The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

EERE Network News -- 09/08/04

A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The EERE Network News is also available on the Web at: www.eere.energy.gov/news/

September 08, 2004

News and Events

Minnesota Utility to Award $22 Million to Renewable Projects

Renewable Energy Powered the Republican National Convention

Energy-Efficient Solar Homes Sprouting Up Nationwide

NASA Releases Report on Crash of Helios Solar Plane

U.S. Wind Power Industry Expects Meager Growth in 2004

California Utility Reopens Residential Energy Efficiency Program



Site News

American Bar Association Focuses on Renewable Energy


Energy Connections

Utility Plans Commercial "Clean Coal" Power Plant by 2010


News and Events

Minnesota Utility to Award $22 Million to Renewable Projects

Xcel Energy announced last week its selection of 25 proposed renewable energy projects to receive $22 million from its Renewable Development Fund. The projects include seven efforts to draw on renewable energy in Minnesota, including two wind turbines, two anaerobic digesters, a biomass energy combined heat and power plant, a project to increase biomass use at a University of Minnesota steam plant, and a hydropower facility refurbishment. The remaining 18 projects are research efforts relating to biomass energy, solar cells, and hydrogen production.

DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory is working with the University of Minnesota on two of the three solar-cell research projects. The Renewable Development Fund was established by Minnesota statute and is funded by the state's ratepayers. The 25 selected projects are subject to final approval by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. See Xcel Energy press release or go directly to the selection report (PDF 351 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.


Renewable Energy Powered the Republican National Convention

The Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Conventions (CERC) announced on August 26th that the 2004 Republican National Convention relied in part on renewable energy to minimize its environmental impact. The convention's host committee bought enough renewable energy credits from New York's Fenner Wind Farm to equal the anticipated energy use at Madison Square Garden. In addition, CERC bought enough renewable energy certificates from New York's hydropower and landfill gas facilities to equal the electricity used by the 50,000 convention guests and delegates while staying at area hotels. CERC also bought carbon credits to offset the greenhouse gases emitted when the guests and delegates traveled to and from the convention. And, as previously announced by the convention, eight General Motors hybrid buses shuttled delegates and guests around the city. The convention concluded on Thursday, September 2nd. See the CERC press release (PDF 151 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.

CERC is a non-partisan, non-profit coalition of more than 50 leading New York and Boston environmental organizations and businesses such as Union of Concerned Scientists, Saunders Hotel Group, CERES, Starwood Hotels, and New England Aquarium. The group provided similar services to the Democratic National Convention in late July. See CERC's June 17th press release (PDF 471 KB).


Renewable energy certificates, also called tradable renewable certificates, are largely responsible for a large growth in green power sales in 2003, according to preliminary data from the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). The non-profit organization, which manages the Green-e certification program, found an 86-percent increase in Green-e-certified renewable electricity sales in 2003 compared with the previous year. Although utility green power sales to customers increased 12 percent, the sale of renewable energy certificates increased 12-fold. Unfortunately, a loss of green power sales in California after the state's energy crisis led to a decline in retail sales of green power, as well as a decline in the number of customers buying retail green power in competitive power markets. See the CRS press release.


Speaking of green power, the Ninth National Green Power Marketing Conference is only a month away. The conference will be held in Albany, New York, from October 4th through the 6th. See the conference Web site.


Energy-Efficient Solar Homes Sprouting Up Nationwide

All 90 homes in this California community will include solar power systems.Credit: SunWize Technologies Inc.

Energy-efficient homes that make good use of their solar energy resources are appearing in more and more communities throughout the United States. In Lakeport, California, for instance, a community of 90 energy-efficient solar homes is currently being built. Each home incorporates a 2.5-kilowatt solar power system from SunWize Technologies. The modular homes, built by Faqua in its factory in Oregon, are highly insulated and include low-emissivity windows and Energy Star appliances. The homes are also "affordable" by California standards: only $230,000 each, with the added advantage of low utility bills. See the SunWize press release (PDF 115 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.


DOE and its home building partners are working toward a higher goal: so-called zero energy homes, which over the course of a year produce as much energy as they consume. In July, the fourth near-zero-energy Habitat for Humanity home was completed near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Located in Lenoir City, the house features an airtight exterior built of structural insulated panels and insulated pre-cast concrete walls, and helps keep cool using roof and wall coatings with infrared reflective pigments. Power from a grid-connected solar power system helps drive a geothermal heat pump that provides efficient space heating and cooling as well as hot water. Built with support from DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Habitat houses are part of DOE's Building America program. See the ORNL press release.

Zero energy homes are the focus of the Solar Decathlon, a DOE competition in which teams from colleges and universities around the globe converge on Washington, D.C., to build energy-efficient, completely solar-powered homes. Nineteen teams from across the United States, as well as from Canada, Puerto Rico, and Spain, are gearing up for the 2005 competition, which is just over a year away. Find out the latest about the teams and the competition on the Solar Decathlon Web site; a 141-page review of the 2002 Solar Decathlon is also available (PDF 2.1 MB).


