EREN Network News

May 3, 2000

News and Events

• 30 Colorado Federal Agencies Make Record Wind Purchase
• New Jersey to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Biomass-Based District Heating Coming to St. Paul
• Federal Fuel Facility First to Offer Ethanol, Natural Gas
• Commonwealth Edison Offers "Solar Connect Illinois"
• DOE Announces $2.7 Million in Wind Power Grants
• AEP Installs Small Wind Turbines, Posts Data on Web Site
• CWRU Researchers Develop Prototype Miniature Fuel Cell

• Clean Energy Partnerships: A Decade of Success

• State Support for Renewable Energy is Growing

About this Newsletter

News and Events

30 Colorado Federal Agencies Make Record Wind Purchase
DOE announced last week that 30 federal agencies along Colorado's Front Range have committed to purchase more than 10 megawatts of wind energy. The wind energy purchase — the largest ever — will buy enough wind energy to power 3500 homes in Colorado.

The Denver Federal Executive Board — a group including government agencies in the Denver area — organized the purchase by soliciting agencies to participate in Windsource, a program run by Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo). The agencies will offset the additional costs of their wind energy purchases through energy efficiency improvements. PSCo has agreed to pursue expansion of its wind energy generation facility over the next several years to meet the added demand. See the DOE press release.

New Jersey to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced in April its commitment to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 3.5 percent below the state's 1990 emissions levels by the year 2005. The state has earmarked $320,000 in next year's proposed budget to meet the commitment, with an emphasis on energy efficiency and advanced technologies such as fuel cells.

Of the 20-million-ton reduction goal, New Jersey plans to cut 6.2 million tons through energy conservation initiatives in residential, commercial and industrial buildings; another 6.3 million tons through innovative technologies in residential, commercial and industrial buildings; and 2.2 million tons through energy conservation and innovative technologies in the transportation sector. The remainder will be achieved through waste management improvements and natural resource conservation. See the New Jersey DEP press release.

Biomass-Based District Heating Coming to St. Paul
The largest U.S. district heating system fueled by biomass energy will be operating in St. Paul, Minneapolis, by the end of 2002. District Energy St. Paul and Trigen-Cinergy Solutions expect to break ground on the project by the end of this year. The project will burn wood waste to produce 25 megawatts of electricity and 73 megawatts of thermal (heat) energy. The thermal energy will supply roughly 80 percent of the energy needs for the St. