U.S. Government Accelerates its Purchase of Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
President Obama announced last week that the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will buy about 17,600 new, fuel-efficient vehicles from U.S. auto companies by June 1.
The purchase will draw on funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will be on an accelerated schedule to help support U.S. automakers. The GSA will spend $285 million to purchase vehicles from General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. The purchase includes 2,500 hybrid sedans – the largest one-time purchase of hybrids for the federal government to date – and each new vehicle will yield at least a 10% fuel economy improvement over the vehicle it replaces. The GSA will also spend $15 million by the end of September to purchase a pilot fleet of advanced-technology vehicles, including all-electric vehicles, hybrid buses, and buses that run on compressed natural gas. See the White House press release.
DOE Launches the Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance
DOE has launched the Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance (CREEA), a partnership of commercial real estate owners and operators that have volunteered to work with DOE to drastically reduce the commercial real estate sector’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Commercial buildings account for 18% of the nation’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions. CREEA will link commercial building owners and operators and DOE’s research and technologies, and will act as national forum to share best practices and practical experiences in energy efficiency.
CREEA steering committee members include leading real estate and building engineering organizations; the U.S. General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings; U.S. and global leaders in real estate services, such as CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Grubb & Ellis Company, Jones Lang LaSalle, Transwestern, and USAA Real Estate Company; and top hotel, casino, and resort owners, such as Hilton Hotels Corporation, MGM Mirage, The Walt Disney Company, and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC.
CREEA is the second energy alliance launched by DOE in the commercial buildings sector. The Retailer Energy Alliance, launched in 2008, provides similar resources and services for retail businesses, including Walmart, Target, and Macy’s. Both alliances are part of DOE’s Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative, which aims to achieve market-ready, net-zero-energy commercial buildings by 2025.
The initiative is supported by the National Laboratory Collaborative on Building Technologies, under which five of DOE’s national laboratories have been working toward the net-zero energy goal, and the Commercial Building National Accounts, which includes DOE-selected companies and organizations that conduct cost-shared research, development, and deployment for new building technologies. See the DOE press release and the CREEA Web page on DOE’s Building Technologies Program Web site.
DOE has taken a number of steps to encourage energy efficiency in new building design. In 2001, it released the first version of EnergyPlus, an energy modeling tool that has been updated at least twice each year. And last year, DOE released OpenStudio, a plug-in for the Google SketchUp 3-D drawing program that allows SketchUp to work seamlessly with the EnergyPlus program.
The most recent versions of both EnergyPlus and OpenStudio were released on Monday, and both are available on the EnergyPlus page of DOE’s Building Technologies Program Web site. That site also features a selection of benchmark models for 16 types of building in 16 locations to help designers understand the energy use of similar new buildings. The models were developed last year with the help of three of DOE’s national laboratories.
Architect Group Names Top Ten Green Buildings for 2009
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named the year’s top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and green design, selected by the AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE). Many of the new buildings have achieved LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of achievement under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification program. The top buildings cover a range of uses, including a student center, a synagogue, apartment buildings, and large commercial buildings. They are located in six U.S. states – California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington-as well as in Victoria, British Columbia, and in Beirut, Lebanon.
In terms of energy, most of the winning buildings make use of natural daylighting, ventilation, and shading. The buildings also draw on such energy technologies as radiant heating and cooling, evaporative cooling, displacement cooling, waste heat recovery, water-source heat pumps, variable-speed pumps and fans, lighting controls, high-performance windows and doors, automated exterior blinds and louvers, and energy-efficient appliances and equipment. Many generate renewable energy on-site using solar photovoltaic power systems, while the more innovative on-site energy systems include a 200-kilowatt wind turbine and a biomass gasification system that runs on waste wood. See the AIA press release and the AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects Web site.
FERC, Interior Department Sign Agreement on Offshore Renewable Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the U.S. Department of the Interior have formalized an agreement for working cooperatively to lease and license renewable energy projects on the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS).
Following up on a general agreement reached in March, the two federal agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding on April 9 to clarify each agency’s jurisdictional responsibilities. Under the agreement, Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) has exclusive jurisdiction for non-hydrokinetic projects on the OCS, including wind and solar power, and to issue leases, easements, and rights-of-way regarding the OCS lands needed for hydrokinetic projects. FERC will issue licenses and exemptions from licensing for the construction and operation of hydrokinetic projects on the OCS, but only after the applicant has earned a lease, easement, or right-of-way from the MMS.
Hydrokinetic projects rely on moving water to generate electricity, but without the use of a dam. These include wave and tidal energy devices, as well as in-stream turbines that can capture energy from such sources as the Gulf Stream. To help expedite the in-ocean testing of such devices, which are still under development, FERC has been issuing preliminary permits to some wave and tidal energy companies.
However, under the new agreement, FERC will no longer issue such preliminary permits. Instead, the companies will have to obtain a lease, easement, or right-of-way from the MMS, which will conduct any necessary environmental reviews, including those required under the National Environmental Policy Act. See the Interior Department press release and the full MOU (PDF 15 KB).
Meanwhile, DOE is offering to invest as much as $12 million in advanced water power technologies over the next two fiscal years, subject to congressional appropriations. The funds will go toward developing and testing marine and hydrokinetic devices and performing site-specific environmental studies related to the installation, testing, and operation of those devices. Some funds will also go toward resource and cost assessments of U.S. offshore, in-stream, ocean thermal, and advanced hydropower resources. DOE expects to select 7 projects for awards of up to $1.5 million. There’s no direct link to the Funding Opportunity Announcement, so if interested, please follow the directions in DOE’s Progress Alert, issued on April 8.
