EREN Network News

August 2, 2000

News and Events

• Ford Commits to Improving Fuel Economy for SUVs
• First Commercial-Scale HTS Motor Operated Successfully
• DOE Awards $40 Million for Advanced Microturbines
• DOE and Energy Star Air Conditioners Help Cool the South
• Drive Your Car Less and Save Money on Auto Insurance
• Battelle Experts Forecast Energy Innovations for 2010

• Kansas Wind Energy
• DOE Launches New Consumer-Oriented Web Site

• EIA: World Oil Supply May Peak in 2037

News and Events

Ford Commits to Improving Fuel Economy for SUVs
Ford Motor Company announced last week that it would improve the fuel economy of its sport utility vehicle (SUV) fleet by 25 percent by 2005. About 70 percent of the fuel economy gains will be achieved with improvements to Ford's existing fleet, including advanced drivetrain technologies, weight reductions, and improved aerodynamics. See the Ford press release.

The news followed Ford's April announcement that it would produce a hybrid electric SUV by 2003. See Ford's Hybrid Electric Vehicles Web site.

Ford credited the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) for some of the technologies to be used in its SUVs. The PNGV is a public and private partnership that aims to develop an environmentally friendly car with up to triple the fuel efficiency of today's midsize cars. See the PNGV Web site.

First Commercial-Scale HTS Motor Operated Successfully
American Superconductor and Rockwell Automation announced in July that they had successfully operated a 1000-horsepower motor that uses high-temperature superconductor (HTS) wires. HTS wires have no resistance at low temperatures, so HTS motors operate at a higher energy efficiency and can be built up to three times smaller than standard motors. American Superconductor expects to test a 5,000-horsepower motor in early 2001. See the press release.

The companies are working under the auspices of DOE's Superconducting Partnership Initiative. See the "Superconductivity for Electrical Systems" page on EREN.

In related news, American Superconductor has deployed a number of superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) systems at electrical substations along a transmission line owned by Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. SMES systems store large amounts of power and can discharge it quickly. The Wisconsin Public Service installations are intended to improve grid reliability along the transmission line. See the press release.

DOE Awards $40 Million for Advanced Microturbines
DOE announced last week the award of $40 million to six industrial partners for research, development, and testing of "next generation" microturbines. Microturbines generate power from a variety of fuels, including natural gas, and can also provide heating and cooling. They are one of many technologies that can be located at or near an electrical customer's site, providing support for the electrical grid — a concept known as distributed generation. See the DOE press release.

In related news, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) passed a resolution at their recent summer meeting in support of electric industry rules that encourage distributed generation. See the resolution on the NARUC Web site.

DOE and Energy Star Air Conditioners Help Cool the South
DOE announced yesterday that it is working with several corporations to make more than 49,000 Energy Star air conditioners available to low-income residents of Texas, Tennessee, and Louisiana. DOE has coordinated an agreement with Sears, the Carrier Corporation, Whirlpool Corporation, and Friedrich Air Conditioner Corporation to make the air conditioners available to local weatherization agencies at a reduced price. See the DOE press release.

For more information about DOE's role in weatherization, see DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program Web site on EREN.

Drive Your Car Less and Save Money on Auto Insurance
If certain Texans take the bus to work today, they might pay less for car insurance next month. Through a pilot program offered in Texas by the Progressive Auto Insurance company, drivers are being charged based on actual mileage driven, time of day, and geographic location. With support from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and Environmental Defense, Progressive is using global positioning technology to track customer's actual driving habits, which have a direct impact on their monthly insurance bills. Preliminary evidence indicates that the participants in the program are driving less.

In a deal signed last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will work cooperatively with the other partners to study the reduction in auto emissions, if any, from participating in the innovative insurance plan. See the EPA Web site.

Battelle Experts Forecast Energy Innovations for 2010
Energy experts from Battelle and the four DOE national laboratories it manages took a stab last week at predicting the top ten energy innovations for 2010. In the context of a shifting energy industry, the experts saw big advances coming for hybrid electric vehicles, smart energy management systems, distributed power generation, fuel cells, the conversion of gases to liquid fuels, advanced batteries, farms that grow bioenergy crops, solar energy, and the mining of methane hydrate crystals from the ocean bottom. See the Batelle press release.

Site News

Kansas Wind Energy
This site captures the results of a two-year study on Kansas wind energy potential, including estimated wind class, capacity potential, and transmission line issues. It ranks the top 25 potential sites and provides estimates of the total electrical generating capacity of the top six. The site also includes market research data on the potential for green energy marketing, as well as a general overview of wind energy and wind turbine performance. For this and other recent additions to the EREN Web site, see http://www.eren.doe.gov/new/whats-new.html.

DOE Launches New Consumer-Oriented Web Site
DOE launched the new energy.gov Web site on Monday, helping to bring energy information to U.S. consumers in a user-friendly way. The site presents DOE information that relates to your health, house, transportation, school, business, and community, as well as for the world and the future. A special "kidzzone" is also available for children. The site currently features EREN's own "Energy Savers: Tips for Saving Energy & Money at Home" on its home page.

Energy Facts and Tips

EIA: World Oil Supply May Peak in 2037
DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has examined estimates of world oil supplies and projected the dates of peak oil production, with results ranging from 2021 to 2112. The projections, released last week, are based on current world oil resource estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Using the "expected" (mean) USGS estimate and the current rate of growth in oil production, the EIA projects the peak production at 2037.

Although there was much focus in the 1970s on when oil supplies would run out, oil industry experts in recent years have focused more on when oil production will hit its peak. Assuming energy demand continues to increase once oil production starts decreasing, oil prices are likely to increase dramatically, and other energy sources will be needed to fill the gap. EIA notes that its peak production estimates occur later than those generated by other analysts, some of whom predicted that the production peak would occur as early as 2004. See the "Long Term World Oil Supply" presentation on the EIA Web site.

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