Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:November 17, 2005

News and Events

• Ford Launches Hybrid Taxis in New York City
• Massachusetts and Illinois Support Large Renewable Energy Projects
• Wal-Mart Launches Second Energy-Saving Store in Colorado
• Idaho School District to Switch to Biomass Fuel

Site News

DOE Launches Web Site for “Easy Ways to Save Energy” Campaign

Energy Connections

DOE Report Projects Huge Growth in Coal-Fired Power Plants

Ford Launches Hybrid Taxis in New York City

Six Ford Escape Hybrids took to the streets of New York City last week to serve as the city’s first hybrid electric taxicabs. The hybrid taxis are the first to serve the city since the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission approved eight hybrid models in mid-October. Although the commission was spurred to action by an act passed by the New York City Council in July, the commission is now encouraging taxicab owners to switch to hybrids. According to the commission, the average New York taxi travels nearly 100,000 miles each year, and of the 13,000 taxis in the city, about 2,000 are due for retirement next year. See the press release from the Ford Motor Company.

Meanwhile, Japanese automakers have been rolling out their 2006 hybrid models. In early November, Lexus introduced a front-wheel-drive version of its RX 400h, which achieves an EPA estimated fuel economy of 33 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, at a base Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $44,660. The vehicles should begin arriving in dealerships by late December. Lexus also removed some standard options from its all-wheel-drive RX 400h, lowering the base MSRP to $46,060. Toyota introduced a slightly tweaked 2006 Prius, with new options available, at a base cost of $21,725. And the redesigned 2006 Civic Hybrid, which achieves an EPA estimated fuel economy of 49 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 51 mpg on the highway, went on sale in October with a price of $21,850. See the press releases from Lexus, Toyota, and Honda.

Massachusetts and Illinois Support Large Renewable Energy Projects

Both Massachusetts and Illinois have recently launched new programs to encourage large, on-site renewable energy projects. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) released a solicitation in late October for feasibility studies and design and construction of renewable energy projects at commercial, industrial, institutional, and public facilities. The project must be greater than 10 kilowatts in capacity, with at least half of the renewable power consumed on-site, and can include fuel cells, hydropower, or wind, solar, or biomass power. The MTC is providing $8.9 million over the next three years for its new Large Onsite Renewables Initiative, and the deadline for this first round of applications is January 12th, 2006. See the MTC solicitation.

Illinois launched a Renewable Energy Development Fund last week to support community-scale wind energy projects throughout the state. Under the $4 million program, the Illinois Finance Authority will work with community banks and lenders to provide loans and loan guarantees to qualified farms and farmer cooperatives that construct wind turbines. Borrowers must contribute a minimum of 10 percent equity and are limited to community-scale projects that are under 20 megawatts. See the press release from Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Wal-Mart Launches Second Energy-Saving Store in Colorado

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has launched its second “experimental” store to evaluate energy-saving technologies and other environmentally beneficial enhancements. The new store, located in Aurora, Colorado, draws some of its power from a 50-kilowatt wind turbine, 134 kilowatts of solar power, and six 60-kilowatt gas-fired microturbines. The store also incorporates evaporative cooling with a low-flow displacement ventilation system. For heating, waste-oil boilers provide hot water for radiant floor heating, and a solar wall preheats ventilation air, reducing the store’s use of natural gas for heating. The store’s energy efficiency features include daylighting and a variety of energy-efficient electric lighting technologies. Wal-Mart launched its first experimental store in Texas in July; for the Colorado store, DOE’s nearby National Renewable Energy Laboratory will provide monitoring, testing, and analysis for the next three years. See the Wal-Mart press release and Web site.

Wal-Mart has also been working with NatureWorks LLC over the past year to test its corn-based plastic packaging at Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Super Centers. According to NatureWorks, Wal-Mart will begin packaging fresh cut fruit, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, and herbs in the NatureWorks plastic this month, a move that will result in 100 million containers per year made with the biobased plastic. Wal-Mart estimates the change will save the equivalent of 800,000 gallons of gasoline and avoid the emission of 11 million pounds of greenhouse gases. According to NatureWorks, Wal-Mart will expand the program to other products in the near future. See the NatureWorks press release.

Idaho School District to Switch to Biomass Fuel

Voters in Idaho’s panhandle overwhelmingly approved an $8.6 million bond issue on November 1st, a
llowing the Kellogg School District to convert its boilers to new high-efficiency units fueled with wood byproducts. The school district will partially fund the project with a $380,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service’s “Fuels for Schools” program. According to the program’s Web site, it started with a pilot project in Darby, Montana, and two more Montana projects were expected to be operating last year. Feasibility studies have been performed for five additional school districts in Montana and three in Idaho, including the Kellogg School District. See the Fuels for Schools program Web site and the Kellogg School District Web site pages on the vote and the project.

The Forest Service is also providing at least $4 million in grants for projects that increase the use of woody biomass from or near national forest lands. The funds aim to make use of small-diameter and low-value trees from forest thinning projects by turning them into either marketable forest products or energy. Pre-applications must be postmarked December 1st and received by December 8th. See the Forest Service Web site.

Site News

DOE Launches Web Site for “Easy Ways to Save Energy” Campaign

DOE has launched a new Web site for its national “Easy Ways to Save Energy” campaign. The campaign, announced on October 3rd, includes a consumer outreach and education initiative and the deployment of Energy Saving Expert Teams to energy-intensive manufacturing plants and large federal facilities. See the “Easy Ways to Save Energy” Web site.

Energy Connections

DOE Report Projects Huge Growth in Coal-Fired Power Plants

Utilities throughout the United States are currently proposing to build a total of 129 new coal-fired power plants, according to a recent report from DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The proposed projects would generate 77 gigawatts of power and would be located throughout the continental United States, with the exclusion of New England. The report anticipates a growing number of coal plants coming online through 2007, when the growth peaks at nearly 10 gigawatts of new coal plant capacity, followed by a slight decline and another peak in 2010, at about 12.5 gigawatts. Utilities have not yet set a completion date for about 24 gigawatts of proposed new coal power plants. See the NETL report (PDF 544 KB).

Coal production increased 3.4 percent in 2004, helping to fuel a 1.9 percent increase in the use of coal for power generation, according to the Annual Coal Report, issued in early November by DOE’s Energy Information Administration. With the rising demand, electric utilities were paying 5.7 percent more for a ton of coal than they were paying in 2003. See the Annual Coal Report.

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