Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:May 10, 2006

News and Events

U.S. Wind Power Growth Expected to Set New Records This Year

The U.S. wind energy industry is on track to install a record-breaking 3,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power this year, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). More than 400 MW of new plants have already been brought online since January, including the 150-MW Shiloh Wind Farm in California, the 60-MW Spring Creek Wind Farm in Colorado, and the 60-MW first phase of the Maple Ridge project in upstate New York. In addition, Hawaii and New Jersey gained their first utility-scale wind projects, as enXco, Inc. completed a 10.56-MW facility on the Big Island and Community Energy, Inc., Babcock and Brown, and CH Energy Group, Inc. began commercial operation of the 7.5-MW Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm in Atlantic City. The current record for U.S. wind power growth, set last year, was 2,400 MW. See the press releases from AWEA, enXco, and Community Energy.

Large new wind power projects should be producing power by the end of this year in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. In Texas, Airtricity is building the 125-MW Forest Creek Wind Farm about 50 miles east of Midland using 2.3-MW Siemens wind turbines. Airtricity will sell its power to TXU Wholesale, a subsidiary of TXU Corporation. Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) is building the 100.5-MW Spearville Wind Energy Facility in southwest Kansas and will sell most of the wind power to Sprint Nextel. Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) is paying Invenergy Wind LLC to build the 120-MW Centennial Wind Farm in northwest Oklahoma. And North Dakota is gaining its largest wind facility yet, as FPL Energy is building the 50.6-MW Oliver County Wind Energy Center and will sell its power to Minnesota Power. See the press releases from TXU, KCP&L (PDF 119 KB), OG&E, and Minnesota Power.

Meanwhile, the status of offshore wind power remains uncertain in the United States. In New Jersey, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Development of Wind Turbine Facilities in Coastal Waters has released its final report, which recommends the state proceed with a limited test project only, not to exceed 350 MW, to obtain practical knowledge of benefits and impacts resulting from offshore wind turbine facilities. The panel notes these efforts must be preceded by scientific baseline studies that collect basic data about the existence, location, and nature of New Jersey’s offshore natural resources, in addition to information regarding potential economic impacts of offshore wind projects. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) now has authority to regulate offshore renewable energy projects. MMS is holding public scoping meetings across the United States in May and June to help it prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for such projects. See the New Jersey wind panel report and the press releases from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the MMS.

Pennsylvania Assists Small Wind Power Developments

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took two steps in April to encourage small wind power developments in the state. First, it awarded a $193,000 grant to Southwest Windpower to place 15 small, advanced technology wind turbines in highly visible locations across the state, and invited municipalities, public authorities, and school districts to apply to the state to host the wind turbines. Applications are due on May 12th. Second, the state unveiled a model ordinance that will help Pennsylvania’s local governments decide how to direct the location and development of wind turbines within municipal borders. The model ordinance represents the collaborative efforts of Pennsylvania’s state and local governments with the private sector. See the press releases on the wind turbines and model ordinance from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Utilities in Minnesota and Iowa are also encouraging small, community-based wind turbines. In Minnesota, Xcel Energy has committed to developing 500 megawatts of community-based wind power by 2010. The utility is already developing projects that should yield 300 megawatts of community-based wind power by 2007. In Iowa, MidAmerican Energy has agreed to buy 40 megawatts of wind power from community wind projects under an agreement with the Iowa Farmers Union. See the press releases from Minnesota Governor Pawlenty and the Iowa Farmers Union.

To help such state efforts, DOE’s Wind Powering America program and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have issued a series of Small Wind Electric Systems Consumer’s Guides, including guides specifically crafted for 35 states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. To download the guides, select and scroll down to the “Publications” heading on Small Wind Web page of the Wind Powering America Web site.

GM, DaimlerChrysler, and BMW Preview New Hybrid Technology

Three major automakers are gearing up for production of a new hybrid drivetrain next year and provided a preview of the technology in late April. The new hybrid system?developed jointly by General Motors Corporation (GM), DaimlerChrysler, and the BMW Group?combines two small electric motors into a four-speed transmission, creating a compact package that will be relatively easy to incorporate into existing models. One electric motor is designed for low-speed operation, while the other is designed for high-speed operation. They both work together in first and third gear, while each works alone in second and fourth gear. According to GM, this arrangement is particularly beneficial in demanding applications that require larger engines, such as towing, hill climbing, or carrying heavy loads. The hybrid system will initially be employed in front-engine, rear- and four-wheel-drive vehicles, but may be adapted to front-wheel-drive vehicles in the future. See the GM press release.

