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ACEEE Offers Condensed Online Version of its Consumer Guide
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EIA Expects High Energy Prices Through 2006
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New Air Conditioner Efficiency Standards Take Effect in January
Starting next year, U.S. consumers who buy new houses or upgrade their cooling systems could benefit from new, tougher energy efficiency standards for central air conditioners. Units manufactured after January 23rd, 2006, will have to achieve a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) of 13, a 30 percent improvement over current standards. The new standards are expected to save consumers $1 billion over the next 25 years. In addition, the 2006 standards will raise the energy efficiency standards for new central heat pumps to a SEER of 13 in cooling mode and a Heating Season Performance Factor of 7.7, which represents a 13 percent improvement in heating efficiency. The new standard will also increase the cooling efficiency of single-package air conditioners and single-package heat pumps by 34 percent while increasing the heating efficiency of single-package heat pumps by 17 percent. For more information, see the announcement on the Consumer’s Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a DOE Web site.
Appliance efficiency standards are developed by DOE’s Appliances and Commercial Equipment Standards Program, part of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. See the new standards on the program’s Web site.
DOE, EPA Join Leadership Group to Boost Utility Efficiency Spending
DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that they have joined with more than 50 organizations to form a leadership group that will launch a new national commitment to energy efficiency. The joint effort will develop an Energy Efficiency Action Plan to substantially increase utility funding for energy efficiency, ultimately saving customers up to $300 billion on energy bills over the next 15 to 20 years. With a number of factors currently limiting utility investment in energy efficiency, the leadership group will look at policies and programs that are delivering results around the country, develop a common understanding of what works, and develop and follow through on recommendations for action. In addition to the federal agencies, the group is made up of seven state utility commissioners, plus representatives from leading gas and electric utilities, state agencies, energy service providers, large energy consumers, and environmental and energy efficiency organizations. See the EPA press release and the Energy Efficiency Action Plan Web page.
Hawaii Army Bases to Feature 3,000 Homes with Solar Power
United Solar Ovonic will provide solar panels to power 3,000 new homes as part of a U.S. Army family housing project in Hawaii. The company signed an agreement on Monday to provide 7 megawatts of thin-film solar modules to Actus Lend Lease for the project on Oahu, which will be the world’s largest solar-powered residential community. According to United Solar Ovonic, the grid-connected solar power systems will reduce dependence on fossil fuels by 30 percent for the entire complex of 7,894 new and renovated Army homes. Actus Lend Lease announced in May that it had earned the Army contract for the project, which involves upgrading the housing and community services at seven different Army bases on the island. See the press releases from United Solar Ovonic (PDF 72 KB) and Actus Lend Lease.
A military base on Oahu currently features the largest federal solar power array in Hawaii. PowerLight Corporation installed a 309-kilowatt installation at Pearl Harbor in September and helped dedicate it in mid-October. The solar power system is expected to save the U.S. Navy about $40,000 per year. See the PowerLight press release.
Corporate Group Reaches 360 Megawatts of Green Power Capacity
A group representing a dozen corporate buyers of green power has contracted for a total of 360 megawatts of renewable power capacity, equal to an average U.S. coal plant. World Resources Institute (WRI) announced last week that its Green Power Market Development Group has contracted for 185 megawatts of green power in the past 11 months alone. The 360-megawatt achievement places the group one-third of the way toward its goal of building markets for 1,000 megawatts of new green power in the United States. The group includes Alcoa Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, FedEx Kinko’s, General Motors Corporation, IBM, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, NatureWorks LLC, Pitney Bowes, Staples, and Starbucks. Among the notable green power purchases:
Starbucks is purchasing 150 million kilowatt-hours per year, equivalent to 20 percent of the annual electricity use in its U.S. company stores, and NatureWorks, LLC is buying enough green power to make its biobased polymer, NatureWorks PLA, the first greenhouse gas-neutral polymer. WRI is so pleased, it’s launching a similar effort in Europe. See the WRI press release.
Canadian Company Begins Commercial Delivery of BioOil
Twenty months after breaking ground, DynaMotive Corporation has started commercial production of BioOil at its new production facility in West Lorne, Ontario, near Lake Erie. The company sent out its first shipment of the biomass-derived fuel on November 22nd under a contract with a U.S. company. The contract will last for 5 years and calls for monthly deliveries of BioOil from West Lorne starting at 22 tons per month and increasing to 275 tons per month at its peak (3,300 tons per year). At their peak, the shipments will represent 15 percent of the plant’s annual production of BioOil. See the DynaMotive press release and photos of the shipment.
DynaMotive converts biomass into BioOil using a patented fast pyrolysis process, which involves heating the biomass to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The West Lorne facility is designed to convert 100 tons per day of wood residue into 70 tons of BioOil, 20 tons of char, and 10 tons of gases. Erie Flooring and Wood Products supplies the wood residue, and DynaMotive plans to burn about 50 tons of BioOil each day in a gas turbine to produce 2.5 megawatts of electricity, which powers the Erie Flooring plant. The gas turbine will also generate steam for the plant. The company began producing power at the facility in late June. DynaMotive is currently scaling up its process for a plant that would produce 220 tons of BioOil per day. See the DynaMotive Web site and press releases about the new facility, the startup of the gas turbine, and the design of the 220-ton-per-day plant.
Site News
ACEEE Offers Condensed Online Version of its Consumer Guide
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) announced Monday that it has launched a condensed online version of its popular book, the “Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings.” The online Consumer Guide details what homeowners and renters can do today and throughout the year to save energy and increase the comfort of their homes. It offers energy-saving tips and detailed information on heating and cooling systems, water heaters, windows, appliances, lighting, and much more, and also offers a Checklist for Action to get you started. See the ACEEE press release, the Consumer Guide: Condensed Online Version, and the Checklist for Action.
Energy Connections
EIA Expects High Energy Prices Through 2006
Energy prices will remain high through 2006, with crude oil prices averaging $63 per barrel, retail regular gasoline averaging $2.41 per gallon, and natural gas averaging $9.30 per thousand cubic foot, according to the latest projections from DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA’s “Short Term Energy Outlook,” released yesterday, expects elevated energy prices in light of continuing tight international supplies and hurricane-induced supply losses, combined with a projected 2 percent increase in U.S. energy demand. There is some good news, though: October and November were warmer than anticipated, so the EIA has slightly reduced its projections for this winter’s heating costs. See the EIA’s “Short Term Energy Outlook.”
According to Monday’s “Gulf Coast Hurricanes Situation Report,” issued by DOE, about 34 percent of Gulf oil production and 27 percent of Gulf natural gas production remains unavailable. According to the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), so far the Gulf has lost 18 percent of its annual oil production and 14 percent of its annual natural gas production because of the storms. Two refineries in Louisiana and one in Texas remain shut down, while one refinery in each state is operating at a reduced rate. See the latest DOE and MMS reports.
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| Kevin Eber is the Editor of EREE Network News, a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). |
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