Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:May 18, 2005

News and Events

• DOE Showcases Clean Diesel and Hybrid Trucks and Buses
• Modified Hybrid Vehicle Nears 100-mpg Barrier in Rally
• Minnesota Doubles Ethanol Requirement to 20 Percent Blend
• General Electric Sees Huge Growth in Wind Power Business
• FERC Approves Small Generator Interconnection Standard
• OECD Approves Special Financing for Renewable Energy Exports

DOE Showcases Clean Diesel and Hybrid Trucks and Buses

Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman opened an exhibition of energy-efficient clean diesel and advanced hybrid commercial vehicles in Washington, D.C., last week. The exhibition featured vehicles from Allison, Caterpillar, Cummins, Eaton, International, Oshkosh, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Volvo. Several of the vehicles were developed as part of DOE’s 21st Century Truck Partnership, a government and industry initiative to develop advanced technologies for fuel-efficient commercial vehicles. Held at a conference of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the exhibition was cosponsored by the Diesel Technology Forum. See the DOE press release and Secretary Bodman’s remarks at the event.

Roughly a quarter of the vehicles that travel on U.S. highways are commercial vehicles. In the absence of significant technology development, DOE projections show a doubling in fuel use for commercial trucks by 2050. To reduce that growth in fuel use, DOE’s 21st Century Truck Partnership aims to increase the fuel economy of new long-haul trucks by nearly 80 percent in the next 15 years. More information on the 21st Century Truck Partnership is available on DOE’s FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program Web site.

Modified Hybrid Vehicle Nears 100-mpg Barrier in Rally

A specially modified hybrid-electric Honda Insight achieved nearly 100 miles per gallon (mpg) over a 150-mile course last weekend, falling just short of the “100 MPG Challenge” at the National 2005 Tour de Sol. The 17th annual Tour de Sol – billed as “a sustainable energy and transportation festival and competition” – was held last Friday through Monday in Sarasota Springs and Albany, New York, and featured more than 60 hybrid, electric, and bio-fueled vehicles.

The Tour de Sol also featured a 500-mile Monte Carlo-style road rally, which was won by a Honda Insight that averaged 79 mpg, a Toyota Prius that averaged 61 mpg, and a biodiesel-fueled Volkswagen Passat that averaged 77 mpg. Other innovative vehicles at the Tour de Sol included two biodiesel-fueled hybrid vehicles and a biodiesel-fueled DaimlerChrysler Smart vehicle that achieved 67 mpg. And actually, there was one vehicle at the Tour de Sol that achieved better than 100 mpg, but that was because of an electrical boost: Valence Corporation and Energy Control Systems Engineering modified a Toyota Prius to carry a high-capacity lithium-ion battery pack charged with 9 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Their “plug-in” Prius achieved 102 mpg over a 150-mile course. See the Tour de Sol Web site and the press releases from Valence Corporation and the tour’s sponsor, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (MS Word 80 KB).

While a number of homemade electric vehicles were present at the Tour de Sol, the current paucity of commercial electric vehicles may soon be addressed by Mitsubishi Motors. The company is developing a compact electric vehicle called the Colt EV, which draws on a lithium-ion battery pack to power four 20-kilowatt, in-wheel electric motors. See the Mitsubishi Motors press release.

Minnesota Doubles Ethanol Requirement to 20 Percent Blend

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed into law last week a bill that will double the amount of ethanol used in gasoline throughout the state. Currently, Minnesota law requires all gasoline sold within the state to include 10 percent ethanol. Under the new legislation, all gasoline sold within the state would have to include 20 percent ethanol by 2013. However, the new ethanol mandate will not take effect if ethanol has already replaced 20 percent of the state’s motor vehicle fuel by 2010. See the governor’s press release and the full text of the bill, Senate File Number 4.

U.S. production of ethanol fuel continues to grow, as the industry set a monthly production record of 245,000 barrels per day in February. Currently, 86 ethanol plants nationwide have the capacity to produce more than 3.8 billion gallons annually, and another 16 plants and three major expansions are under construction. The most recent addition is Iowa’s 17th ethanol plant, which started production yesterday near Steamboat Rock. Construction also started last week on the first large-scale ethanol fuel facility in Colorado. Sterling Ethanol, LLC is building a plant in northeast Colorado that will produce 42 million gallons of ethanol per year. Colorado’s current major supplier of ethanol fuel is Coors, which reclaims about 1.2 million gallons of ethanol per year from waste beer at its brewery in Golden. See the Renewable Fuel Association’s press releases on the production record, the new Iowa plant, and the Colorado plant, as well as its list of ethanol production facilities.

