EREN Network News

April 26, 2000

News and Events

• Clean Energy Powers Earth Day 2000
• President Issues Executive Orders on Federal Transportation
• DOE to Buy 7.5 Percent Green Power by 2010
• Postal Service Buys Green Power for California Facilities
• TVA Offers Accredited Green Power to the Southeast
• CU Boulder Students Choose Green Power
• Arizona Public Service to Double Its Solar Generation
• Toyota Announces Availability of Hybrid-Electric Prius

• Alternative Technology Association

• Plan Now to Save Heating Oil Costs Next Winter

About this Newsletter

News and Events

Clean Energy Powers Earth Day 2000
Last Saturday, April 22nd, marked the 30th anniversary of Earth Day with the celebration of Earth Day 2000. In the United States, the highlight was EarthFair 2000, held on the Mall in Washington, D.C. In keeping with this year's "Clean Energy Now!" theme, the celebration's five major tented exhibits and large multimedia stage were entirely powered with a combination of wind, solar, natural gas, biofuels, propane, reciprocating engines and advanced microturbines. See the DOE press release.

Much of this week's news is related to Earth Day. For more information about Earth Day 2000, see the Earth Day Network.

President Issues Executive Orders on Federal Transportation
President Clinton celebrated Earth Day 2000 by issuing two new Executive Orders relating to federal agencies and transportation. The first Executive Order, "Greening the Government Through Federal Fleet and Transportation Efficiency," sets a new standard for federal vehicle fleets to reduce their annual petroleum consumption by at least 20 percent by 2005, relative to 1999 consumption levels. The Order suggests reducing fleet size and miles driven, but also emphasizes the use of alternative fuels and efficient hybrid-electric vehicles.

The second Executive Order, "Federal Workforce Transportation," mandates the creation of federal fringe- benefit programs for federal employees to defray the costs of using mass transportation and vanpools. The Order establishes a "transit pass" program in the Washington, D.C., area and orders DOE, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish a three-year transit-pass pilot program for all their employees nationwide before the end of the year.

The President announced the Executive Orders during his weekly radio address. This week only, the Executive Orders and the President's radio address can be found on the White House Web site.

DOE to Buy 7.5 Percent Green Power by 2010
DOE marked Earth Day 2000 by committing to purchase a portion of its electricity from green power sources, making it the first federal agency to make such a department-wide commitment. DOE will buy 3 percent of its total electricity needs from non-hydro renewable energy sources by 2005, and 7.5 percent of its electricity from green power by 2010. See the DOE press release.

The DOE commitment follows President Clinton's Executive Order 13123, "Greening the Government through Efficient Energy Management." Issued in June 1999, the Order says that "each agency shall strive to use electricity from clean, efficient and renewable energy sources." It expands on Executive Order 13101, "Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition," issued in September 1998.

The first biennial report on the Greening of Government project, issued on Earth Day 2000, noted that since 1985, federal agencies have cut building energy use by more than 20 percent and have purchased alternative fueled vehicles in record numbers. See the report on the Web site of the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive.

DOE announced the findings and noted that the federal energy reductions have saved taxpayers more than $19 billion since 1985. See the DOE press release.

Postal Service Buys Green Power for California Facilities
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) also made a significant commitment to green power for Earth Day 2000, awarding a three-year contract to Go-Green.com, which will supply 100-percent green power to 1,000 USPS facilities in California. The green power purchase will total more than 30 million kilowatt-hours of electricity over the next three years, making it one of the largest purchases of green power in the United States.

In related news, the City of Santa Barbara, California, also signed up with Go-Green.com to power all its city buildings with 100 percent green power. See the Go-Green.com press release.

TVA Offers Accredited Green Power to the Southeast
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) celebrated Earth Day 2000 by offering electricity from renewable energy to its customers. TVA's new "Green Power Switch" program adds electricity from solar energy, wind, and landfill gas to TVA's existing power mix. TVA is working with BP Solarex to install up to 250 kilowatts of solar generating capacity; is erecting a 3-megawatt wind plant on Buffalo Mountain in Anderson County, Tennessee; and is negotiating to install a 6-megawatt gas turbine at a landfill in the Tennessee Valley.

