Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:May 11, 2005

News and Events

• DOE Funds Five Research Projects to Boost Mining Efficiency
• Washington State Adopts New Renewable Energy and Efficiency Laws
• Montana Laws Set Requirements for Renewable Energy and Ethanol
• Ormat Breaks Ground on New Geothermal Plant in California
• Large Wind Power Plant Moves Ahead in Idaho
• EPA: Ten U.S. Corporations to Cut Greenhouse Gases

Energy Connections

Studies Find More Solar Energy Reaching Earth’s Surface

News and Events

DOE Funds Five Research Projects to Boost Mining Efficiency

DOE announced last week its selection of five new projects to develop new mining technologies that will reduce energy use and lower costs. DOE will contribute nearly $1.88 million to the five projects, matched by $1.13 million from the private sector. The largest project is the development of an integrated data analysis system that aims to change the way mines measure, predict, control, and monitor their processes, with a goal of making the processes more efficient. The other four projects will investigate the use of high-pressure water jets for hard rock mining, develop a novel processing technology for dry coal, and evaluate two methods to remove water from wet slurries containing small particles of coal. See the DOE press release.

Each year, nearly 47,000 pounds of materials are mined for each person in the United States. The Mining Industry of the Future – a collaboration between the U.S. mining industry and DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program – is working to make the U.S. mining industry the most efficient, advanced, and energy-efficient in the world. See the Mining Industry of the Future Web page.

Washington State Adopts New Renewable Energy and Efficiency Laws

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed a number of energy-related bills into law on Friday that will set up the state as a policy leader for renewable energy and energy efficiency. For renewable energy, perhaps the most significant bill is Senate Bill 5101, which pays incentives of 15 cents per kilowatt-hour (capped at $2,000 per year) to individuals, businesses, or local governments that generate electricity from solar power, wind power, or anaerobic digesters. The state’s utilities will pay the incentives and earn a tax credit for those payments. The incentive increases if certain components for the system are manufactured within the state, but could also be uniformly reduced if too many utility customers apply for the incentive.

The bill applies to power generated as of July 1st and remains in effect through June 30, 2014. It applies initially to off-grid power sources, but will extend to grid-connected power sources once most utilities in the state adopt uniform standards for connecting to the grid. In addition to Senate Bill 5101, the governor signed Senate Bill 5111, which creates tax credits for manufacturers and wholesale marketers of solar photovoltaic modules or silicon components of those systems. See the texts of Senate Bill 5101 and the Senate Bill 5111.

Washington is also the latest state to adopt energy efficiency standards for 12 products not covered by current federal standards, a step taken most recently by Arizona in late April. House Bill 1062 sets standards for illuminated exit signs, low-voltage dry-type distribution transformers, metal halide lamp fixtures, external power supplies, incandescent reflector lamps, torchieres, traffic signals, unit heaters, and automatic commercial ice cube machines, as well as commercial clothes washers, pre-rinse spray valves, and refrigerators and freezers.

According to the legislation, the standards are expected to save consumers $490 million by 2020 while reducing the state’s annual energy and water consumption by 900,000 megawatt-hours of electricity, 13 million therms of natural gas, and 1.7 billion gallons of water. The governor also signed House Bill 1895, which encourages energy efficiency at all levels of government, and Senate Bill 5916, which provides a sales tax exemption for passenger cars and trucks purchased during 2009 or 2010 that run on natural gas, propane, electricity, hydrogen, or hybrid technology. See the press release from Washington Representative Jeff Morris, a sponsor of several of the bills, or go directly to the texts of House Bill 1062, House Bill 1895, and Senate Bill 5916.

Last but not least, Washington has become the latest state to adopt California’s motor vehicle emissions standards, including its greenhouse gas emission standards, but not including California’s zero emissions vehicle program. The regulations take effect in 2009, but only if Oregon also adopts the standards. See the governor’s press release and the text of the vehicle emissions bill, House Bill 1397.

Montana Laws Set Requirements for Renewable Energy and Ethanol

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer signed two bills into law in late April, establishing requirements for renewable energy and ethanol use throughout the state. Senate Bill 415 requires public utilities to purchas
e at least 5 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources in 2008, increasing to 15 percent by 2015. Eligible renewable energy sources include small hydropower, most biomass sources, and wind, solar, and geothermal energy, as well as fuel cells using hydrogen generated from any of these energy sources. The law also requires public utilities to buy some of their renewable energy from customer-sited facilities with capacities of 5 megawatts or less. By 2015, such “community renewable energy projects” must provide 75 megawatts of renewable energy capacity for each of the state’s public utilities. Montana has two public utilities: NorthWestern Energy and Montana-Dakota Utilities. See the full text and history of Senate Bill 415.

Senate Bill 293 requires nearly all gasoline in the state to be blended with 10 percent ethanol. The law will take effect a year after the state’s ethanol plants achieve the ability to produce 40 million gallons of ethanol per year and demonstrate that ability for three months. With the mandate in place, the law also reduces tax incentives and credits for the production and sale of ethanol. See the full text and history of Senate Bill 293.

Other energy-related bills that the governor recently signed include Senate Bill 50, which expands the state’s alternative energy revolving loan program and extends it to local government, universities, and nonprofits; Senate Bill 83, which clarifies that renewable energy projects are eligible for the state’s renewable resource grants and loans; Senate Bill 340, which provides a tax credit for residential geothermal heating and cooling systems; and Senate Bill 365, which extends funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects through 2009. See the texts of Senate Bill 50, Senate Bill 83, Senate Bill 340, and Senate Bill 365.

