural gas prices were manipulated as well. FERC’s investigations are continuing. See the FERC Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

++++