TVA is initiating the Green Power Switch as a one-year pilot program, to be expanded if it is successful. For now, green power is available through 11 distributors of TVA power in six states: Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama. For more information, including the list of green power distributors, see the TVA press release.

See the TVA Green Power Switch home page.

TVA's Green Power Switch is one of three utility-run green power programs to receive accreditation from the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). Wisconsin Electric's "Energy for Tomorrow" and Madison Gas and Electric's "MGE Wind Power" also received accreditation last week. CRS has administered the "Green-e" certification program for green power marketers since 1998; until last week, there was no equivalent for utility-run green power programs. See the CRS press release.

CU Boulder Students Choose Green Power
The University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder became the largest university purchaser of green power in the nation last week, when CU Boulder students approved a $1 increase per semester in student fees to buy wind power. The increase in fees will raise $50,000 per year, enough to purchase the output from an entire wind turbine — 2 million kilowatt-hours per year. The turbine will be added to the Ponnequin wind farm, owned by Public Service Company of Colorado. See the story on the EREN Green Power Web site.

Arizona Public Service to Double Its Solar Generation
Arizona Public Service (APS), announced on Earth Day 2000 that it would double its capacity for solar energy over the next year. The utility plans to install 388 kilowatts of solar energy systems at sites throughout the state. The installations are customer-funded through its Solar Partners program, with partial funding by DOE. See the APS press release.

In related news, DOE announced the award of $630,000 in grants to state and local partnerships to help install a million solar roofs on buildings across the nation by 2010. These grants will be awarded to 17 entities in 13 states, including Arizona. See the DOE press release.

Toyota Announces Availability of Hybrid-Electric Prius
Toyota announced last week that the hybrid-electric Prius will go on sale this summer, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $20,450. The five-passenger sedan runs on both an all-aluminum gasoline engine and an electric motor, achieving an estimated fuel economy rating of 52 miles per gallon in the city and 45 miles per gallon on the highway. It also meets California's stringent Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV) standard. See the Toyota press release.

Toyota expects to begin delivering the Prius to customers in August and plans to sell 12,000 of the vehicles in the United States this year. For ordering information, select "Prius Hybrid Vehicle" on the Toyota "Future Vehicles" page.

The Sierra Club accompanied the Toyota announcement by awarding the vehicle with its "Excellence in Environmental Engineering" award. Previously, only Honda's hybrid-electric Insight had received the award. See the Sierra Club press release under "April 2000".

In related news, Honda has announced that it is boosting the production of its Insight by more than 50 percent, to about 6,500 vehicles during the 2000 calendar year. "Consumer interest and demand has far exceeded our expectations," said Tom Elliott, American Honda executive vice president. See the Honda press release.

On a more personal note, Kevin Eber, the editor of this newsletter, purchased his own personal Honda Insight earlier this month. The car was recently exhibited at Colorado Earth Day celebrations in Denver and Boulder.

Site News

Alternative Technology Association
This Australian non-profit community group seeks to use and promote environmentally friendly technology. The site explains of the basics of solar power, solar hot water heating, and wind power, and features a wood heating forum.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

Plan Now to Save Heating Oil Costs Next Winter
New Englanders are breathing a sigh of relief as this year's heating season draws to a close, ending a period of high heating oil costs that taxed many homeowners' budgets. While the memory of high fuel bills is fresh in your mind, DOE's Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs has a new "Heat Smart!" publication that suggests ways to cut your use of home heating oil. A Web version of the publication — created by DOE, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Petroleum Marketers Association of America — is available on the EREN Web site.

Why did heating oil costs soar so high? Has this happened in the past? Is there any evidence of price gouging by suppliers? For answers to these and other questions, see the "Heating Oil Prices and Supply Information" page posted on DOE's Office of Policy Web site.

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