EREN Network News

June 7, 2000

News and Events

• DOE Report Finds Utility Barriers to Do-It-Yourself Power
• DOE Provides $10 Million to Develop Biobased Products
• DynaMotive's Biobased Oil to be Tested as a Power Source
• LADWP to Install Fuel Cell System at its Headquarters
• FutureTruck Competition Featured on Live Webcast

• HyWeb

• Which of Today's Cars is the Greenest?

About this Newsletter

News and Events

DOE Report Finds Utility Barriers to Do-It-Yourself Power A new DOE report identifies significant barriers facing most homeowners and businesses that seek to generate their own electricity while remaining connected to the utility power grid. DOE believes that such "distributed power" systems — generators that are distributed throughout a utility's service area, rather than centrally located — could help avoid summer power shortages that have already hit the East and West Coasts. The DOE report examined 65 distributed power projects and found that 89 percent of them had to overcome major utility-related barriers. Seventeen of the projects were delayed more than four months by these barriers. See the DOE press release.

The report, "Making Connections: Case Studies of Barriers to Interconnection of Distributed Power," is posted on the new Distributed Power Program Web site on EREN.

DOE Provides $10 Million to Develop Biobased Products
DOE announced Monday that it is making $10 million available for the development of products and chemicals from biomass sources. Organic material from crops, trees, and agricultural and forest wastes can be chemically converted into such products as plastics, paints, and adhesives, thereby replacing petrochemical sources for these products. DOE will fund collaborative partnerships with industry to develop such "bioproducts" over the next three years. DOE expects to divide the funds among three to six research projects.

DOE also announced that it is awarding $675,000 to five universities for small-scale research and feasibility studies on the burning of biomass mixed with coal in utility or industrial boilers. Such "co-firing" of biomass is expected to significantly reduce emissions from coal-fired boilers. The universities will use their on-campus heating plants for the research studies. See the DOE press release.

DOE heads the Bioenergy Initiative, an effort to facilitate technology advances that will foster an integrated and competitive bioenergy industry. See the Bioenergy Initiative Web site on EREN.

DynaMotive's Biobased Oil to be Tested as a Power Source
DynaMotive Technologies Corporation announced yesterday that its BioOil fuel will be tested as a fuel source for a gas turbine. Genergy will test the fuel as power source for a 5-megawatt Solar Taurus 60 gas turbine. The testing will be performed at the Solar Turbines Incorporated facility in San Diego, California.

BioOil is produced by heating forest and agricultural wastes in the absence of oxygen, a process known as pyrolysis. BioOil burns clean with low emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides. DynaMotive currently produces BioOil for testing in a pilot plant in Vancouver, British Columbia, but the company intends to scale up to commercial BioOil production within the next two years. See the press releases on the DynaMotive Web site.

The announcement was made at the 1st World Conference and Exhibition on Biomass for Energy and Industry, now being held in Seville, Spain. More than 1000 delegates are expected at the conference. See the press release from the conference.

In addition, a conference program is available.

LADWP to Install Fuel Cell System at its Headquarters
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) announced last week that it will install a 250-kilowatt fuel cell plant in its headquarters building. FuelCell Energy, Inc. will supply the fuel cell system, which should be operational by March 2000. See the LADWP press release.

LADWP also hosted the "First GreenLA Interfaith Environmental Summit" last week at its headquarters. Leaders from 30 church, synagogue and religious-based organizations viewed numerous exhibits featuring the most recent environmentally friendly and energy-saving innovations. General Manager S. David Freeman told the religious leaders to channel their moral outrage about how we're affecting our environment to their congregations, encouraging them to take advantage of green power programs and energy-saving technologies. See the LADWP press release.

The connection of religion to energy is a recent development that has drawn a lot of attention. As just one example, an Earth Day mailing from the National Council of Churches (NCC) encouraged congregations to become "faithful energy stewards." See the NCC press release.

FutureTruck Competition Featured on Live Webcast
If you're wishing for better fuel economy from your sport utility vehicle (SUV), FutureTruck is the event for you. FutureTruck challenges engineering students to redesign a full-size SUV to achieve low emissions and high fuel economy without sacrificing performance, utility, or affordability. DOE and General Motors corporation have teamed up with 200 students from 15 U.S. and Canadian universities to apply cutting-edge technologies to brand new Chevrolet Suburbans. This year, the teams' oral presentations and the final awards will be featured on live Webcasts, held on Monday, June 12th, and Thursday, June 15th, respectively. See the FutureTruck Web site.

Site News

HyWeb
This site provides information on European hydrogen and fuel cell projects, summarizes the technical and economical status of hydrogen, and offers perspectives in the areas of production, transportation, storage, handling and applications. A quarterly online newsletter and calendar of events is also available.

Energy Facts and Tips

Which of Today's Cars is the Greenest?
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has just updated its popular "Green Book: The Environmental Guide to Cars & Trucks," and there's a tie for first place. Due to its classification as a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV) — a California clean air standard — the natural-gas powered Honda Civic GX now ties with General Motors' electric vehicle, the EV1. But the relatively limited availability of the EV1 means most consumers won't have to flip a coin to choose between the two.

ACEEE's Green Book rates vehicles based on both tailpipe pollution and global warming impacts, including emissions from auto factories, petroleum refineries, and, for electric vehicles, from power plants. See the press release, with links to the online version of the Green Book, on the ACEEE Web site.

Although ACEEE charges a nominal price for the Green Book, highlights are available for free.

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