Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:June 18, 2003

*News and Events

Secretary Wants International Partners for Hydrogen Economy
DOE Asks Eaton to Advance Hybrid Truck Systems
University of Wisconsin Wins FutureTruck 2003
Solar Cars Zoom Down Route 66
Illinois Passes Biodiesel Tax Incentive and Grants Package
Portland Sewage Plant Powers Itself with Biogas

*Site News

Virtual-Web Energy Demonstration Construction Center

NEWS AND EVENTS

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U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has called on the European Commission (EC) to join the United States in forming what he called The International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy. The Secretary issued the challenge Friday during his keynote to the EC’s Conference of the High Level Group on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell (HLG-HFC) Technologies convening in Brussels. In 2002,HLG-HFC Technologies–a coalition of EC auto and transport companies, utilities research institutes, and policy makers–made advances in hydrogen a top priority. At the same time, U.S. President George Bush established the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to develop hydrogen infrastructure and hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles and introduced the Freedom CAR program to develop automotive systems that use hydrogen fuel.

DOE Asks Eaton to Advance Hybrid Truck Systems

DOE will give $3.1 million over three years to Galesburg, Michigan-based Eaton’s Truck Components to develop hybrid propulsion systems for trucks and other heavy duty vehicles. Hybrid propulsion systems generally consist of smaller internal combustion engines augmented by an electric drive, a power storage system, and regenerative braking or other energy recapture systems. Today, most heavy vehicles use diesel. Eaton will invest an additional $4 million in the three-year project aimed at doubling the fuel efficiency of truck engines while at the same time increasing reliability and durability of components and meeting lower 2007 federal emissions standards. See the DOE press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]


University of Wisconsin Wins FutureTruck 2003

For the second straight year, the University of Wisconsin, Madison placed first in DOE and Ford Motor Company’s FutureTruck competitions, scoring 841 of 1,000 possible points. DOE’s Assistant Secretary David Garman presented the team with a check for $6,000. For other award winners and results see the FutureTruck site: [sorry this link is no longer available]


Illinois Passes Biodiesel Tax Incentive and Grants Package

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation last week that will provide a partial state sales tax exemption of 20 percent on biodiesel blends containing from one to ten percent biodiesel. The legislative package also established the Illinois Renewable Fuels Development Program, which offers grants up to $15 million annually for constructing, modifying, altering, or retrofitting a renewable fuels plant with a minimum production capacity of 30 million gallons.

In biogas news, a sewage treatment facility is supplying its own power from methane generated during the sewage treatment process. The plant recently installed four microturbines to burn biogas from a previously installed fuel cell that converts biogas into energy. The micro-turbines burn the gas to provide electricity and heat used in plant ope
rations.

This Web site, hosted by the University of Louisiana, provides information on energy and efficient building practices to targeted groups that live and work in South Louisiana. The site includes links to construction sites and to the center’s virtual construction laboratory.

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Low Natural Gas Stores Concern DOE, Federal Reserve

Noting a lack of natural gas in storage throughout the United States, DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted early this month that natural gas prices will likely remain high for the remainder of 2003. The finding, published in the EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook for June, raised enough concern that Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham called for a special meeting of the National Petroleum Council. The council’s Natural Gas Summit will be held on June 26th. See the EIA report and the DOE press releases at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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The natural gas supply concerns have also caught the attention of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who noted it in his economic outlook report to Congress on May 21st, then gave testimony to Congress on June 10th. In his congressional testimony, Greenspan looked to the future and said that the U.S. natural gas supply needs the flexibility that would be introduced by using imports to fill in shortfalls in domestic production. Those imports would have to be in the form on liquefied natural gas (LNG). See Greenspan’s May 21st and June 10th testimonies at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), however, took issue with Greenspan’s conclusions, noting that energy efficiency should be able to cut U.S. demand for natural gas by 10 percent. See the ACEEE press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

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