Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: March 5, 2003

*News and Events

EERE Budget for FY 2003 Increases over FY 2002 Levels
First of 45 New Fuel Cell Systems Installed on Long Island
Navy Orders 36.5-Megawatt Superconducting Propulsion Motor
Record Global Wind, Solar Growth Seen as the Start of Trend
White Wave Offsets All Its Electricity Use with Wind Power
Biodiesel Makes Mardi Gras a Little Bit Cleaner

DOE Project to Generate Hydrogen from Coal

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NEWS AND EVENTS

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EERE Budget for FY 2003 Increases over FY 2002 Levels

With five months now gone from fiscal year (FY) 2003, DOE’s budget for the year has been approved by Congress and signed by President Bush. Overall, the final EERE budget increased by about 1.4 percent. The renewable energy budget increased 9.3 percent above the adjusted FY 2002 budget, to $422.3 million. The energy efficiency budget decreased by 2 percent relative to the adjusted FY 2002 budget, to $897.6 million. The detailed budget is available by selecting “DOE Sections Only” — a one-megabyte PDF file — of House Report 108-10, posted on the DOE Office of Management, Budget, and Evaluation Web site:
http://www.cfo.doe.gov/budget/billrept/fy03

Explanatory text is in pages 888 to 890 and 1021 to 1023 of the PDF file, and summary tables are presented on pages 919, 1048, and 1049.

President Bush signed the funding bill, called the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, on February 20th, one week after Congress approved it. See the President’s remarks at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

First of 45 New Fuel Cell Systems Installed on Long Island

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) announced last week that it has installed a 5-kilowatt fuel cell system at a McDonald’s restaurant, the first of 45 new fuel cell systems to be installed across Long Island this year. Although LIPA will install the bulk of the Plug Power systems — 25 of them — at its existing West Babylon Fuel Cell Demonstration Site, the remaining 20 systems will be installed in single- or multiple-family residences. See the LIPA press release: http://www.lipower.org/newscenter/pr/2003/feb26.fuelcell.html

Fuel cell systems are also coming to Connecticut, thanks to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF). The CCEF announced last week that it has selected 24 fuel-cell proposals for potential funding. The proposals represent a total of more than two megawatts of generating capacity, and 16 of the 24 are located in the power-starved southwestern part of the state. However, the requests total nearly $26 million, and the CCEF expects to provide less than $9 million in funds. The companies and organizations that submitted the 24 proposals must now submit a second round of proposals, which the CCEF will choose among by June. See the CCEF press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

And in Ohio, a grant of more than $800,000 will bring a fuel cell system to Westerville, located near Columbus. Governor Bob Taft awarded the grant to American Municipal Power-Ohio and the City of Westerville on February 27th as part of $6.5 million in grants for fuel cell research and development throughout the state. FuelCell Energy, Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. expect to win the Westerville contract, which will include installing a 250-kilowatt fuel cell system. See the press releases from Governor Taft and FuelCell Energy: [sorry this link is no longer available]
[sorry this link is no longer available]

Navy Orders 36.5-Megawatt Superconducting Propulsion Motor

American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) announced Monday that the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research has awarded the company a contract to design and build a prototype 36.5-megawatt propulsion motor using high-temperature superconductors (HTS). AMSC will work with Northrop Grumman Corporation, a military ship builder, on the $70 million contract. HTS materials carry electrical current with essentially zero resistance. The Navy’s HTS motor will produce nearly 50,000 horsepower while measuring less than half the size and roughly one-third the weight of a standard motor with copper conductors.

“The U.S. Navy is going electric,” says Rear Admiral Jay M. Cohen, Chief of Naval Research. “Superconductor technology will help reduce the size and weight of motors, generators, power transmission and supporting electrical components to help speed the transition to electric this decade.”

The electric power industry expects to eventually use superconducting cables to build to a more energy-efficient, high-capacity transmission system. But currently, AMSC is helping solve transmission woes using a spin-off from its superconducting business instead. A voltage regulating system originally developed for the company’s superconducting magnetic energy storage devices is now being used as a stand-alone device to help transmission systems respond to voltage fluctuations caused by heavy industrial machinery. Launched in May of last year, the system, called D-VAR, has been sold to number of U.S. and international utilities. In Connecticut, a new D-VAR system will allow an additional 100 megawatts of power to flow through congested transmission lines serving the southwestern part of the state.

