February 10, 1999

News and Events

• DOE Sponsors Industrial Energy Efficiency Exposition
• California Power Marketer Switches to Green Power
• Automotive Fuel Cell Demonstrated Successfully
• Alliance Applauds Boost in Energy-Efficiency Budget Request

Site News

• Louisiana Energy Section

Energy Facts and Tips

• EIA Releases "Renewable Energy Annual 1998"
• Tune Up Your Car to Save Gas, Cut Pollution

About this Newsletter

News and Events

DOE Sponsors Industrial Energy Efficiency Exposition
The 3rd Industrial Energy Efficiency Symposium and Exposition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT), was held Monday and Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Bringing together industrial decision makers, CEOs, manufacturers, suppliers, and government officials, the exposition included the latest on research and development results and technical achievements relating to industrial energy efficiency. Industry speakers led discussions on industrial energy efficiency and clean manufacturing technologies for the steel, forest products, petroleum, metalcasting, agriculture, mining, glass, chemicals, and aluminum industries. See the OIT Web site.

California Power Marketer Switches to Green Power
Commonwealth Energy Corporation, a California-based power marketer, announced February 1st that it will convert its more than 38,000 residential and small business customers from standard "system" power to its green power program. The announcement follows Commonwealth's decision in January to offer a discounted price on its green power product, which is derived primarily from biomass and geothermal power sources. California's Renewable Energy Marketing Board has also announced that Commonwealth will now focus solely on marketing green power. See the press releases on Commonwealth's Web site.

Automotive Fuel Cell Demonstrated Successfully
Plug Power, a developer and manufacturer of fuel cells, announced February 1st that it had successfully demonstrated an automotive fuel cell to Ford Motor Company. The fuel cell system exhibited "sub-second" responsiveness to the diverse power loads presented by a typical driving cycle. The system was developed as part of a $2.8 million joint agreement between Plug Power and Ford, with the majority of funds provided by DOE through the Partnership for Next Generation Vehicles. See the press release on the Plug Power Web site.

Alliance Applauds Boost in Energy-Efficiency Budget Request
The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) lauded the Clinton Administration's request to increase funding for energy efficiency programs in its fiscal year 2000 budget request. ASE noted that the Administration budgeted $6 million for the Energy Star appliance program at DOE, which is an increase of 120 percent over the FY99 appropriation. And the Federal Energy Management Program, which facilitates the reduction of energy use in the federal government, would get an $8.1 million increase, a 34 percent jump over last year's appropriations. See the ASE press release.

Site News

Louisiana Energy Section
The Louisiana Energy Section is the state energy office for Louisiana. Their Web site includes information about the Energy Section's Institutional and State Energy Conservation Programs, Energy Rated Homes of Louisiana Program (ERHL), funding, services, current projects, and grants. Online publications about the ERHL and energy efficient mortgages, and brochures that provide energy efficiency tips specific to Louisiana are also available.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

EIA Releases "Renewable Energy Annual 1998
DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the "Renewable Energy Annual 1998 (With Data for 1997)" in January. The report presents information on renewable energy consumption, capacity, and electricity generation data; U.S. solar thermal and photovoltaic collector manufacturing activities; and U.S. geothermal heat pump manufacturing activities. Among the interesting facts is that shipments of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules continued their record growth in 1997, increasing 31 percent. PV shipments for grid applications increased more than 70 percent. See the report.

Tune Up Your Car to Save Gas, Cut Pollution
An annual tune-up will keep your car running efficiently, while minimizing the amount of pollution it produces. You can also keep track of your mileage by recording your odometer readings and gallons of gasoline added at each fill-up. A drop in mileage may indicate a problem with your car's performance. The same log book can be used to track your maintenance on the car, so you know when an oil change or tune-up is overdue.

About this Newsletter

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