U.S. Wind Power Industry Increases Employment by 70% in One Year
The U.S. wind industry directly employs about 85,000 people today, a 70% increase from a year ago, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The trade association’s annual wind industry report, released on Monday, found that 10 new manufacturing facilities went online in the past year, while 17 were expanded and another 30 new facilities were announced. The new facilities are located in 24 states, so the economic benefits are being distributed around most of the country. GE Energy continues to dominate the market share for wind turbines in the US, although it faces increased competition from foreign companies, as five new companies entered the U.S. market in 2008. But that’s not entirely bad news, as foreign companies like Acciona Energy, Siemens, and Vestas are making significant investments in new U.S.-based manufacturing facilities.
The U.S. market for small wind turbines nearly doubled in 2008, as more than 10,000 turbines were sold, adding 19.2 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity. Small wind turbines are defined as 100 kilowatts or less in capacity, the type most likely to be used by residences and small businesses. The industry is bullish on continued growth, projecting a 30-fold increase in as little as five years, despite the economic slowdown. The US continues to command roughly half the global market for small wind turbines, and one-third of the global manufacturers are located here. Incentives such as the federal investment tax credit are spurring rapid growth in this area.
And while the overall U.S. wind power industry experienced record growth in 2008, the sluggish economy and lack of credit are expected to slow wind development significantly this year. A record 8,545 MW of wind power were installed in 2008, but for 2009 the growth is expected to drop to only 5,000 MW.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is meant to help with that by allowing alternatives to tax credits, which lost their appeal during the economic downturn. However, electric transmission capacity is also holding back wind power growth, as an estimated 300,000 MW of proposed wind projects are currently waiting for access to the grid. According to AWEA, most of those projects cannot be accommodated by today’s electrical grid. The recovery act is also meant to ease this situation, as it provides for major investments in electrical transmission capacity. See the AWEA press release and the full wind industry report (PDF 1.7 MB).
Mercedes-Benz Offers Hybrid with Lithium-Ion Battery at a $12K Premium
Mercedes-Benz is taking orders in Germany for its S400 Hybrid, the first production hybrid vehicle in the world to feature a lithium-ion battery pack, and the company is charging a premium of over $12,000 for the hybrid system.
The hybrid is based on its S350 luxury sedan, which sells for 76,160 Euros ($100,932). The basic price for the S400 Hybrid is 85,323 Euros ($113,088), a premium of $12,156 above the cost of the S350. Considering the anticipated high cost of lithium-ion batteries, the premium isn’t excessive.
For comparison, Ford Motor Company is charging premiums of $8,000-$9,400 for its new hybrid sedans, which have standard nickel-metal-hydride batteries. The comparable premium for the S400 Hybrid bodes well for upcoming plug-in hybrids, which will depend on much larger battery packs made with lithium-ion batteries. The S400 Hybrid combines a V6 engine with a 15-kilowatt motor to achieve a fuel economy of nearly 30 miles per gallon. See the recent Mercedes-Benz press release on the S-Series pricing and the earlier press release on the S 400 Hybrid technology.
Mercedes-Benz first unveiled the S400 Hybrid at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, but the company chose to debut another hybrid at the New York International Auto Show, which runs through April 19. The Mercedes-Benz ML 450 Hybrid is a SUV with a V6 engine that achieves the performance of a V8. Unlike the S400 Hybrid, the ML 450 Hybrid features a liquid-cooled nickel-metal-hydride battery pack. Specifically designed for the U.S. market, the SUV achieves a fuel economy of 21 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. See the Mercedes-Benz press release.
While plenty of electric vehicles and hybrids are on display at this year’s New York International Auto Show, relatively few of those are new vehicle debuts. Adding a rare bit of novelty to the green car displays at the show was Hyundai, which unveiled the Nuvis hybrid concept. The Hyundai Nuvis combines a 2.4-liter engine with a 30-kilowatt motor, with energy storage provided by a lithium polymer battery pack, which Hyundai claims to be superior to lithium-ion batteries. The crossover vehicle achieves an estimated 34 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway. The Nuvis provides an interesting package for the Hyundai "Blue Drive" hybrid system, but the company says the system is more likely to appear in a future version of the Hyundai Sonata. See the Hyundai press release and the New York International Auto Show Web site.
EIA Expects Gasoline Prices to Rise Moderately by Summer
Average U.S. retail prices for regular gasoline are expected to average $2.23 per gallon during the so-called "summer driving season," which runs from April through September. That’s the latest projection from DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), which released its "Summer Fuels Outlook" yesterday, as part of its monthly "Short-Term Energy Outlook."
The $2.23 per gallon figure represents an increase from today’s price of roughly $2.05 per gallon, but it’s still nearly $1.60 per gallon lower than during last year’s driving season. The monthly average price of regular gasoline is expected to peak at $2.30 per gallon this summer, according to the EIA. Meanwhile, a continued lack of demand for diesel fuel may push its price below that of gasoline this summer.
From a global perspective, the worldwide demand for oil is expected to drop 1.35 million barrels per day in 2009, with a drop of 1.6 million barrels per day in highly developed countries offset by an increase of 270,000 barrels per day in developing countries. Assuming that the world economy begins to recover in 2010, world oil consumption is expected to grow by 1.1 million barrels per day by the end of that year, which will still leave global demand lower than when this year began.
With the drop in demand, oil prices dropped from an average of $100 per barrel in 2008 to a projected average of $53 per barrel this year. Prices are expected to increase only slightly in 2010, reaching an average of $63 per barrel. See the EIA’s "Short-Term Energy Outlook," as well as the EIA’s latest gasoline and diesel fuel prices.
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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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