EERE Network News
January 28, 2004
News and Events
Zero Energy Home Displayed at International Builder's Show
A custom home in Las Vegas combines solar energy and energy efficiency to reduce its net energy use over the course of the year to zero. The "Ultimate Family Home" is part of DOE's Zero Energy Homes initiative.
Award-Winning Building Products and Projects Advance Energy Efficiency
A college in Iowa earned honors with its heating and cooling system, which features underfloor air distribution, a geothermal water-source heat pump, and radiant heating. New building products have also earned kudos from the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing and others.
U.S. Wind Growth Nears Record in 2003, but 2004 Outlook Dim
Wind industry statistics show that 1,687 megawatts of new wind power capacity were added in the United States in 2003, just shy of the record amount added in 2001. But the American Wind Energy Association is less optimistic for 2004, since the wind energy production tax credit has expired.
Ethanol Production Hits Record as MTBE Bans Take Effect
The U.S. ethanol fuel industry produced a record 2.81 billion gallons of fuel in 2003, a new record. The industry is steadily growing as states are banning the use of MTBE as an additive to gasoline.
Advances in Materials Show New Promise for Superconductors
American Superconductor Corporation is planning to boost the performance of its second-generation high-temperature superconductor wire using nanodots. Meanwhile, DOE national laboratories have achieved advances in magnesium diboride and sodium cobalt oxyhydrate superconductors.
NASA Delivers Solar-Powered Vehicles to Mars
Thanks to the Mars Exploration Rovers, the red planet now leads the solar system in terms of the percentage of its vehicles powered by the sun: 100 percent! Spectrolab provided the high-efficiency solar cells for NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers.
Energy Connections
Energy Companies Propose Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline
After years of discussions, two groups of companies emerged in late January with proposals to build a pipeline to carry natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to gas markets in the lower 48 states. An Alaska natural gas pipeline will contribute to the critical need to meet growing demand in the future.
