Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: Nov. 6, 2002

*News and Events

*Site News

Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA)

*Energy Facts and Tips

Voters are Increasing Deciding Transportation Issues

———————————————————————-

NEWS AND EVENTS

———————————————————————-

First Phase of Five-Megawatt Arizona Solar Plant Dedicated

APS, Arizona’s largest electric utility, dedicated the first phase of its Prescott Airport Solar Power Plant last week. The new solar facility is currently online with a capacity of 450 kilowatts, to be increased to 1.5 megawatts by March 2003. But within the next three to five years, the utility plans to expand the Prescott facility to 5 megawatts, which will place it among the largest in the world. See the October 30th press release on the APS Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

A number of solar power installations were completed in October, including one 59-kilowatt and one 56-kilowatt solar power system installed in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. With funding from Clean Air Communities, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC), PowerLight Corporation installed the systems on two GMDC buildings, including advanced zinc-bromide battery systems for energy storage. See the Clean Air Communities press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

The City of San Diego, California, is also employing solar energy, having installed its first solar power system on the city’s Environmental Services Operations Station building in October. The city claims the 65-kilowatt system will generate enough electricity annually to meet the building’s electricity needs. See the city’s press release, in PDF format only, at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Details are also emerging on the fate of $2.6 million in grants awarded last month by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. The grants were awarded to six organizations that will deploy roughly 250 solar power systems in the state. One of those grants, for $455,700, went to an initiative organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The MIT Community Solar Power Initiative will install 40 solar installations on the MIT campus as well as on schools, homes, and businesses in Cambridge and the nearby towns of Watertown, Arlington, Lexington, and Waltham. See the MIT press release at:
[sorry this link is no longer available]

All of which should provide plenty to talk about at the 7th Annual Photovoltaic Experience Conference, also called UPEx ’02. The conference covers the latest issues relating to solar electricity, including business models used by utilities, solar power’s integration into new building construction, and its use as a distributed generation resource. The conference runs November 13th to 15th in Austin, Texas, and is being held as a joint meeting with the Texas Renewables Conference and in conjunction with the U.S.Green Building Council’s Annual Conference and exhibition. For more information, see the Solar Electric Power Association Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

China Buys Solar Cell Equipment Despite Industry Downturn

A growing interest in renewable energy in China has led a Chinese company to purchase a solar cell manufacturing line from GT Solar Technologies, a U.S. company. Baoding Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd. of Baoding, China, ordered the cell fabrication equipment as a follow-up to its purchase of a silicon wafer manufacturing line earlier this year. The new equipment will allow the Chinese company to convert its silicon wafers into complete solar cells. Since GT Solar also sells equipment to turn those cells into complete solar modules, we might expect more news from the two companies in the future. See the GT Solar press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Unfortunately, China may be bucking the trend: According to Shell Solar, the worldwide demand for solar cells is down this year. After four years of more than 30 percent annual growth, a drop in demand this year is causing a worldwide glut, says the company, which is now restructuring its operations. With global photovoltaic production now at 760 megawatts of peak capacity per year (up from 400 in 2001), Shell Solar says the industry is at overcapacity, which is leading the company to close two solar facilities and lay off about 250 staff. See the October 24th press release on the Shell Solar Web site at:
[sorry this link is no longer available]

According to a recent report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, China and other developing countries are taking a number of actions — such as encouraging the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency — that are reducing the growth in their greenhouse gas emissions. In most cases, though, the actions are driven by the goals of
poverty alleviation, development, local environmental protection, and energy security, rather than aiming to control greenhouse gases. The study examined activities now underway in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey. See the Pew Center report, including links to a press release and the executive summary of the report, at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Meanwhile, a report issued in September by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found that only 3 percent of energy loans and loan guarantees issued by the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank since 1990 have gone toward renewable energy. That fact runs counter to congressional legislation passed in 1989 that said the bank should seek to provide at least 5 percent of its energy sector financing to renewable energy projects. According to the GAO report, about 60 percent of the Ex-Im Band renewable energy funds went toward two large geothermal plants in the Phillipines in 1994; overall, 75 percent of the funding went toward geothermal energy, 17 percent went toward hydroelectric power, and 8 percent went toward other renewable energy projects. The report concludes that the Ex-Im Bank efforts to date to encourage the export of renewable energy “have been limited,” but it also sees some promise in the new Renewable Energy Exports Advisory Committee, established by the bank in May 2002. See the GAO report, in PDF format only, and the related Ex-Im Bank press release at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d021024.pdf and
[sorry this link is no longer available]