While you're waiting for the 2005 Solar Decathlon, an event next month will give you an opportunity to visit solar homes in your own neighborhood. The 2004 National Solar Tour, sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society, will be held on October 2nd. To find solar tours in your area or to help organize a local tour, visit the National Solar Tour Web site.


NASA Releases Report on Crash of Helios Solar Plane

The wing tips of the Helios bent up sharply (left) shortly before the craft failed. Credit: NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released its final report last week on the crash of Helios, a solar-powered "flying wing" that suffered structural failure and fell into the Pacific Ocean during a long-duration test flight last summer. A review of the flight data concluded that atmospheric turbulence caused the plane's wing tips to bend upward abnormally and then caused the entire wing to oscillate. The growing oscillations caused the Helios to gain speed until it suffered a structural failure. The accident investigation board determined that the mishap resulted from the inability to predict, using available analysis methods, the aircraft's increased sensitivity to turbulence following modifications to allow long-duration flights. Specifically, the addition of a hydrogen-air fuel cell pod, hydrogen and oxygen storage tanks, and a battery backup system placed significant loads along the length of the flying wing, reducing the safety margins for the aircraft. See the press release from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center or go directly to the full report (PDF 2.6 MB). Download Acrobat Reader.


U.S. Wind Power Industry Expects Meager Growth in 2004

The growth of wind power in the United States has slowed to a crawl, according to a recent report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). As of early August, the industry had installed less than 30 megawatts of wind power in 2004, and AWEA expects less than 350 megawatts of new capacity by the end of the year, a steep drop from the 1,687 megawatts installed in 2003. According to AWEA, the expiration of the federal production tax credit for wind power has left more than 2,000 megawatts of new wind power projects on hold. The tax credit expired at the end of 2003, although a bill to extend the tax credit is working its way through Congress. See the AWEA press release.

One of the few new projects currently moving ahead is a 60-megawatt wind power project spearheaded by Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). The utility recently won approval from its board of directors to award a contract to Renewable Energy Systems to construct a facility 6 miles south of Ainsworth, Nebraska, and the Nebraska Power Review Board approved project construction on August 26th. The utility needs to finalize agreements with other utilities on the project before construction can begin. NPPD expects the wind plant to begin operating in late 2005. See the NPPD press releases.

Meanwhile, companies in other countries are pushing ahead with offshore wind power projects. Nai Kun Wind Development Inc. is proposing to build a 700-megawatt wind plant in the strait between Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia, Canada. And Talisman Energy, an oil and gas producer, announced in late August that it will spend nearly $45 million on a deep-water wind demonstration project located about 15 miles off the coast of Scotland. The wind turbines will be located in about 100 feet of water and will provide power to nearby oil platforms in the Beatrice oil field. The project is expected to begin producing power in late 2006. See the Nai Kun Web site and the Talisman Energy press release.


California Utility Reopens Residential Energy Efficiency Program

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), one of the largest utilities in California, announced last week that it has reopened its popular program of energy efficiency rebates for residences. The utility has an additional $6.5 million in funds to keep the rebates flowing until the end of the year. PG&E closed the program in early July for lack of funds, but recently earned approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to redirect some unspent funds toward the rebate program. See the PG&E press release.

PG&E is also offering discounts on Energy Star lighting. Now through October 31st, 750 retail and hardware stores in the utility's service area are offering instant discounts on compact fluorescent lamps and energy-efficient light fixtures and torchiere lamps. See the PG&E press release.

Meanwhile, the state's other major residential energy efficiency rebate programs continue to run low. As of August 25th, Southern California Edison (SCE) was down to 13 percent of its residential rebate funds. San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) closed most of its residential rebate programs in mid-August. See the SCE and SDG&E Web sites.


Site News

American Bar Association Focuses on Renewable Energy
The American Bar Association (ABA) recently launched a Renewable Energy Resources Committee, which aims to tackle such issues as financial structuring, incentives to stimulate development, techniques for addressing regulatory constraints, synergies with environmental legal requirements, and measures to maximize the value of the legal benefits of renewable energy projects. The committee is hosting a series of monthly teleconferences; the first, in San Francisco on September 15th, is available via videoconference in four major cities and via telephone hookup in eight major cities. See the ABA Renewable Energy Resources Committee Web site.


Energy Connections

Utility Plans Commercial "Clean Coal" Power Plant by 2010

Will so-called "clean coal" technologies compete with renewable energy and other power sources within the next decade? Although these technologies currently exist only as demonstration plants, American Electric Power (AEP) announced in late August that the company will build at least one commercial-scale integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant as early as 2010. IGCC technology converts coal into a gas and passes it through pollutant-removal equipment before the gas is burned. The process is more efficient than conventional coal combustion and results in fewer emissions of nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide. Carbon capture is also expected to be easier from an IGCC plant than from typical coal plants, although that process has not been demonstrated yet. AEP has not yet set a construction timetable or location for its proposed facility. See the AEP press release.


This newsletter is funded by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and is also available on the EERE news page.

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