EREN Network News

August 9, 2000

News and Events

• Businesses to Build a 1000-Megawatt Green Power Market
• General Motors to Produce Hybrid-Electric Pickup by 2004
• Federal Government Shelves Snake River Dam Removal
• California Governor Orders Energy-Efficient State Buildings
• SMUD Reduces Load by Cycling Customer Air Conditioners
• DOE Awards $13 Million for Ultra-Clean Energy Plant
• Solar Car Breaks Records with Cross-Canada Trip

• Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program

• EPA Reports Cleaner Air, Stresses Need for Improvement

News and Events

Businesses to Build a 1000-Megawatt Green Power Market
Eleven large U.S. businesses announced Monday that they will work to develop corporate markets for 1000 megawatts of new green power capacity — the equivalent of three or four average-sized U.S. coal plants — in the next 10 years. The businesses include such heavy hitters as DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, Kinko's, and Pitney Bowes. The World Resources Institute (WRI) and Business for Social Responsibility will work with the 11 businesses in a partnership called the Green Power Market Development Group. The group hopes to identify its first sources of cost-competitive green power within the year. See the press release on the WRI Web site.

In related news, Kinko's has announced its intentions to meet 50 percent of its electrical demand in the state of New York using wind power. Kinko's will buy roughly 4.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity from the 11.5-megawatt Madison Windpower Project, now under construction in central New York State. PG&E Corporation is building the facility with partial funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. See the PG&E Corporation press release.

General Motors to Produce Hybrid-Electric Pickup by 2004
General Motors Corporation (GM) announced last week that it will produce a full-size hybrid-electric pickup truck beginning in 2004. The company will produce hybrid electric versions of its popular Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, which will deliver top performance with nearly 15 percent better fuel economy. GM will start testing the hybrid pickups in several U.S. cities this year. GM will also begin delivering a hybrid diesel-electric transit bus this year. The transit bus will achieve a 50 percent better fuel economy than typical transit buses. See the GM press release.

Federal Government Shelves Snake River Dam Removal
Two draft documents released in late July by a team of federal agencies concluded that a strategy for salmon recovery should not include breaching the four lower Snake River dams at this time. This decision will leave in place the hydroelectric capacity currently installed there. A number of other recovery strategies will be tested for the next 10 years to determine if more aggressive efforts, including dam breaching, should be considered. See the July 27th press release on the NOAA Web site.

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) commended the decision, but recommended that advanced hydropower turbine technologies be included in the salmon recovery plan. See the NHA press release.

Advanced hydropower turbine technologies are currently being developed by DOE. See DOE's Hydropower Program Web site.

California Governor Orders Energy-Efficient State Buildings
A heat wave in California severely strained the state's electricity supply last week. As a long-term response to the high electricity demand, California Governor Davis issued an executive order that directs state agencies to improve the energy efficiency in all state buildings. It also directs the Secretary for State and Consumer Services Agency to include sustainable building practices in all plans for new state building projects, including measures to improve the energy efficiency of lighting, windows, and heating and cooling systems. See the Governor's August 2nd press release.

SMUD Reduces Load by Cycling Customer Air Conditioners
While California struggled to keep the lights on through last week's heat wave, some utilities had more options to deal with the problem than others. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), for instance, has a program called the Volunteer Emergency Peak Corps, which automatically shuts off customers' air conditioners for 15 minutes out of every hour during energy emergencies. The utility has nearly 105,000 residential participants in the program, and by remotely turning off one-quarter of their air conditioners at any one time, the utility was recently able to reduce its electrical load by roughly 50 megawatts — nearly 2 percent of its peak electrical load. SMUD also has commercial participants in the program, and all participants receive a discount on their electric bills by volunteering. As one example, see SMUD's press release from August 2nd.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted last month that the period from January through June 2000 was the warmest first half of the year on record for the United States. See the NOAA press release.

DOE Awards $13 Million for Ultra-Clean Energy Plant
DOE awarded on Monday nearly $13 million for seven projects that will advance the Vision 21 program, which aims to develop a pollution-free power plant by 2015. Four of the projects will develop materials and components for gasification technologies and for separating hydrogen and other components from the gas; the other three projects will develop advanced plant design and visualization software. See the DOE press release.

Solar Car Breaks Records with Cross-Canada Trip
A car powered solely by solar photovoltaic panels completed a cross-Canada trip in late July, setting a distance record for solar cars. The Queen's University Solar Vehicle Team's car covered 7044 kilometers (nearly 4400 miles) during the trip, which took most of July. See the team's Web site.

Site News

Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program
This site shares comprehensive information on energy efficiency standards and labeling in countries around the world. In addition, the site provides a clearinghouse of technical resources and government-based programs for implementing appliance and equipment standards and labeling. 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

EPA Reports Cleaner Air, Stresses Need for Improvement
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual air quality trend report on Monday. Although air quality continues to improve, 62 million Americans still live in areas that have unhealthy air. EPA Administrator Carol Browner emphasized the need for cleaner vehicles and fuels, plus actions to protect areas from pollutants blown in from other regions. See the August 7th press release by choosing "EPA Headquarters Press Releases" on the EPA Web site. The full report is posted.

In related news, EPA last week issued its final rule for cleaner bus and truck engines. The improved engines will emit 40 percent less air pollution by 2004. See the August 1st press release by choosing "EPA Headquarters Press Releases" on the EPA Web site.

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