EREN Network News

September 29, 1999

News and Events

• New Photovoltaic Plant to Triple U.S. Capacity
• Enron, Owens Corning Sign Billion-Dollar Energy Contract
• DOE Advances Low-Cost Manufacturing of Fuel Cells
• DOE Research Garners 43 "R&D 100" Awards
• PacifiCorp to Remove Washington Hydroelectric Plant

Site News

• Wisconsin Focus on Energy

Energy Facts and Tips

• Traffic Lights Are Significant Energy Users
• Funding Available for Inventors With An Energy Bent

About this Newsletter

News and Events

New Photovoltaic Plant to Triple U.S. Capacity
A manufacturing plant now under construction in Ohio will triple the U.S. production capability for solar photovoltaic cells when it begins production next year, according to The Energy Daily. The trade publication reported last week that Toledo-based Solar Cells Inc. has teamed with an investment firm to form First Solar LLC, which is building the manufacturing facility. The company claims the facility will produce enough photovoltaic cells each year to generate 100 megawatts of electricity, nearly doubling the current world production capacity of 120 megawatts. The facility will achieve its high production capacity by chemically depositing thin films of cadmium telluride onto a glass substrate to produce the photovoltaic cells.

For more information on this technology, see the section on polycrystalline thin films on the DOE Photovoltaics Web site on EREN.

Enron, Owens Corning Sign Billion-Dollar Energy Contract
Owens Corning announced last week that it had signed a 10-year, $1.1 billion contract for Enron to provide energy management services to 20 of its U.S. manufacturing facilities. Through the agreement, Enron will supply or manage all of the energy needs for the facilities, while working with Owens Corning to implement energy efficiency projects. For more information, see the press release on the Enron Web site.

In related news, Brooklyn College of New York City has teamed with Con Edison Solutions to slash energy use at the college. Construction is underway of a new central chilled- water facility that will provide cooling to the college's 11 buildings. Con Edison Solutions will fund the facility's construction and will be repaid with a share of the energy savings, through what's called an energy performance contract. The new system will save the college an estimated $800,000 per year over the course of the contract. For more information, see the Press Release section of the Con Edison Solutions Web site.

DOE Advances Low-Cost Manufacturing of Fuel Cells
DOE announced last week that it was awarding nearly $13 million in contracts to four companies to help reduce the cost of fuel cells. Each of the four companies will investigate novel low-cost, high-volume manufacturing techniques for producing fuel-cell components. The fuel cells will be modular and designed to use multiple types of fuels while emitting virtually no pollutants. For more information, see the DOE press release.

In related news, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) announced early this month the selection of ten utilities, all of which buy power from BPA, to test fuel cells at their facilities. The fuel-cell systems are expected to be delivered starting in fall and ending in mid-2000. For more information, see the press release on the BPA Web site.

DOE Research Garners 43 "R&D 100" Awards
DOE announced last week that it had won 43 out of 100 of this year's R&D Magazine awards, presented for the "most technologically significant new products and processes of the year." The awards were earned by nine DOE national laboratories along with many DOE-funded private firms, universities, and other organizations. A large number of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies were among the DOE awards, including an energy-saving process for the textile industry, an acoustical heat engine to power refrigerators, a technique to increase diesel-engine power while cutting emissions, a frost-free heat pump for heating and cooling, a compact fuel vaporizer for converting automotive fuels to hydrogen, and a high-efficiency photovoltaic module. For more information, see the DOE press release.

See also R&D Magazine's "R&D 100" Award Web page.

PacifiCorp to Remove Washington Hydroelectric Plant
PacifiCorp has reached a voluntary agreement with the Yakama Nation, environmental groups, and state and federal fishery agencies to remove the 14-megawatt Condit Dam on the White Salmon River in southwestern Washington state. The agreement allows the dam to continue operating for the next seven years to offset dam-removal costs, which are estimated at more than $17 million. Environmental concerns prompted the agreement and have also recently led to a dam removal in Maine -- in addition, four dams on the Lower Snake River in Washington state are under consideration for removal. Hydropower is the largest U.S. renewable energy source of electricity and provides most of the Northwest's electricity. For more information, see the press release on the American Rivers Web site.

Site News

Wisconsin Focus on Energy
Wisconsin Focus on Energy is a two-year pilot energy efficiency program for Northeastern Wisconsin. Funded by a public utility, overseen by a state agency and delivered by private-sector contractors, the group's mission is to help prepare the market for a time when energy efficiency goods and services are no longer mandated by state governments. The program is divided into six areas, including large commercial and industrial, residential and small commercial, renewable energy, education and training, energy efficiency performance, and evaluation. The site provides a brief description of the each of the programs and the contractors and subcontractors responsible for making them happen.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

Traffic Lights Are Significant Energy Users
An estimated 3 to 4.5 million traffic signals are presently operating in the United States. According to the Lighting Research Center at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the average traffic signal consumes approximately 990 kilowatt- hours of electricity each year. This means that every year, U.S. traffic signals use a total of nearly 3 billion kilowatt- hours of electricity. Roughly 1.4 million tons of coal would be needed to generate this amount of electricity.

To reduce traffic signal energy usage, some cities are turning to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which cut energy use by 80 to 90 percent compared to standard incandescent traffic lights. The savings can be dramatic: a project now underway in Sacramento County, California, to replace traffic signals in 118 intersections will save the county $67,000 a year in electricity costs.

For more information, see the report from the Lighting Research Center.

See also the news release from the California Municipal Utilities Association.

Funding Available for Inventors With An Energy Bent
Do you have a great idea for a new invention that could save energy? If so, DOE wants to hear from you. DOE's Inventions and Innovations Program provides as much as $200,000 in financial assistance for establishing technical performance and conducting early development of innovative energy-saving ideas and inventions. Projects relating to the most energy-intensive industries -- agriculture, aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, metalcasting, mining, petroleum, and steel -- will get special consideration. The program is now accepting preliminary applications for next year's funds. For more information, see the Inventions and Innovations Program Web site on EREN.

About this Newsletter

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