Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: Feb. 12, 2003

News and Events

Nuclear Industry Sees Potential for Large Growth in 10 Years

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NEWS AND EVENTS

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EERE Summarizes 2004 Budget Proposal in “Budget-in-Brief”

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) released its “Budget-in-Brief” on Tuesday, providing a summary of the proposed EERE budget for fiscal year (FY) 2004. The budget increases only slightly compared to last year’s proposed budget, now totaling $1.32 billion. It includes the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and expands the FreedomCAR program, while also providing increased funds for solid state lighting, the Weatherization Assistance Program, and the President’s National Climate Change Technology Initiative. See EERE’s “FY 2004 Budget-in-Brief” on the EERE Web site at:
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President’s Budget Provides $17.6 Million in Weatherization Funds for Iowa, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin

DOE released further details about President Bush’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2004 this week and last, noting that the budget includes a total of $17.6 million in Weatherization Assistance Program funds for Iowa, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. The proposed budget includes $5,889,006 in weatherization funds for Iowa, $1,859,922 for New Hampshire, and $9,841,518 for Wisconsin. See the DOE press releases for each of the three states at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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President Bush’s budget includes a total of $288 million for DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program. Although the fiscal year 2003 budget has not yet been finalized, the figure represents an increase of $11 million over the President’s request for fiscal year 2003. The increased budget should allow energy efficiency improvements to 126,000 homes of low-income families, saving each an average of about $218 per year on utility bills. For every dollar spent, the Weatherization Assistance Program returns $1.83 in energy savings over the life of the weatherized home, based on current energy prices. See the Weatherization Assistance Program Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

President Bush, Secretary Abraham Detail Hydrogen Initiative

President Bush and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham provided further details about the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative in separate speeches last week.

On Thursday, President Bush spoke at the National Building Museum, noting that “hydrogen fuel cells represent one of the most encouraging, innovative technologies of our era.” The President explained that although hydrogen will initially be produced from natural gas, it might eventually be produced from a variety of domestic energy sources, including ethanol and biomass. “If we develop hydrogen power to its full potential,” said President Bush, “we can reduce our demand for oil by over 11 million barrels per day by the year 2040.” See the President’s speech and an acompanying fact sheet on the White House Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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Those sentiments were echoed by Secretary Abraham on Friday in a speech to the Economic Club of Detroit. “We believe that the hydrogen economy is our future,” said the Secretary. He explained that as the President launched the FreedomCAR program a year ago to advance fuel-cell vehicles, the Bush Administration realized the need to develop a parallel effort to establish a hydrogen fuel infrastructure. “For the United States,” said Secretary Abraham, “the FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel programs will mean surmounting the twin challenges of dependence on foreign oil and harmful emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.”

Secretary Abraham also emphasized that the President’s budget continues research and development (R&D) in technologies that will deliver improved fuel efficiencies in the near term. “Indeed, our latest budget submission requests over $100 million of investment in R&D for hybrid technology, alternative fuels, lightweight materials, and clean diesel,” said the Secretary. “In fact, we are proposing to substantially increase spending on hybrid research and advanced materials.” See the DOE press release, with a link to the full speech, at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Two of Three Kansas Wind Power Installations Moving Ahead

Plans to build a 30-megawatt wind facility in western Kansas are moving ahead, but of two inst
allations planned near Wichita in southeast Kansas, only one has gained approval.

In the western part of the state, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation has agreed to buy the first 30 megawatts of wind power produced by a project to be built near Leoti, located midway between Nebraska and Oklahoma and about 40 miles east of the Colorado border. Renewable Energy Systems Ltd. (RES) plans to build the wind project, called the Sunflower Electric Wind Farm, by the end of this year. The project is still subject to the approval of the Rural Utilities Service and the Kansas Corporation Commission.
See the RES press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available].

In the Wichita area, the Butler County Board of Commissioners has given approval to one project while denying another. The board approved the Elk River Windfarm, to be located about 40 miles east of Wichita. The board denied approval for another project located about 30 miles east of Wichita. Kansas Wind Power, LLC had proposed the second project, which was apparently rejected because it did not meet the requirements of the county’s comprehensive plan for development. See the last two sections of the minutes of the Board’s January 28th meeting at: [sorry this link is no longer available].

