EREN Network News

July 7, 1999

News and Events

• Largest Eastern U.S. Wind Facility Energized in Wisconsin
• Largest Wind Project In Texas Dedicated
• DOE Announces $45 Million in Home Weatherization Funds
• California Green Power Marketers Exceed Their Promises
• On-Board Fuel Converter for Vehicles Wins Discover Award
• DOE Waste-to-Chemicals Project Wins Green Chemistry Award

Site News

• California Hydrogen Business Council
• DOE's Office of Power Technologies Site Redesigned

Energy Facts and Tips

• Energy Use in the Iron and Steel Industry
• Choosing A Central Air Conditioning System

About this Newsletter

News and Events

Largest Eastern U.S. Wind Facility Energized in Wisconsin
The largest wind power plant east of the Mississippi River started generating electricity on July 1st. Madison Gas & Electric Company estimates that the 11.22-megawatt wind facility—located in Lincoln, Wisconsin —will generate enough electricity annually to power 4,400 homes. The wind facility will avoid about 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and 70 tons of acid rain emissions each year. For more information, see the press release.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported that the company built the project while signing up customers to buy the power at a premium rate. Each block of wind power—defined as 80 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month—costs $5 extra per month. Thus far, customers have bought 7,000 of the 20,000 blocks of electricity.

Largest Wind Project In Texas Dedicated
The largest wind power plant in Texas was dedicated on July 1st. The 75-megawatt Southwest Mesa Wind Project will generate enough electricity annually to power 30,000 homes. The project is owned by FPL Energy, Inc. and the power is being sold to three electric utilities, all subsidiaries of the Central and South West Corporation. For more information, see the FPL Energy news release.

DOE Announces $45 Million in Home Weatherization Funds
DOE announce the award on July 1st of $45 million for the weatherization of homes owned by low-income families. The grants, awarded through the Weatherization Assistance Program, will go to 16 states. Together with the $85 million in grants awarded through the program last April, these grants will help improve home energy efficiency in every state, the District of Columbia, and the Navajo nation. For every dollar invested, the program returns about $1.80 in energy savings and 60 cents in employment and environmental benefits. For more information, see the DOE news release.

For more information about the Weatherization Assistance Program, see the Web site.

California Green Power Marketers Exceed Their Promises
Sellers of green power—electricity generated from renewable sources—actually bought and sold more renewable energy to their customers this year than they had promised, says the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). CRS, a non-profit organization, administers the "Green-e," a voluntary program in which green power marketers can have their product certified as coming from renewable energy sources. As part of the annual verification process, CRS found that 99 percent of the electricity purchased by green power marketers came from renewable sources, despite the fact that some products were marketed as including only 50 percent renewable electricity.

CRS also found that non-residential customers accounted for 21 percent of the total green power market. The power plant emissions avoided through green power purchases total 234,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the road. For more information, see the Green-e press release.

On-Board Fuel Converter for Vehicles Wins Discover Award
The "microplasmatron," an electrical device that converts fuel and air into a hydrogen-rich gas, has won the 1999 Discover Magazine Award for Technological Innovation in Transportation. The device can use a variety of fuels to generate a clean-burning gas that significantly lowers tailpipe emissions. Passing just one-quarter of an automobile's gasoline through the device would cut the emission of smog-producing nitrogen oxides by 90 percent. The inventor, Daniel Cohn of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was funded by DOE's Office of Transportation Technologies. For more information, see the July issue of Discover Magazine or read the "on-line version.

DOE Waste-to-Chemicals Project Wins Green Chemistry Award
An innovative DOE project to convert wastes into useful chemicals has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award. The project developed a method to inexpensively convert organic wastes—such as paper sludge, municipal solid waste, unrecyclable waste paper, waste wood, and agricultural residues—into levulinic acid. The acid can then be used to generate a variety of chemical products, including an oxygen-increasing fuel additive. For more information, see the DOE press release.

See also the EPA press release.

Site News

California Hydrogen Business Council
The California Hydrogen Business Council (CHBC) was organized in 1997 "to provide a formal link between various organizations committed to business development related to hydrogen." The site includes an overview of CHBC and information about CHBC goals, members, meetings, and joining the CHBC. The site provides information on the hydrogen economy, hydrogen in history, fuel cells, industrial hydrogen production, and the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel. News, articles, reports, speeches and testimony, events, financial opportunities, partnerships, legislation and regulations, and codes and permits sections are also presented.

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

DOE's Office of Power Technologies Site Redesigned
DOE's Office of Power Technologies has redesigned its Web site to reflect its name change (from the Office of Utility Technologies) and to add new features. Try out the new "Hot Topics" for links to issues and initiatives relevant to the power industry, "Information Resources" for a more comprehensive list of power industry links, and the updated and expanded section "About OPT." Also note that the URL has changed to reflect the name change.

Energy Facts and Tips

Energy Use in the Iron and Steel Industry
DOE's Energy Information Administration recently published the report, "Production, Energy, and Carbon Emissions: A Data Profile of the Iron and Steel Industry." The report notes that over the past 20 years, such changes as the discontinued use of open-hearth blast furnaces, the closing of older and less-efficient factories, and the use of continuous casting have all yielded a more energy-efficient U.S. iron and steel industry. The result is a 2 percent drop in energy consumption for the industry from 1985 to 1994, while iron production increased nearly 8 percent and raw steel production increased by 14 percent. See the report.

Choosing A Central Air Conditioning System
Central air conditioners are rated according to their seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER); a larger SEER means a more efficient air conditioner. Owners of older systems, which may have SEER ratings of 6 or less, should consider upgrading them to a more efficient system. Look for the DOE/EPA Energy Star label for central air conditioners with SEER ratings or 12 or greater. For more information, including a list of Energy Star-labeled air conditioners, see the Energy Star Web site.

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