PacifiCorp also installed a D-VAR system at the Wyoming Wind Energy Project, and Nordex USA Inc. is planning to install one at a 2.6-megawatt wind facility in Minot, North Dakota. According to AMSC, wind facilities are often located in weak parts of transmission grids and can sometimes cause transmission lines to experience voltage irregularities, which the D-VAR
system can correct. See the AMSC Web site: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Record Global Wind, Solar Growth Seen as the Start of Trend

The global capacity to produce power from wind turbines and solar power systems grew a record amount in 2002, according to two recent announcements, and at least one company expects that high-growth trend to continue for the next decade.

The global capacity to generate electricity from wind power grew by a record 6,868 megawatts in 2002, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The 28 percent growth in capacity represents an investment of $7.3 billion, boosting world wind capacity to more than 31,000 megawatts, enough to meet the annual electricity needs of 7.5 million average U.S. homes. Global wind power capacity has quadrupled over the past five years, according to AWEA. See the AWEA press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

The global capacity for solar power production grew at nearly the same rate, increasing by 26 percent in 2002, according to Solarbuzz, Inc., an international solar energy consulting company. New solar power installations totaled a record 436 megawatts last year, fueled in part by a 60 percent growth in the United States, despite a weak economy. Manufacturers’ worldwide shipments of solar cells grew by 36 percent in 2002, to 530 megawatts, suggesting that manufacturing capacity managed to keep ahead of demand during 2002. See the Solarbuzz press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

White Wave Offsets All Its Electricity Use with Wind Power

White Wave, the country’s leading producer of soy-based foods, is now buying enough wind power credits to offset all the electricity used in its manufacturing and operations. White Wave’s purchase of 20 million kilowatt-hours of so-called “green tags” — credits earned by wind power facilities — makes it the largest U.S. company to offset all its electricity needs with wind power. White Wave purchased the wind power credits from Renewable Choice Energy and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, thereby avoiding the emissions of about 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year — the equivalent to removing 3,200 typical cars from the road. See the White Wave press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]

The purchase is sure to be a topic of discussion at the Green Trading Summit 2003, a conference examining the use of such credits for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions. The conference takes place in New York City on April 7th and 8th. See the Green Trading Summit Web site: http://www.greentradingsummit.com

Biodiesel Makes Mardi Gras a Little Bit Cleaner

The annual Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans wrapped up yesterday, ending a carnival season that officially began back on January 6th and geared up in late February. And although the word “clean” might not be your first thought regarding the event, this year’s Mardi Gras was cleaner than recent ones, at least in one way: Diesel-fueled floats were offered a chance to use clean-burning biodiesel during the parades. About 1,400 gallons of biodiesel were provided for free by biodiesel marketer Peter Cremer North America, Proctor & Gamble Chemicals, and the Greater New Orleans Clean Cities Coalition. According to Jim Harvey, president of the Greater New Orleans Clean Cities Coalition, the heavy-duty parade vehicles consume about 25,000 gallons of fuel during Mardi Gras. See the press release from the National Biodiesel Board:
[sorry this link is no longer available]

DOE’s Clean Cities Program supports public-private partnerships that deploy alternative fuel vehicles and build supporting alternative fuel infrastructure. See the Clean Cities Program Web site:
[sorry this link is no longer available]

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SITE NEWS

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Interwest Energy Alliance
[sorry this link is no longer available]

The Interwest Energy Alliance is a newly developed trade association consisting of members from both industry and environmental organizations that support state-level public policies to harness the West’s renewable energy and energy efficiency resources. The Alliance particularly focuses on promoting market-based Renewable Portfolio Standard policies. Its Web site also features information on the benefits of renewable energy use in the West.

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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS

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DOE Project to Generate Hydrogen from Coal

The road to a hydrogen economy became clearer last week, as DOE and the State Department announced that the United States will lead a billion-dollar, 10-year, public-private partnership to build the world’s first fossil-fuel plant that does not produce pollution. The roughly 275-megawatt power plant, known as FutureGen, will convert coal into a hydrogen-rich gas. Common air pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur compounds, as well as mercury, will be removed from the coal gas, and carbon dioxide will be captured and sequestered in deep underground geologic formations. The hydrogen may be burned in a turbine or converted into electricity in a fuel cell, or it could be used in a refinery to upgrade petroleum products (hydrogen is a key ingredient in the production of low-sulfur fuels).

The project demonstrates the Bush Administration’s approach to developing a hydrogen economy from a variety of domestic energy sources, including fossil fuels, while decreasing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. See the DOE press release, which includes links to several relevant statements and fact sheets: [sorry this link is no longer available]

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