Ormat Breaks Ground on New Geothermal Plant in California

Ormat Technologies, Inc. broke ground last week on a new 10-megawatt geothermal power plant at its 40-megawatt Heber Geothermal Facilities Complex in southern California’s Imperial Valley. Ormat, a leader in geothermal power production, is also modifying its existing Heber facilities to generate an additional 8 megawatts of power. Ormat helped to cement its position in southern California on Friday, when the Southern California Power Purchase Authority agreed to purchase power from the Heber facility and Ormat’s 73.2-megawatt Ormesa Geothermal Facilities Complex (also in the Imperial Valley) for the next 25 years. Ormat plans to add an additional 125 megawatts of generating capacity over the next two to three years. See the Ormat press release and Ormat’s descriptions of its Heber and Ormesa facilities.

Geothermal power plants have a number of environmental benefits, as spelled out in a new 87-page publication, “A Guide to Geothermal Energy and the Environment,” produced by the Geothermal Energy Association. The new guide updates information on geothermal energy use – particularly electric power production – for a wide range of environmental issues and offers pictures, graphs, and charts that help to place the potential benefits of expanded geothermal energy use in perspective. See the guide (PDF 1.1 MB).

Large Wind Power Plant Moves Ahead in Idaho

Invenergy, LLC is preparing to build Idaho’s largest wind plant, a 64.5-megawatt wind power project located about 10 miles southeast of Idaho Falls. PacifiCorp announced last week that it signed a power purchase agreement with Invenergy, allowing the company to move ahead with its Wolverine Creek project, which will comprise 43 1.5-megawatt wind turbines from GE Energy. Invenergy’s subsidiary, Wolverine Creek Energy LLC, will build the project and place it in service by the end of this year. The project was one of many proposed to PacifiCorp in response to its February 2004 solicitation and is the first to result in a power purchase agreement. The utility remains in negotiations on other renewable energy projects. See the PacifiCorp press release.

While the Wolverine Creek project will be Idaho’s largest to date, it’s not clear if it will be the state’s first large wind plant. The 10.5-megawatt Fossil Gulch Wind Plant is currently under development in Hagerman, Idaho, and it’s uncertain which plant will be completed first. Like Wolverine Creek, the Fossil Gulch Wind Plant will feature GE Energy’s 1.5-megawatt wind turbines. See the GE Energy press release.

Meanwhile, a number of other large wind projects are pressing ahead. FPL Energy just started commercial operation of its 106.5-megawatt Weatherford Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma, and is already planning to add another 40.5 megawatts. Farther north, the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) broke ground in mid-April on its 60-megawatt Ainsworth Wind Energy Facility, located six miles south of Ainsworth, Nebraska. The project will be Nebraska’s largest wind facility when it begins operation in fall. In the Northeast, EverPower Wind LLC announced plans in mid-April to build a 70-megawatt wind project in Steuben County, New York, west of Elmira.

And on the West Coast, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has approved the final Environmental Impact Report for the 120-megawatt Pine Tree Wind Project, which will be located about 12 miles north
of Mojave, California. If construction is approved, LADWP will start on the project this summer and complete it next year. Once built, it will be the largest municipally owned wind plant in the United States. See the press releases from FPL Energy, NPPD, EverPower Wind, and LADWP.

EPA: Ten U.S. Corporations to Cut Greenhouse Gases

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that 10 corporations in its Climate Leaders program have set specific goals for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. According to EPA, 37 of the 68 companies in the voluntary program have now set emissions goals that will prevent the equivalent of more than 8 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year. See the EPA press release and the Climate Leaders Web site.

Many of the actions companies are taking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions involve energy efficiency and renewable energy. For instance, Xerox Corporation plans to achieve a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2012. Green Mountain Energy Company, a green power provider, is offsetting its carbon emissions by buying renewable energy credits, and is also encouraging its employees to find creative ways to get to work. Exelon Corporation, an electric utility, plans to increase its use of renewable energy while undertaking energy efficiency initiatives across its operations. Meanwhile, General Motors Corporation (GM), one of the early Climate Leaders partners, has already achieved its goal: an 11 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over three years. GM achieved its goal in part by fueling coal-fired boilers with natural gas or landfill gas instead. See the press releases from Xerox, Green Mountain Energy Company, Exelon Corporation, and GM.

Energy Connections

Studies Find More Solar Energy Reaching Earth’s Surface

It’s bad news for the planet, but it could be good news for solar power: more solar energy is now reaching the surface of the Earth. Although a report in the late 1980s showed a 4 to 6 percent decline in sunlight between then and 1960, a new report indicates that the amount of sunlight has increased about 4 percent in the last 10 years. The report, co-authored by a scientist from DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), does not attribute a cause to the dimming and brightening, although it lists aerosols -liquids and solids suspended in the air – and their effects on cloud formation as possible explanations.

According to PNNL, the brightening effect may accelerate warming at the surface and unmask the full effect of greenhouse warming. The report is one of two papers on the subject that were printed in this week’s Science magazine, neither of which speculated on the potential effects on solar power production. See the PNNL press release.

The PNNL news fits well with a recent study by NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS), which found that Earth is currently absorbing more energy than it is radiating out to space: about 0.85 Watts of energy per square meter, to be exact. The NASA scientists used global climate models, ground-based measurements, and satellite observations to measure the Earth’s energy balance, and concluded that the oceans are absorbing much of the excess energy. The authors conclude that since a large amount of this excess energy is “hiding” in Earth’s oceans, its full effect on the climate system is still unrealized. See the GISS press release.

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