Construction of Zero Energy Home Underway in Tucson, Arizona

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 4th to mark the building of a zero energy home in Tucson, Arizona. The project, supported in part by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), will combine energy-efficient construction with active and passive solar energy systems, allowing the house to return as much energy to the electrical grid over the course of a year as it uses.

“What we’re literally doing here is building a small power plant one house at a time,” said local builder John Wesley Miller, who is constructing the house. “Once we monitor the success of this home, it’s likely that we will build more in this community.”

Thanks to a net metering program offered by Tucson Electric Power, the home’s meter will spin backwards when the home generates more power than it uses, allowing the homeowner to earn credit for electricity that is fed into the power grid. The National Association of Home Builders Research Center (NAHBRC) will evaluate the home’s energy performance. See the DOE and NAHBRC press releases at: [sorry this link is no longer available] and
[sorry this link is no longer available]

The home is one of four zero energy home projects comprising a DOE national initiative administered by NREL. Researchers at NREL are working with four home building teams to introduce the zero energy home concept into the construction industry for single-family homes. See the Zero Energy Buildings page on the DOE Solar Buildings Program Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

While zero-energy homes are still a rarity, efficient Energy Star homes are springing up all over the country. In New York City, a new development of 30 three-family houses in the South Bronx is the first affordable housing project in the state to earn the Energy Star Homes label. The designation is awarded to homes that are at least 30 percent more energy efficient that the building code requires. The $12 million development is the first completed project of the High Performance Building Program, a joint initiative of the New York City Housing Partnership and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYCHPD). See the October 25th press release on the NYCHPD Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

And in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pardee Homes marked its 50th anniversary by building an Energy Star home in only 50 hours. Pardee Homes recently became the only large U.S. builder to commit to build all its new homes in compliance with the Energy Star program. See the October 24th press release on the Pardee Homes Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

DOE Marks Weatherization Program’s 26th Anniversary

DOE celebrated “Weatherization Day” on October 30th as the Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps reduce the energy bills for low-income households, reached its 26th anniversary. Over that time span, the program has provided energy efficiency improvements to five million U.S. homes, saving each household an average of $218 in energy bills annually.

DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program provides congressionally appropriated funds to state weatherization offices, which provide grants to local agencies to perform the work. These services are available in every county in the nation. For every dollar provided by the DOE program, an addition three dollars come from other sources such as state funds, utility programs, and federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In some states, such as Vermont, the weatherization office teams with other state programs to efficiently deliver additional services. For example, a home weatherization team might also fix unsafe electrical wiring or install a new refrigerator. See the DOE press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Several New Geothermal Plants Slated for Nevada

Geothermal power development is moving ahead in Nevada, thanks largely to the efforts of a Reno-based company called Advanced Thermal Systems, Inc. (ATS). The company announced last week that it signed an agreement with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to develop geothermal resources on the tribe’s reservation, located north of Reno. Although the agreement will start off with a series of feasibility studies performed by ATS, the company and the tribe intend to form a joint venture for geothermal power plant development, and hope to begin building a plant next year.

ATS announced in late September that it will build a new 40-megawatt geothermal plant in the previously developed Steamboat geothermal power park, located nine miles south of Reno. The company contracted GE Oil & Gas to build the plant, which should begin operating in early 2005. The Steamboat IV Kalina Cycle geothermal plant will use an air-cooled binary cycle that draws on the company’s patented Kalina Cycle technology. The Kalina Cycle uses a closed loop filled with an ammonia and water mixture. The geothermal heat is used to vaporize the mixture, and the vapor then drives a turbine-generator to produce electricity. According to ATS, the technology has been used in four plants thus far and can cut construction costs by 20 percent while increasing power-plant efficiency by 20 percent.

