Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:April 23, 2003

*News and Events

New York City Joins DOE’s Clean Cities Program on Earth Day
Energy Star Awards Honor Energy Efficiency Leaders
Toyota Unveils Improved Prius; Ford Previews Hybrid Escape
Tucson Celebrates Earth Day by Opening a Zero-Energy Home
Penn Doubles Its Wind Power Purchase to 10 Percent
GE Hydro to Upgrade U.S. Hydropower Plants

*Site News

PA Windmap

———————————————————————-

NEWS AND EVENTS

———————————————————————-

Earth Day 2003 was yesterday, and DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) marked the occasion by designating the New York City Clean Cities Coalition as the newest member of DOE’s Clean Cities Program. New York City uses alternative fuels in a number of buses, garbage trucks, and light-duty vehicles, and 200 natural-gas taxis operate in the city. See the DOE press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Although the official Earth Day 2003 theme, “Water for Life,” seems far afield from energy issues, water conservation also helps to save energy. Energy is used to pump, purify, and heat water, so any action to save water (especially hot water) will also save energy. To learn more about the Water for Life campaign and its connection to energy efficiency, see the Earth Day Network Web site and the related press release from the Alliance to Save Energy at: [sorry this link is no longer available][sorry this link is no longer available]

DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented the 2003 Energy Star Partner of the Year awards last week. The awards highlight the efforts of leading manufacturers, retailers, utility companies, and a variety of state and regional programs that promote energy efficiency and awareness of the Energy Star label.

Leading product manufacturers won Partner of the Year awards in three categories: lighting, appliances, and windows. For lighting, Sylvania won for its large product line of Energy Star-qualified lighting, which experienced an 85 percent growth in sales in 2002. For appliances, Maytag Corporation won for its large and diverse product line of Energy Star-qualified appliances. In 2002, the company introduced new models of Energy Star-qualified appliances in every product category, including a new line of dishwashers. For windows, JELD-WEN Inc. won for its aggressive promotion of the Energy Star label. Eighty percent of the company’s windows and doors carry the Energy Star label.
[sorry this link is no longer available]

Toyota introduced a new, larger, more powerful Prius last week at the 2003 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). The 2004 Prius is about 15 percent more fuel efficient than the current model; according to Toyota, the new model will achieve a combined city/highway fuel efficiency of more than 50 miles per gallon. At the same time, a new lift-back rear end (somewhat reminiscent of the Honda Insight) and a longer wheelbase moves the Prius up to the midsize category of vehicles. The new Prius also accelerates faster than the current model and meets the California Air Resources Board (CARB) certifications as a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV) and a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV).

One key to the performance of the Prius is its new Hybrid Synergy Drive, which feeds the battery power through a new high-voltage power converter, supplying 500 volts of electricity to a 50-kilowatt motor. The new high-voltage motor is about 50 percent more powerful than the motor in the current model, and allows the vehicle to operate in all-electric mode for a greater percentage of time. The new Prius is expected to go on sale in fall. See the Toyota press release and the Toyota “Future Vehicle” Web site at:
[sorry this link is no longer available]
[sorry this link is no longer available]

A home in Tucson, Arizona, that produces as much energy and it uses was introduced to the public on Earth Day. Designed by architect Devereaux and Associates and built by John Wesley Miller Companies, the so-called “Zero-Energy Home” combines energy efficiency with solar energy technologies that will meet all its energy needs over the course of a year. The uses of solar energy include solid masonry construction for thermal mass, a 4-kilowatt solar power system, and an integrated solar hot water and space heating system, which uses tankless water heaters as a backup energy source. But the home is by no means Spartan: it also includes a high-efficiency central air conditioning system. According to the NAHB Research Center, the energy performance of the building will be monitored of one year. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory provided partial funding for the project. See the NAHB Research Center’s “Virtual Press Kit” at:
[sorry this link is no longer available]

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) announced on Monday that it has doubled its purchase of wind-generated power. Penn will now buy 40 million kilowatt-hours of wind power annually from Community Energy Inc. — the largest retail purchase of green power in the nation. The university’s new 10-year commitment will lead to the construction of a new wind power facility in Pennsylvania. See the Penn press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Green power sales are also supporting wind power in New York State, where Green Mountain Energy Company (GMEC) has bought all the environmental attributes associated with wind power production from the Madison Windpower facility near Hamilton. The wind power credits will be used to meet the demand for people buying green power through the Niagara Mohawk Renewable Energy Program. See the GMEC press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

The credits purchased by GMEC are often referred to as “green tags” — also known as “tradable renewable credits” — and are a growing market for renewable energy. As one sign of that growth, the Center for Resource Solutions announced in early April that its Green-e Program has certified the first-ever wholesale broker for green tags. Evolution Markets LLC hopes to make green power transactions easier by helping to build a wholesale market for green tags. See the Green-e press release at: http://www.green-e.org/media_ed/evo_markets.html

Many hydroelectric power plants across the United States are aging and in need of refurbishment, and a growing number of hydropower plant owners are choosing to boost their facilities’ power production while updating their equipment. This trend is evident at GE Hydro, a unit of GE Power Systems, which recently announced several hydropower turbine refurbishment contracts. On March 10th, GE Hydro won a $47 million contract to refurbish seven turbines at the John H. Kerr Powerhouse in Boydton, Virginia. The project will increase power production by more than 70 megawatts, or roughly 34 percent. On March 24th, the company won a $7 million contract to upgrade two generators at the Jaybird Hydroelectric Powerhouse in northern California. That project will increase power production from 154 megawatts to 170 megawatts, a 10 percent increase. And on April 7th, GE Hydro entered into an agreement with southern California’s Imperial Irrigation District (IID) to evaluate and upgrade that utility’s hydropower facilities.

The IID generates 84 megawatts of power from 14 hydropower units at seven sites along the All American Canal, which runs from Yuma, Arizona, to California’s Imperial Valley. See the GE press releases from March 10th, March 24th, and April 7th by selecting “News Archive” on the GE Power Systems Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Meanwhile, concerns about this summer’s hydropower production in the Pacific Northwest are gradually easing, as above-average precipitation is bringing snowpack levels and predicted streamflow volumes closer to normal. As noted in the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) “Power Update” for April 18th, snowpack above the Dalles Dam is now at 86 percent of normal, and predicted streamflow volumes through July are at 79 percent of normal. In March, the watershed ab
ove the Dallas Dam received 75 percent more precipitation than normal. See the BPA report: [sorry this link is no longer available]

———————————————————————-

U.S. motorists will pay less at the pump this summer than they have in recent months, according to a report issued in early April by DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA anticipates an average price of $1.56 per gallon for regular gasoline, down from peak prices of more than $1.70 per gallon earlier this year. However, the projected prices remain about 17 cents per gallon higher than last summer’s average price. See the EIA press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]