| DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has signed a $27 million, multi-year contract with the General Electric Company (GE) to develop a new offshore wind power system over the next several years. DOE will provide about $8 million for the project, which was announced last week. The goal of the project is to design, fabricate, and test an offshore wind turbine that could produce power at a cost of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, about half the current cost. GE expects the turbine to produce 5 to 7 megawatts of power, nearly double the capacity of GE's largest commercial wind turbine. The advanced wind system will include innovative foundations, construction techniques, rotor designs, and drivetrains, as well as electrical components designed for the harsh offshore environment. Offshore wind power installations could benefit populated U.S. coastal regions with high energy prices. See the press releases from GE and DOE and the "Offshore Wind Turbine Technology" page on the DOE Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program Web site. A number of European wind turbine manufacturers are developing similar large offshore wind turbines. REPower, a German company, has been operating a 5-megawatt wind turbine at an onshore test site for more than a year, and plans to install two turbines off the Scottish coast this summer. The Engineering Business Limited (EB) will supply barge-mounted equipment to install the wind turbines fully assembled, at a location 23 miles from shore where the ocean is about 150 feet deep. Meanwhile, Enercon GmbH, another German company, has developed a 6-megawatt wind turbine prototype, while Vestas Wind Systems A/S, a Danish company, plans to market a 4.5-megawatt wind turbine by 2009. See the REPower Web site, the EB press release, and the Enercon and Vestas Web sites. New technologies show promise for building larger wind turbines. For example, Owens Corning claims it has developed a reinforcement fabric for wind turbine blades that will allow wind blades to be 6 percent longer, producing 12 percent more power. The product will be commercially available late this year. See the Owens Corning press release. Clean energy markets grew to $40 billion in 2005 and are poised to expand fourfold to $167 billion by 2015, according to a new report from Clean Edge, Inc., a clean technology research and publishing firm. "Clean Energy Trends 2006" examines biofuels, wind power, solar photovoltaic systems, and the fuel cell and distributed hydrogen markets, and predicts rapid growth for each. But it also warns of challenges facing each industry, including distribution channels for biofuels, rising steel costs for building wind turbines, a shortage of silicon for solar cells, and the slow adoption of fuel cells and hydrogen. Despite these challenges, the report calls clean energy "one of the fastest-growing technology sectors on the planet." Investment firm Nth Power is the lead sponsor of the report. See the report on the Nth Power Web site (PDF 521 KB). Download Adobe Reader. The global growth in clean energy technologies appears likely to translate into positive economic benefits for the United States. In February, a report from consultant group Ernst & Young ranked the top 20 countries in terms of their ability to offer strong growth and attract capital investments in renewable energy technologies. In a near tie, Spain and the United States earned the top spots on the list. See the report, "Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices," on the Ernst & Young Web site. Pennsylvania attracted a significant capital investment just last week, as Governor Edward Rendell announced that Gamesa Corporation, a Spanish wind energy company, is investing $34 million in three modern wind turbine manufacturing facilities in Fairless Hills, about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia. The three plants will all begin production this year, employing more than 300 people in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, towers, and nacelles, which house the wind turbines. See the press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The governors of Minnesota and Wisconsin have signed new executive orders requiring their state governments to use more renewable fuels in their vehicles. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle took a hard line, requiring all state agencies to reduce the use of gasoline in state-owned vehicles by 20 percent by 2010 and by 50 percent by 2015, while reducing the use of diesel fuel by 10 percent by 2010 and 25 percent by 2015. The order requires an awareness campaign for renewable fuels and directs appropriate state agencies to actively pursue the establishment of renewable fuel pumps at retail outlets. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty also required state agencies to help strengthen the state's renewable fuel infrastructure, and required all state employees to use E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) whenever practical when refueling the state's fleet of flexible fuel vehicles. See the Minnesota and Wisconsin executive orders. The Volvo Group introduced last week a concept bus and truck powered by hybrid electric diesel drivetrains, which offer fuel savings of up to 35 percent. The Volvo Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses, sold through Mack, Renault Trucks, Volvo Trucks, and Volvo Buses. The Volvo hybrid technology features a single device that serves as a starter motor, drive motor, and generator. The motor can start and accelerate the heavy vehicles without assistance from the diesel engine. Volvo is also developing an advanced lead acid battery for use in the hybrid vehicles. See the Volvo press release. When it begins selling hybrid trucks and buses, Volvo will face stiff competition from General Motors Corporation (GM), which already has 380 hybrid buses operating in 29 North American cities. In January, GM sold another 157 hybrid buses to a consortium of transit agencies in California, Nevada, and New Mexico. In February, the transit authority in Cleveland, Ohio, began testing a GM hybrid bus for a new bus rapid transit system. DaimlerChrysler is also in the market through its Orion brand hybrid buses, powered by a hybrid drive developed by BAE Systems. A recent study in New York City by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory concluded that the Orion VII hybrid bus achieved up to 45 percent better fuel economy than diesel buses running on the same routes. Meanwhile, Enova Systems, Inc.—another hybrid drive developer—has recently built prototypes of a hybrid school bus and a medium-duty truck and has supplied Ford Motor Company with hybrid components now being used in six hybrid transit buses. See the GM press releases on the hybrid bus sale and the test in Cleveland; the BAE Systems press release; and the Enova press releases. Consumer Reports announced a rare revision of one of its articles last week, correcting a story that found the extra cost of hybrid vehicles is not reclaimed through savings on gasoline. In fact, a recalculation by the consumer magazine concluded that the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid will save their owners about $400 and $300, respectively, over the first five years and 75,000 miles of driving, thanks in part to federal tax credits. Other hybrids would cost their owners from $1,900 to $5,500 more than their gasoline-only counterparts. However, some states offer incentives that tip the scale more in favor of hybrid vehicles, a factor not accounted for by the magazine. See the press release and the revised article on the Consumer Reports Web site. Anyone considering buying a hybrid vehicle should check the Web site of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), which includes estimates of the federal tax credit for all current and upcoming hybrids. On the state level, DOE's Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) lists the incentives available for hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles. Pennsylvania is one of those states, offering rebates for hybrids and for alternative fuel vehicles. The rebates are so popular that the state is nearly out of funds for the program. The state will soon stop accepting rebate applications until July, when new funds will be available. Buying a hybrid can also cut the cost of your auto insurance: Travelers is offering a 10 percent discount in 26 states and the District of Columbia, and will expand the discount to more states in late March. See the ACEEE and AFDC Web sites; the press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and the newsroom of the new Hybrid Travelers Web site. DOE launched an industrial Energy Saving Assessment last week at the West Linn Paper Company facility in West Linn, Oregon. Through its free energy assessments, DOE is working with major manufacturing facilities to identify energy-saving opportunities, primarily by focusing on steam and process heating systems. The West Linn paper mill features three papermaking machines that manufacture 650 tons of high quality, coated paper each day. The company is currently preparing to implement a $5 million capital improvement project for one of its paper machines to increase product quality and energy efficiency. See the DOE press release and the West Linn Paper Company Web site. DOE's Energy Saving Teams have completed visits to 29 large federal facilities and are in the process of visiting 200 U.S. manufacturing facilities as part of the national "Easy Ways to Save Energy" campaign launched in October 2005. The first nine Energy Saving Assessments have identified a total of $28 million per year in potential energy cost savings. If implemented, these energy-saving measures will reduce natural gas consumption by more than three trillion Btu per year, equivalent to the natural gas consumed by more than 40,000 typical U.S. homes. |
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