EREN Network News

March 22, 2000

News and Events

• Clinton Administration Requests MTBE Phaseout, Proposes Renewable Fuel Standard for Ethanol
• Underwriters Laboratories Offers Wind Turbine Certification
• Semiconductor Alloy May Yield High-Efficiency Solar Cells
• DOE Helps National Labs Work with State Organizations
• DOE to Examine Proposed Efficiency Standards for Lamps

• Clean Fuels Foundation

• EIA: World Energy Use to Grow 60 Percent by 2020
• EIA Predicts Gasoline Averaging Above $1.50 per Gallon

About this Newsletter

News and Events

Clinton Administration Requests MTBE Phaseout, Proposes Renewable Fuel Standard for Ethanol
The White House announced Monday that it is sending a legislative framework to Congress that will phase out the use of MTBE as a gasoline additive through an amendment to the Clean Air Act. The administration also proposes a renewable fuel standard for gasoline that will maintain existing levels of ethanol production and allow for sustained growth in the renewable fuels industry over the coming decade.

The proposal was released in a joint announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). EPA also used its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act to formally initiate regulatory action to eliminate or phase down MTBE. EPA expects to issue a full proposal to ban or phase down MTBE within six months. See the EPA press release by selecting "EPA Headquarters Press Releases" on this EPA Web page.

As part of the announcement, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman announced that USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation will provide up to $100 million in fiscal year 2000 and up to $150 million in 2001 and 2002 in incentive payments to ethanol and other bioenergy producers to expand the production of biobased fuels. See the USDA press release.

In related news, DOE has released its research and development portfolio for fiscal year 2001, which includes an initiative to develop ultra-clean transportation fuels. See the DOE press release.

Underwriters Laboratories Offers Wind Turbine Certification
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) announced last week that it is the first organization in the United States to offer wind turbine certification. As with other certified products, UL certification of wind turbines will assure purchasers that the turbines will function safely. See the UL press release.

To perform the turbine certifications, UL will work closely with the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC), part of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NWTC's facilities are the most advanced in the United States for wind turbine testing. See the NWTC Web site.

Semiconductor Alloy May Yield High-Efficiency Solar Cells
Researchers at DOE's Sandia National Laboratories are investigating the use of a new semiconductor alloy, indium gallium arsenide nitride (InGaAsN), for the production of high-efficiency solar cells. Although indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) has been used in the past, the addition of nitrogen alters the properties of the material, allowing it to convert deep red and infrared light into electricity. If used in a four- layer solar cell, the material could theoretically allow the cell to achieve a 40 percent efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity, according to the researchers. See the Sandia press release.

The semiconductor material under investigation at Sandia is considered a "thin-film" photovoltaic material. Multiple layers of thin films can be used to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity, with each layer designed to capture a specific range of wavelengths within the solar spectrum. To learn more about such "multijunction" photovoltaic cells, see the "About Photovoltaics" section of DOE's Photovoltaics Program Web site on EREN.

DOE Helps National Labs Work with State Organizations
DOE announced last week that it has developed model agreements that will help establish cooperative research projects between its national laboratories and state energy research organizations. This may include such active research organizations as the Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutes, the California Energy Commission, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. DOE also announced the availability of approximately $6 million in funding for cooperative agreements with state entities for energy efficiency research, development, and demonstration projects. See the DOE press release.

DOE to Examine Proposed Efficiency Standards for Lamps
DOE will hold a public hearing in Washington, D.C., on April 18th to examine proposed energy efficiency standards for fluorescent lighting in commercial and industrial applications. Under the proposal, as of April 1, 2005, all commercial and industrial fluorescent lamps sold must have energy-efficient electronic ballasts, rather than magnetic ballasts. Magnetic ballasts will remain available as replacement parts until 2010. The change will save enough energy over the following 30 years to heat and power up to 250,000 homes. See the DOE press release.

Site News

Clean Fuels Foundation
The Clean Fuels Foundation supports the development of all cleaner burning fuels that demonstrate the ability to reduce pollution and crude oil imports. This site provides the history, benefits, and issues of different types of clean fuels and technologies including alcohol fuels, biodiesel, ethanol, methanol, MTBE, natural gas, and propane, as well as fuel cells and electric vehicles. News articles, congressional testimony, and numerous statistics on current fuel usage and availability are included as well as information on the environmental and health impact of gasoline.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

EIA: World Energy Use to Grow 60 Percent by 2020
DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its "International Energy Outlook 2000" last week, with energy projections through 2020. Under current energy policies, the report projects world energy consumption growing by 60 percent from 1997 to 2020, with developing nations increasing their energy use by 121 percent. According to EIA, the growth in energy use will include a 70 percent increase in electricity use and will drive a 41 percent increase in oil consumption and a doubling in the use of natural gas. As a result, EIA projects a 72 percent increase in carbon emissions from 1990 to 2020. See the EIA press release, with a link to the full report.

EIA Predicts Gasoline Averaging Above $1.50 per Gallon
With the continuing angst about high fuel costs in the United States, DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has created a special "Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update" page on its Web site. Documents on this site show that oil and gasoline inventories are at low levels that haven't been hit in the United States for at least 25 years. EIA anticipates price spikes in the spring, but inventories could continue to remain precariously low throughout the summer. Regular unleaded gasoline is projected to average above $1.50 per gallon this spring.

As stated in one of the documents, "It is becoming increasingly apparent that, so far as gasoline markets are concerned, the United States is moving into uncharted territory. For our current set of projections, and particularly for the next month or so, the degree of uncertainty concerning the likely path for gasoline prices is particularly high." See the "Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update," prominently featured on the EIA home page.

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