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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:July 13, 2005

News and Events DOE Awards $26.5 Million to 38 States for Energy Efficiency DOE, HUD, and EPA Form Partnership for Home Energy Efficiency G8 Leaders Commit to Clean Energy Technologies at Summit Mariner Hybrid on Sale as Honda Unveils Improved Hybrid System New National Coalition to Promote Wind Power USDA Begins Process to Designate Preferred Biobased ProductsSite NewsIndustrial Efficiency Alliance Energy ConnectionsU.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increased 1.7 Percent in 2004 News and EventsDOE Awards $26.5 Million to 38 States for Energy EfficiencyDOE announced last week its award of $26.5 million in State Energy Program (SEP) grants to 38 states. The award is part of $44 million to be distributed this fiscal year to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. The SEP grants support and encourage state goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy, including efforts such as energy awareness programs, technical support services for energy efficiency improvements, and projects to install energy efficient and renewable energy technologies. See the DOE press release.On average, every dollar invested by SEP is matched by $3.54 by state and local governments and the private sector, and results in energy savings worth $7.23. Part of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency […]

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Behind the Scenes, Greening Our U.S. Parks

When you visit U.S. national and state parks this summer, you’ll be happy to know they are managed by a company that thinks like you do. Xanterra is the largest national and state park management company in the U.S. – serving over 17 million people a year who visit U.S. parks.Its 8,000 employees operate 33 hotels and lodges with over 5,000 guest rooms, 50 retail stores, 64 restaurants and 1,800 campsites in national and state parks like Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion. Xanterra’s efforts cover the full range of sustainability concerns from energy and waste reduction to green procurement, from serving sustainable food to using renewable energy. In its first sustainability report, published this year, president Andrew Todd says, “Whether we provide comfortable rooms through efficient lighting and heating systems, operate a clean-burning transportation system or serve food that does not deplete ocean fisheries or harm ecosystems, I know that we can exceed guest expectations while maintaining environmental priorities.”Some of its notable activities to protect our parks are: * reduced fuel emissions at the Grand Canyon to almost zero by switching from fuel oil to propane fuel. The new boilers release literally 80 times less CO2 and run […]

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:July 6, 2005

News and Events Oil Companies, U.K. Utility to Fuel Power Plant with Hydrogen Hydrogen-Fueled Vehicle Achieves 12,665 MPG on Test Track Honda is First to Lease Fuel-Cell Vehicle to Private Family U.S. Automakers and EPA to Cut Energy Use in Assembly Plants Maine Governor Approves Rebates for Solar Energy Systems New University Centers Focus on Energy Challenges Site News“Our Wind Co-Op” Brings Small Wind Turbines to the Northwest Energy ConnectionsFrance to Host International Fusion Research Reactor News and EventsOil Companies, U.K. Utility to Fuel Power Plant with HydrogenBP, ConocoPhillips, Shell, and the largest utility in the United Kingdom announced last week their plan to develop an industrial-scale “carbon free” power plant fueled with hydrogen. Under the plan, up to 70 million cubic feet of natural gas will be converted into hydrogen each day to fuel a new 350-megawatt power station near Peterhead in northeast Scotland. The hydrogen production process will generate carbon dioxide, which will be captured and shipped via existing pipelines to an oil field in the North Sea, 150 miles off the coast, where it will be injected into the oil reservoir. Compared to a power plant fueled directly with natural gas, the proposed plant will reduce carbon […]

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:June 22, 2005

News and Events DOE to Award $2.5 Million to 18 Tribes for Efficiency, Renewable Energy Nissan to Build Altima Hybrid in Tennessee Starting in 2006 Indiana Students Achieve 1,836 MPG in Supermileage Competition Ethanol Partnership Plans to Produce Biodiesel from Corn Vermont Sets Renewable Energy Requirement; Iowa Expands Tax Credits Planetary Society Launches a Solar SailEnergy ConnectionsInternational Funding Helps Shape China’s Energy Future News and EventsDOE to Award $2.5 Million to 18 Tribes for Efficiency, Renewable EnergyDOE announced last week that it plans to award nearly $2.5 million to 18 Native American tribes to advance the use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies on tribal lands. The tribes will investigate energy audits, energy efficiency improvements, and a wide range of renewable energy technologies, including biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind energy. Notable projects include plans to tap geothermal energy resources on the Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal lands in central Oklahoma, efforts to evaluate wind power development in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and plans to install utility-scale wind power plants on tribal lands of the Hualapai and Hopi in Arizona. See the DOE press release, or go directly to the full list of projects (PDF 9 KB). The grants are […]

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China & the World's Forests

When it comes to having a small footprint on the planet’s resources, what may seem trivial really adds up. As China industrializes it uses more of everything, and even the increased use of toilet paper is becoming a problem. Wang Yueqin, vice-director of Shanghai Paper Trade Association said: “While I am happy to see many young people adopt paper tissue for its convenience, which is a sign to reflect our social development and has helped improve our industry to some part, I am beginning to worry about the large wood consumption. The 140,000 tons of tissues and toilet paper Shanghai uses every year consumes some 80,000 tons of wood pulp, equal to about 300,000 tons of wood.” Wang said the Association has been advocating using paper more economically. “We are also trying to encourage the application of new materials and technology to save wood,” he said.A factory in Jiangsu Province has invented technology to make toilet paper and tissue from straw, and another one in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region can produce tissue from the dregs of sugarcane, said Wang. Wood pulp used to produce various kinds of paper has become the third largest product imported by China after petroleum and […]

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Financing Energy Efficiency through "Green" Mortgages

by Roddy ScheerWhen Caroline and Tommy Chang decided to refinance their 35-year-old home to take advantage of lower interest rates, their lender suggested financing energy improvements through their new mortgage deal as well. After having their home inspected and obtaining a green rating, they qualified for an energy-efficient mortgage (EEM), increasing the size of their loan by almost $9,000 to cover the costs of adding insulation, replacing windows and making various duct repairs.Once the loan came through and the upgrades were put in place, the Changs were living more comfortably, using less resources – and saving $230 a month. “We’re just amazed at the difference. We’ve hardly used the furnace all winter. The house is much quieter too,” says Caroline Chang.Resizing Your FootprintGiven that most of us spend as much as two-thirds of our time at home, our environmental footprints are largely determined by the efficiency of our residential heating and cooling systems and the resources we consume to keep our houses up and running. But what many homeowners don’t realize is that the benefits of improved energy efficiency extend beyond savings on utility bills and reduced resource consumption.A movement is afoot among real estate lenders to offer special mortgage […]

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