ATS acquired the U.S. rights to the technology earlier this year. See the press releases on the new ATS Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

A smaller geothermal plant is in the works for Churchill County, Nevada, which is just east of Reno. Brady Power Partners will add a 5-megawatt binary-cycle plant to its existing Brady Hot Springs Geothermal Power Plant. The Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the construction permit back in May. See the Nevada PUC press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Geothermal energy is also moving ahead in other countries: in Russia, the second unit of a geothermal plant totaling 50 megawatts in capacity was placed online in October. The Mutnovskaya Geothermal Power Plant, located in the eastern Russian region of Kamchatka, is part of the Unified Energy System (UES) of Russia. See the UES of Russia press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

But Iceland may end up being the site of one of the largest geothermal power facilities in the world. The Norwegian company Statoil ASA, one of the world’s largest oil and gas suppliers, announced in early October that it is performing a feasibility study for a 600-megawatt geothermal power station in Iceland. The company proposes installing a 720-mile undersea transmission cable to connect the facility to the Norwegian power grid. See the October 7th press release on the Statoil Web site: [sorry this link is no longer available]

ZAP Offers to Buy Think Electric Vehicles Assets from Ford

ZAP — a California marketer of electric scooters, bicycles, and other vehicles — announced last week that it has offered to buy Ford Motor Company’s electric vehicle assets for $10 million in cash, stock, or warrants. Ford announced in late August that it was abandoning battery-powered electric vehicles, focusing instead on developing hybrid electric and fuel-cell vehicles. The announcement led Think Nordic, producer of the two-seater Think City car, to ask the Norwegian government for economic support to help keep the company solvent. In making the offer, ZAP noted that the Think City was one of the few electric vehicles that are freeway-capable and were designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle. See the ZAP press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

See also the Think Web site (and if you read Norwegian, note that the Norwegian version of the site has more information than the others) at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Portland Utility Agrees to Remove 22-Megawatt Hydro Project

Portland General Electric (PGE), Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, and 21 other organizations signed an agreement last week that will lead to the decommissioning of the 22-megawatt Bull Run Hydroelectric Project in the Sandy River Basin. PGE had decided to decommission the 90-year-old facility in 1999; under the new agreement, PGE will remove two dams, donate its water rights to the public, and contribute more than 1,500 acres of related lands. The agreement will lead to a 5,000-acre wildlife and public recreation area in the Sandy River Basin, which is considered to be one of the best habitats for endangered salmon and steelhead in northwest Oregon. PGE will begin removing the dams in 2007 and plans to have site restoration done by 2009. See the October 18th announcement on the PGE Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

A project underway in North Carolina is taking the opposite approach: The turbines at the 48-year-old J. Strom Thurmond Hydro Power Plant are being upgraded to make them more environmentally friendly, while also increasing the plant’s power production. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is running the rehabilitation project, for which Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation has just installed the first upgraded turbine. According to Voith, the turbine now includes an aerating device that will increase the level of dissolved oxygen in the river downstream from the plant. See the Voith press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

———————————————————————-

SITE NEWS

———————————————————————-

Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA)
http://www.mwalliance.org

MEEA is a regional network of organizations collaborating to promote energy efficiency in the Midwest. Since 1999, it has worked to foster increased market penetration of new and existing energy- efficient technologies, products, and best practices, as well as renewable energy. Current residential programs include rebates for energy-efficient refrigerators and Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs. DOE is an MEAA member.

———————————————————————-

ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS

———————————————————————-

Voters are Increasing Deciding Transportation Issues

U.S. voters went to the polls yesterday, and among the many decisions they faced were quite a few relating to transportation. According to a new report from the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP), as many as 41 transportation measures appeared on U.S. voting ballots yesterday, which (if all approved) would yield as much as $117 billion in new investments over the next 20 years. According to the report, there is a trend away from legislature-approved user fees, such as gasoline taxes, and instead toward voter-approved taxes for such projects. The report cites the growing popularity of mass-transit projects as one reason for the trend. See the report on the STPP Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

++++