Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:June 21, 2006

News & Events

Meanwhile, the California Independent System Operator (ISO), which manages the flow of power on the state’s power grid, has established a four-point program to assure that the grid can accommodate new renewable power plants. The plan includes considering renewable power growth when evaluating proposed transmission projects, avoiding financial disincentives for renewable energy in power marketing, using forecasting an
d management tools to effectively integrate renewable power into grid operations, and upgrading an existing program that aims to remove barriers for intermittent renewable energy sources. See the California ISO press release (PDF 117 KB).

Finally, Southern California Edison (SCE) announced in May that it has reached an agreement with its four largest renewable energy suppliers to establish a fixed price through 2012 for its purchases of small hydropower and wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal power. The agreement establishes a price of 6.15 cents per kilowatt-hour, increasing by 1 percent per year, and eliminates any tie to natural gas prices, which had previously caused prices to vary widely. The agreement was reached with Caithness Energy, LLC, which owns wind and geothermal plants; Colmac Energy Inc., which owns a 47-megawatt biomass power plant on the Cabazon Indian Reservation near Mecca; Ormat Technologies, Inc., which owns three geothermal plants in the Imperial Valley; and FPL Energy, which owns wind and solar thermal power plants. In June, six subsidiaries of CE Generation, LLC, all of which own geothermal plants, also signed onto the deal. See the press releases from Edison International (SCE’s parent company), Ormat, and CE Generation.

Idaho Power Seeks 100 Megawatts of Geothermal Power

Idaho Power issued a request for proposals (RFP) in early June for 100 megawatts of geothermal power. Although the request may seem bold for a state that currently has no geothermal power plants, the Idaho Power RFP actually allows for geothermal power developments outside of the state, so long as the power can be transmitted to the Idaho Power service territory, which covers much of southern Idaho and parts of eastern Oregon. The RFP is based on the company’s 2004 Integrated Resource Plan, a biennial effort to examine the company’s need for future power generation facilities or other means to meet power requirements over the following 20 years. Idaho Power prefers projects that will be online by June 2009, but will also consider other proposals that include a reasonable development schedule. The company will hold a pre-bid meeting in Boise for all interested parties on June 29th; proposals are due on August 11th. See the Idaho Power announcement and RFP.

The RFP has already benefited Idaho’s sole geothermal power developer, U.S. Geothermal, Inc. The company had signed an agreement to sell 10 megawatts of power to Idaho Power from its proposed 13-megawatt Raft River geothermal power plant. U.S. Geothermal now plans to submit a response to the Idaho Power RFP, which could allow it to sell the full 13 megawatts of power to the utility. Meanwhile, the company is negotiating with the Eugene Power and Water Board for the sale of power from its second proposed geothermal plant, which will also produce 13 megawatts of power. The Raft River Geothermal Project is located in south-central Idaho, and the first plant is expected to start producing power next year. See the U.S. Geothermal press release (PDF 39 KB).

Researcher Wins Major Technical Prize for His Work on LEDs

Technology innovations occur everyday, but what can hold a candle to the invention of the World Wide Web? According to a leading Finnish foundation, it’s the invention of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that emit new colors, including blue, green, and white. Finland’s Millennium Prize Foundation announced last week that its 2006 Millennium Technology Prize will go to Professor Shuji Nakamura of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Nakamura’s breakthroughs with LEDs in the early 90s achieved in a short span what other researchers had spent decades trying to do, according to the foundation. Green LEDs are now saving electricity in traffic lights throughout the world, while white LEDs could revolutionize the lighting industry. Nakamura has also developed a blue laser that is employed in new high-definition DVD players.

The professor is the second winner of the Millennium Technology Prize; the first award went to Tim Berners-Lee, developer of the World Wide Web. The Millennium Technology Prize is the largest technology prize in the world, awarding one million Euros (about $1.25 million) to its winner; Nakamura plans to donate some of the award to universities and groups that help to implement solid-state lighting in developing countries. See the press releases from the Millennium Prize Foundation and UCSB.

Canadian Team Achieves 3,415 mpg in Supermileage Competition

A team of students from the University of British Columbia (UBC) achieved 3,415 miles per gallon (mpg) on a racetrack in Michigan in early June to win the 2006 Supermileage competition. Sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Supermileage competition offers a simple yet challenging goal: to build one-person, fuel-efficient vehicles based around small four-cycle engines, which are donated by Briggs & Stratton. Combining improved aerodynamics, a leaner fuel mix, and lower rolling resistance, UBC managed to more than double its fuel economy since last year’s competition, when the university team was beat by a team from Mater Dei High School from Evansville, Indiana. This year, Mater Dei achieved the second-highest fuel economy, but at 1,897 mpg, it was a far cry from UBC’s achievement. This year’s competition included 29 collegiate teams and 12 high school teams. See the SAE Supermileage Web site, this year’s results (PDF 226 KB), and the UBC Supermileage Web site.

If that impresses you, look back to May for the Shell Eco-marathon in southwest France, where a French engineering team achieved the energy equivalent of 6,785 miles per gallon using
an ethanol-fueled vehicle. Unfortunately, Shell does not say how the energy equivalence was calculated. The French vehicle also emitted the lowest greenhouse gases per mile, beating many hydrogen-fueled competitors. France was also the location for this year’s Michelin Challenge Bibendum, a road rally that promotes sustainable mobility. Volvo won 16 gold medals at the event with several alternative fuel vehicles, including one that could run on five fuels: hythane (a blend of hydrogen and methane), biomethane, compressed natural gas, E85, and gasoline. Volvo also won gold with a diesel vehicle that achieves 48 miles per gallon of diesel fuel. Back in the United States, history was made early this month in Watkins Glen, New York, with the debut of the first official SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) road rally that featured hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles. Thirty-five vehicles participated in the rally. See the Shell Eco-marathon and Michelin Challenge Bibendum Web sites, the Volvo press release, and the 2006 Green Grand Prix Web site.

Energy Connections

EIA Forecasts Large Growth in World Energy Demand through 2030

The world’s consumption of energy is projected to grow 71 percent by 2030, with energy use in China, India, and other developing countries growing the fastest, according to DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA’s “International Energy Outlook 2006,” released yesterday, boosts the projected cost of oil in 2025 to $57 per barrel (a 35 percent increase over last year’s projection), causing a decrease in oil demand and a shift to natural gas and coal. But petroleum demand is still projected to grow significantly, reaching 118 million barrels per day in 2030, a 47 percent increase above the petroleum demand in 2003. The United States, China, and India cause more than half of the projected growth in oil demand. In the EIA reference case, which does not include policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increase from 25 billion metric tons in 2003 to 43.7 billion metric tons in 2030, with developing countries accounting for three-quarters of the projected growth. See the EIA press release and the full report.

Those long-term trends are already apparent in the world energy statistics for 2005, which were recently released by BP. According to the BP report, world energy consumption increased 2.7 percent in 2005, with China accounting for more than half the growth. The report also shows a 1 percent increase in world petroleum consumption in 2005, to more than 81 million barrels per day. Oil sold at an average of $54.52 per barrel, a 40 percent increase over 2004 prices. As a result, the growth in petroleum use in China slowed to 200,000 barrels per day, one-fifth of last year’s growth, while petroleum use in the United States actually dropped by 75,000 barrels per day. Natural gas consumption also dropped in the United States, but experienced a 2.3 percent growth worldwide, while coal consumption grew by 5 percent. China was responsible for 80 percent of the growth in demand for coal. See the report, “Statistical Review of World Energy 2006,” on the BP Web site.

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