Kansas Wind Power signed an agreement with Padoma Wind Power, LLC in late January with the intent to develop 500 megawatts of wind power over the next three years, most of it located in Kansas. Despite the setback in Butler County, the company still plans to achieve that goal. See the Kansas Wind Power press releases at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Dry Winter Likely to Impact Hydropower in Pacific Northwest

A continuing lack of water in the Pacific Northwest is likely to limit the supply of electricity from hydropower this spring, creating power supply challenges for the region. According to the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC), the forecast runoff for the Columbia River from January through July is about 73 percent of

normal, the ninth-lowest runoff rate since 1929. Despite the low runoff, the NPPC anticipates only a 1 percent probability of power shortages in the region. See the NPPC press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Although the lights will probably stay on, the low water supplies are likely to cause higher power rates. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) announced last week that poor water conditions are likely to cause a 15 percent increase in wholesale power rates. BPA will begin a rate-setting process immediately, although the rate hike is not expected to take effect until October. According to BPA Administrator Steve Wright, “We could be heading into the worst three-year water condition on record.” See the February 7th press release on the BPA Web site: [sorry this link is no longer available]

BPA has been struggling with financial difficulties for months, and one result is a cutback on spending for renewable energy and energy efficiency. In a November letter to BPA constituents, Steve Wright proposed to reduce spending on these programs, specifically saying that BPA would focus on buying renewable energy from others rather than acquiring BPA-owned renewable energy facilities. Mr. Wright reaffirmed the need for such actions in a follow-up letter released last week. See the BPA “Financial Choices” Web page at:

http://www.bpa.gov/power/pl/financialchoices.

Just how bad is the water supply situation? See for yourself by viewing the “2003 Water Supply Outlook for the Western United States,” provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report provides graphic depictions of current reservoir storage conditions as well as forecasted spring and summer

stream flows and mountain snow pack. Note that the color legends for stream flows and snow pack have changed, making it more difficult to compare this year’s maps with last year’s maps. See the report at:

[sorry this link is no longer available].

Ethanol Fuel Industry Achieves Record Production in 2002

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced in late January that the U.S. ethanol fuel industry set a new production record of 2.13 billion gallons in 2002, up more than 20 percent from the previous year. Last week, the RFA added that ethanol fuel use in 2002 avoided the equivalent of roughly 4.3 million tons of carbon

dioxide emissions — equal to removing 636,000 cars from the roads. Meanwhile, the industry continues to grow, with a new plant capable of producing 100 million gallons of ethanol per year now under construction in Aurora, South Dakota. VeraSun Energy is building the plant, which will be one of the largest of its kind in the United States. See the RFA press releases at:

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The ethanol production news will surely be a topic of discussion at this year’s National Ethanol Conference, to be held next week in Scottsdale, Arizona. For conference details, see the RFA Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available].

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SITE NEWS

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Bioenergy Stoves Discussion Group

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The Bioenergy Stoves Discussion Group serves as a forum for

researchers and others to exchange information, ideas, and opinions

about the development of a better stoves for cooking with biomass

fuels in developing regions. The group is hosted by the Renewable

Energy Policy Project and the Center for Renewable and Sustainable

Technology. To subscribe, send an email to:

stoves-subscribe@crest.org.

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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS

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Nuclear Industry Sees Potential for Large Growth in 10 Years

The nuclear power industry has long been dormant in the United States, but industry advocates predict significant growth over the next decade. A combination of capacity upgrades, productivity gains,

and the planned restart of the Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama could increase nuclear generating capacity by 10,000 megawatts by 2012, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). U.S. nuclear

plants set a new production record in 2002, thanks to being able to generate 91.5 percent of their potential generating capacity in 2002. This so-called “capacity factor” has been steadily increasing over the past five years. In all, the United States draws on 103 nuclear plants operating in 31 states. See the NEI press release

at: [sorry this link is no longer available].

While today’s nuclear industry uses nuclear fission (the splitting of atoms) to produce power, DOE continues to develop nuclear fusion, which combines light atomic nuclei in a process much like the one that powers the sun. DOE announced in late January that it will join negotiations to build an international magnetic fusion research project. The proposed project will provide 500 megawatts of fusion power for 500 seconds or longer, being the first to maintain fusion in a plasma for long durations. Likely international participants include Canada, the European Union, Japan, the Russian Federation, and possibly China. See the DOE press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

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