EREN Network News

August 30, 2000

News and Events

• Reliant Energy Plans 208-Megawatt Texas Wind Facility
• U.S. Jobs Created by the Nuts and Bolts of Wind Turbines
• Commercial-Scale Biomass Gasifier in Operation
• Hybrid Electric Bus With GM Drive Coming to California
• GAO: Increased Fuel Economy Need Not Compromise Safety
• SMUD Installs Large Solar Electric System at Cal Expo

• Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Renewable Energy

• U.S. Photovoltaic Shipments Jump 52 Percent in 1999

News and Events

Reliant Energy Plans 208-Megawatt Texas Wind Facility
Reliant Energy announced last week that the world's largest single wind power installation will soon be built in western Texas. Construction will begin in the fall on a 208-megawatt facility to be installed on King Mountain, about 70 miles south of Odessa. The company is also developing 12 small power plants that will generate electricity from landfill methane emissions. The 12 facilities, located at landfills throughout Texas, will generate an additional 44 megawatts of power. Both the wind and the landfill gas projects are expected to be producing power by the end of 2001.

Reliant Energy will sell the electricity from the projects to utilities and other electricity providers when the state's electricity system is restructured in 2002. As part of this restructuring, Texas mandated that 2000 megawatts of new renewable power projects be built by 2009. See the Reliant Energy press release.

One indicator of where Texas is headed is the number of proposed projects that have requested the right to connect to Texas transmission lines by 2002. Reportedly, a total of 2650 megawatts of renewable energy projects have requested such rights, although not all these projects will be built. Of these, seven wind energy installations totaling 1500 megawatts (including the King Mountain project) have agreed to let the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas post their project information. See the list.

Such access to electrical transmission systems is critical for new wind energy projects. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently released a white paper that examines U.S. electrical transmission policy, which it claims is one of the greatest impediments to wind energy developments in the United States. See "Fair Transmission Access for Wind" on the AWEA Web site.

U.S. Jobs Created by the Nuts and Bolts of Wind Turbines
While the growth of the wind industry and other renewable energy industries has long been touted as a source of high- tech jobs, the recent flurry of wind projects has brought jobs to some relatively low-tech U.S. companies. With FPL Energy LLC planning several large wind installations, the company has placed an order with Beaird Industries of Shreveport, Louisiana, to fabricate 800 wind turbine towers. Trinity Industries of Dallas, Texas, also received a large order for wind turbine towers and is now creating a new subsidiary called Trinity Structural Towers, Inc. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) estimates that U.S. wind installations will total $1 billion to $1.5 billion in new construction by the end of 2001. See the AWEA press release.

Commercial-Scale Biomass Gasifier in Operation
DOE and the Future Energy Resources Corporation (FERCO) announced last week the successful commercial- scale operation of a biomass gasifier. Gasification is a high- temperature process that can convert biomass fuels such as agricultural, municipal, or forestry wastes into a clean- burning gas similar to natural gas. The gas can then be used to fuel a high-efficiency gas turbine — a process that is cleaner and more efficient than current biomass combustion processes. The FERCO gasifier, at the McNeil Generating Plant in Burlington, Vermont, converts more than 285 tons of wood chips per day into gas. It achieved full operation on August 11th. See the press release on DOE's Golden Field Office Web site.

Hybrid Electric Bus With GM Drive Coming to California
General Motors (GM) and California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) announced Monday that southern California will be among the first regions in the nation to receive hybrid electric transit buses from New Flyer of America, featuring propulsion systems developed by GM. The hybrid technology, which uses a combination of electric motors, batteries, and an internal combustion engine, significantly reduces emissions while increasing fuel economy by up to 50 percent and boosting acceleration by up to 50 percent. The first hybrid bus will be delivered this fall, with a second delivery scheduled early next year.

The news was included as part of an announcement that GM and AQMD are establishing a "Community Clean Air Partnership" to clean the air in southern California. GM will contribute significantly to the partnership, including the provision of the hybrid electric drive trains. GM will also donate nine bifuel vans, which run on either gasoline or compressed natural gas. See the press release.

GAO: Increased Fuel Economy Need Not Compromise Safety
A report released last week by the General Accounting Office (GOA) found that an increase in fuel economy standards would not necessarily compromise vehicle safety. The main consideration, according to the GAO, is to allow auto manufacturers sufficient lead time to incorporate improvements. At issue is whether to increase the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for U.S. passenger vehicles. "We found consensus among safety experts and auto manufacturers that as long as there is sufficient lead time to meet higher CAFE levels, auto manufacturers could use fuel-saving technologies … instead of simply building smaller, lighter cars, thereby minimizing any negative impact on safety," states the report.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has been prohibited from raising the CAFE standards since 1996. The report was requested by Senator John McCain in his role as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. See the GAO report.

SMUD Installs Large Solar Electric System at Cal Expo The site of the California State Fair now has a shaded parking lot, thanks to a 540-kilowatt solar electric system newly installed by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). Twenty sun-tracking arrays at the Cal Expo parking lot in Sacramento provide shade for 1000 parking spaces while generating enough electricity to power about 180 homes. See the SMUD press release.

Site News

Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Renewable Energy
This site provides an overview of several research programs the Centre sponsors in the areas of power generation, energy efficiency, energy storage, power conditioning, systems integration, and strategic planning and market assessment. Visitors can investigate graduate and postgraduate education and training opportunities available in these areas and find fact sheets on a variety of renewable energy topics.

For this and other recent additions to the EREN Web site, see http://www.eren.doe.gov/new/whats-new.html.

Energy Facts and Tips

U.S. Photovoltaic Shipments Jump 52 Percent in 1999
U.S. shipments of solar photovoltaic modules and cells increased in 1999 for the fourteenth consecutive year, leaping 52 percent above 1998 shipments. According to a new report by DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. manufacturers shipped enough photovoltaic products to generate 77 megawatts of electricity. Photovoltaic cell prices dropped by one third, although module prices declined only about 8 percent. Exports continue to dominate the market, accounting for 72 percent of the shipments.See the EIA press release.

DOE is looking for ideas on new ways to advance the commercialization of solar energy systems. Workshops will be held in September in four U.S. cities. DOE is particularly interested in exploring near-term opportunities involving builders and developers and the use of state funds, but discussion will not be limited to these topics. See the announcement on the Utility Photovoltaic Group Web site.

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