General Electric Sees Huge Growth in Wind Power Business

GE Energy, a business unit of the General Electric Company (GE), announced Monday that it expects its 2005 revenues for wind energy to exceed $2 billion, a 300 percent increase over 2002, its first year of wind energy operations. GE Energy has received order and commitments for 2,400 megawatts of new wind power capacity worldwide, including 1,650 megawatts in the United States. That represents two-thirds of the new wind capacity to be installed this year, according to the latest projection by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). See the GE press release.

The success of its wind energy business may be one of the driving forces for “ecomagination,” a GE initiative announced last week that includes a doubling of the company’s investments in research and development for clean energy. By 2010, GE intends to invest $1.5 billion annually in cleaner technologies, up from $700 million in 2004. GE also intends to double its revenues from environmentally preferable products, including (but not limited to) wind and solar energy, technologies and materials that make energy production and consumption more efficient, and cleaner and more efficient transportation technologies. GE also intends to increase its energy efficiency and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 1 percent by 2012. At currently projected growth rates, the company’s greenhouse gas emissions would increase 40 percent by 2012 without energy efficiency improvements. See the GE press release.

Although wind power is booming this year, the industry saw slow growth in the United States in 2004, with only 389 megawatts of new wind capacity installed. That in turn caused little change in AWEA’s annual ranking of the top states for wind power capacity as well as the largest wind facilities, the leading wind power owners, the top manufacturers, and the utilities that buy the most wind power. California and Texas continued to lead the states in wind power capacity in 2004. See AWEA’s May 12th press release, and for comparison, see the AWEA press release from last year.

FERC Approves Small Generator Interconnection Standard

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued standard procedures last week for the interconnection of small power generating equipment to power grids. The new procedures are meant to reduce the uncertainty, time, and costs associated with connecting systems to the grid that have generating capacities of 20 megawatts or less. The rule directs public utilities to offer non-discriminatory, standardized interconnection service for small generators and to provide technical procedures for connecting to the grid. Public utilities will also have to provide a Small Generator Interconnection Agreement, which contains the contractual provisions for the interconnection and spells out who pays for improvements to the utility’s electric system, if needed to complete the interconnection. The rule allows simpler interconnection for systems of 2 megawatts or less, and even simpler procedures for systems of 10 kilowatts or less that use inverters. The rule applies only to interconnections with facilities already subject to FERC jurisdiction and does not apply to local distribution facilities. See the FERC press release and the final rule (PDF 705 KB).

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), interconnection standards can have a significant impact on the number of renewable energy and distributed energy systems installed within a state. In New Jersey, for instance, an easy-to-understand process that allows for expedited processing with fixed fees has caused a solar power boom. For businesses, New Jersey allows interconnection and net metering for facilities as large as two megawatts. SEIA credits the standard with a 550 percent growth in solar capacity within the state over the past three years. See the SEIA press release.

OECD Approves Special Financing for Renewable Energy Exports

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)?representing 30 developed countries that share a commitment to democratic government and a market economy?announced last week that 27 of its member countries, including the United States, have agreed to special financing terms for renewable energy and water projects in developing countries. The agreement allows extended repayment terms of 15 years for those projects?compared to 12-year terms for conventional power projects?under a two-year trial period that begins on July 1st. The renewable energies covered by the agreement include wind energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, solar energy, and biomass energy. See the OECD press release.

The financing terms were agreed to by the participants in the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, a non-binding agreement first established in 1978 and most recently updated in late January. The agreement aims to create a level playing field for exports by setting strict limits on the financing that exporting countries can offer. By loosening the restrictions for renewable energy and water projects, the participants aim to encourage sustainable development projects in developing countries. According to the latest version of the agreement, the participants currently include Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States, and 19 countries in the European Community that are members of the OECD. See the latest version of the agreement (PDF 308 KB).

Renewable energy financing is as much an issue within the United States as it is for U.S. exports. To address the issue at home, the second annual “Renewable Energy Finance Forum – Wall Street” will be hel
d in New York City on June 23rd and 24th. The forum is co-sponsored by the American Council On Renewable Energy and Euromoney Energy Events. See the forum Web page.

++++