EERE Network News
November 17, 2004
News and Events
Shell Adds Hydrogen Refueling to a Retail Gas Station
DOE joined Shell and General Motors on November 10th at the opening of the first hydrogen fueling station in Washington, D.C. The station is the first in North America to offer both gasoline and hydrogen, and may be the start of a corridor running to New York City.
Sandia to Help Build a 150-Kilowatt, Six-Dish Solar Facility
Dish-Stirling solar power technology will achieve a renewed status in the United States as Sandia National Laboratories and Stirling Energy Systems, Inc. build a 150-kilowatt, six- dish solar power plant at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility in Alburquerque, New Mexico.
Idaho PUC Gives Go-Ahead to State's Largest Wind Power Plant
With regulatory approval of a 20-year contract for Idaho Power to purchase its power output, a 10.5-megawatt wind project has gained substantial momentum. Fossil Gulch Wind Park, LLC is planning to build the project—the state's largest—near Hagerman in southern Idaho.
German Company Erects Prototype 5-Megawatt Wind Turbine
REpower Systems AS now holds claim to the largest wind turbine in the world, having erected a 5-megawatt prototype in northern Germany. As wind power increases in scale, climate scientists are examining how a much larger deployment of wind power could affect global climate.
China Supports Plan to Build World's Largest Tidal Power Plant
The governor of the Liaoning Province in China—located just west of North Korea—has agreed to help a U.K. company study the feasibility of installing a 300-megawatt tidal power plant near the Yalu River. Meanwhile, another U.K. business has shelved its tidal stream technology, the Stingray.
Lexus to Launch Hybrid SUV in April 2005
Buyers anxious to get the new hybrid-electric Lexus sport utility vehicle (SUV), the RX 400h, will have to wait until tax day. But more than 9,500 buyers aren't waiting for their tax returns: they've already ordered the vehicle. Meanwhile, Toyota and Honda continue to see increasing hybrid sales.
Site News
Germany's Agency of Renewable Resources Tackles Biomass Energy
Germany's Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V., roughly translated as the Agency of Renewable Resources, has both German- and English-language Web sites that focus mainly on biomass energy and biomass-based products.
Energy Connections
EIA Boosts Projections for Winter Heating Bills
If you're heating with oil, you're not going to like your heating bills this winter. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), households using heating oil will see a 37 percent increase in heating bills. Propane users will also be hit hard, while most natural gas users will suffer a bit less.