Northeast-Based Green Car Rally Takes on a National Flavor

The Tour de Sol has long been a showcase for electric, hybrid-electric, and alternative-fuel vehicles in the Northeast, but those of us in the rest of the country have always been left out, until now. This year, the Tour de Sol’s Monte Carlo-Style Rally and Fuel Efficiency Competition features 18 alternate “start sites” located throughout the United States, plus one in the Canadian province of Quebec. Hybrid vehicles will begin leaving some of the start sites today on their trek to the Tour de Sol rally location in New York. Participants must reach Saratoga Springs by 11 a.m. on Friday. An additional 200-mile High Efficiency Competition will be held on Friday afternoon, and will be open to hybrids, electric vehicles, and alternative fuel vehicles. The Tour de Sol also includes a separate Championship competition for green vehicles in a wide variety of categories, starting today. See the description of all the rallies and competitions on the Tour de Sol Web page of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), the tour’s sponsor.

Participants in the Tour de Sol may be looking forward to a much longer event: the Great Race 2008, a 22,000-mile, 80-day road rally that crosses the United States, then continues in Shanghai, China, crossing Eurasia and ending in Paris, France. The race will include 20 vehicles running on alternative fuels, as well as 20 vintage cars, all competing for a $1,000,000 purse. The race starts in New York City on February 12th, 2008, and entries for the race are due by the end of this year. See the Great Race 2008 Web site.

A couple recently took on a similar challenge, trying to drive around the world with only 25 fill-ups of their Volkswagen Golf. With Shell as their sponsor, the couple finished their 18,000-mile journey in 78 days, achieving 52.3 miles per gallon, which earned them the Guinness World Record for Fuel Efficiency. See their Web site.

DOE Helps Develop an Energy-Efficient Hot Water Heater

A new 50-gallon hot water heater with 90 percent thermal efficiency has been developed by A.O. Smith Water Products Company in a three-year collaboration with DOE and TIAX LLC, a leading engineering product development firm. To achieve the high efficiency with only a modest cost premium, the new hot water heater employs a glass-lined helical-coil heating element made from carbon steel, rather than stainless steel. The new “Vertex” water heater combines high energy input with efficient combustion to deliver performance similar to a 75-gallon tank. The high rate of energy production also allows the tank to maintain a temperature rise of 45 degrees Fahrenheit with a flow rate of three gallons per minute, which means that under most conditions, the water heater will endlessly provide hot water for a shower with a low-flow showerhead. See the A.O. Smith press releases on the collaboration (PDF 121 KB) and the Vertex water heater (PDF 109 KB).

Energy and Architecture Groups Pursue Green Office Buildings

A number of energy- and architecture-related organizations are now following their own advice and pursuing new green office buildings. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), for instance, announced in late April that it plans to build a state-of-the-art office building that will integrate high performance design and building practices and showcase the latest renewable energy and energy efficiency technology advances. NREL’s vision is to design and build 210,000 square feet of research support facilities that would house approximately 780 staff, but it plans to start with a smaller building to house up to 160 staff. The building will aim to achieve a Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. NREL aims to complete the building by early 2008. See the NREL press release.

Meanwhile, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is planning to renovate its headquarters and aims to earn a Gold LEED certification. And what would you expect from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)? Sure enough, the organization is the latest to dedica
te a green roof on its Washington, D.C., headquarters. But not all green office builders are green building organizations: the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second-largest pension fund in the country, is planning to build a new 14-story headquarters building in West Sacramento and expects it to earn a Silver LEED certification. The agency expects to save $1.7 million annually due to sustainable construction and energy-efficient features. See the ASHRAE press release and Web site; the ASLA press release; and the CalSTRS press release and Web site.

Energy Connections

EIA: Costly Crude Oil to Buoy Gasoline Prices Through 2007

Retail prices for regular gasoline will average $2.57 per gallon through 2007, according to the latest report from DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA’s “Short-Term Energy Outlook,” released yesterday, has also upped the EIA’s projection for this summer’s gasoline prices by nine cents, to an average price of $2.71 per gallon for regular gasoline. The EIA expects fuel prices to be lower by September, although any news of tropical storms or hurricanes that threaten Gulf Coast energy production “could add to volatility in near-term prices in the latter part of the summer.” According to the American Automobile Association’s “Fuel Gage Report,” the average U.S. price for regular gasoline is currently at $2.90 per gallon.

The EIA blames the high gasoline prices on the elevated prices for crude oil, which is expected to average $68 per barrel through 2007. According to EIA, growing world demand for petroleum has reduced the world’s surplus oil production capacity to about 1 million barrels per day, compared to 1.8 million barrels per day at the end of 2003. “Both the inability of world oil producers to increase production capacity to meet growing demand and growing concern about the security of supplies have contributed to rising crude oil prices,” concludes the EIA. And unfortunately, “the prospects for significant improvement in the world petroleum supply and demand balance appear to be fading.” See the EIA report, and for a closer look at high oil prices, see also the May 3rd edition of “This Week in Petroleum,” another EIA publication.

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