EREN Network News

April 28, 1999

News and Events

• DOE Earth Day Celebrations Highlight Solar Energy
• Wind Energy Achieves Several Milestones on Earth Day
• DOE and Interior Department Launch Green Energy Parks
• DOE Helps Kick Off Earth Day 2000 at the United Nations
• Ann Arbor, Albany Areas Join DOE Clean Cities Program
• Fuel Cell Provides Power to New York's Central Park

Site News

• Bonneville Power Administration's Energy Efficiency Site

Energy Facts and Tips

• Personal Computers are Growing Consumers of Energy
• Save Energy When Using Office Equipment

About this Newsletter

News and Events

DOE Earth Day Celebrations Highlight Solar Energy
DOE celebrated Earth Day 1999 by dedicating a new solar energy system on the DOE headquarters building. The system will produce up to 4,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year—enough to power a typical U.S. home. At the event, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced $600,000 in grants to 18 partners of the President's Million Solar Roofs Initiative. Richardson also announced 21 new partners in the initiative, bringing the total number of partnerships to 36. Collectively, those partners have committed to adding 900,000 solar roofs to U.S. buildings. For more information, see the DOE press release.

Wind Energy Achieves Several Milestones on Earth Day
The American Wind Energy Association and the European Wind Energy Association jointly announced on Earth Day that the world wind energy capacity had recently topped the 10,000 megawatt (MW) mark. By comparison, the average capacity of coal-fired power plants in the United States is roughly 270 MW.

The record wind growth was further illustrated by the completion of several wind facilities on Earth Day. Enron Wind Corp. announced the completion of a 80.25-MW wind installation near Alta, Iowa. In Texas, FPL Energy, Inc. connected 19 wind turbines to the power grid near the town of McCamey. The turbines are the first of 107 to be constructed by late June, when the facility will reach a total capacity of 74.9 MW. Also in Texas, a 34-MW wind installation was activated near the town of Big Spring to serve the customers of Texas Utilities.

For more information, see the Enron Corp. press release. See FPL Energy's press release. See Texas Utilities' press release.

DOE and Interior Department Launch Green Energy Parks
DOE and the U.S. Department of Interior announced on April 27th the start of the Green Energy Parks Program, which will demonstrate and promote the use of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies in America's national parks. DOE and the National Park Service will initiate the planning, design and implementation of sustainable energy projects in more than 20 parks. DOE will provide nearly $1 million to provide technical assistance and support the implementation of the projects. For more information, see the DOE press release.

DOE Helps Kick Off Earth Day 2000 at the United Nations
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson helped initiate the year-long Earth Day 2000 efforts at the United Nations in mid-April. The Earth Day Network is coordinating Earth Day 2000, which has the theme of "New Energy for a New Era." At the event, Richardson announced DOE grants totaling $1.5 million for 10 international projects to increase the export of U.S. energy efficiency products. Richardson also presented 1999 Earth Day Awards to Sir John Browne of BP Amoco; Ray Anderson of Interface, Inc.; and Senator Charles Schumer. For more information, see the DOE press release.

Ann Arbor, Albany Areas Join DOE Clean Cities Program
The Ann Arbor area of Michigan became the 69th member of DOE's Clean Cities Program last week, and the Albany area of New York became the 70th member on April 26th.

A coalition of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, the Michigan Consolidated Gas Company, Detroit Edison, the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, and the city of Ann Arbor plans to have more than 300 alternative-fueled vehicles operating in the area by the year 2002. For more information, see the DOE press release.

In Albany, the Capital District Clean Cities partners are working to develop a regional alternative refueling infrastructure and increase the number of alternative-fueled vehicles in the region. Shenendehowa Central Schools operates 27 compressed natural gas (CNG) school buses, and Schenectady County maintains a fleet of 12 CNG vehicles. The county plans to purchase 40 additional vehicles over the next three years. For more information, see the DOE press release.

Fuel Cell Provides Power to New York's Central Park
DOE and the New York Power Authority on April 20th dedicated a natural-gas-powered fuel cell that will provide 200 kilowatts of electricity to the Central Park Police Station. The fuel cell technology installed in the park was developed in a government-industry research partnership program between DOE and United Technologies Corporation. For more information, see the DOE press release. DOE also unveiled on April 24th a joint partnership to advance the use of fuel cells. DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), the Long Island Power Authority, New York State's Energy Research and Development Agency, and Plug Power will install a 7-kilowatt hydrogen-powered fuel cell at BNL this summer to evaluate its performance. For more information, see the DOE press release.

Site News

Bonneville Power Administration's Energy Efficiency Site
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a federal power marketing agency within DOE whose principal service territory includes the northwestern United States. The mission of BPA's Energy Efficiency group is to promote and foster the efficient use of energy. Their Web site includes a list of energy efficiency businesses in the northwestern United States, a newsletter, home and business energy saving tips, and information about the group's projects and services. The site describes BPA's efforts to transform the market for energy efficient products and their conservation and renewables rate discount proposal. It also includes a new publication, "Renewable Resources and Conservation: What Consumers Want."

For this and other recent additions see the EREN Web site.

Energy Facts and Tips

Personal Computers are Growing Consumers of Energy
As you read this newsletter, your personal computer (PC) is contributing to a fast-growing segment of the electricity market. PCs and other types of office equipment totaled 13 percent of the electricity consumed by commercial buildings in 1995. And the Energy Information Administration's 1999 Annual Energy Outlook forecasts that, for the next two decades, electricity consumption for office equipment will grow more than twice as fast as electricity use as a whole.

For more information, see the EIA's "Personal Computers and Computer Terminals in Commercial Buildings" in the Consumption Briefs section of the EIA Consumption Page.

Save Energy When Using Office Equipment
If you're buying a new computer or other office equipment, look for the DOE/EPA Energy Star label. Energy Star office equipment saves energy by powering down when not in use. For information see Energy Star office equipment.

If you have office equipment with these Energy Star features, be sure that the energy saving features are not disabled and set the features to "power down" your computer after a short period of time. It may require some trial and error to find the best setting to save energy without it powering down too often. Check your user's manual for instructions on how to adjust the settings. Also, despite these features, you should still completely turn off your computer every night.

About this Newsletter

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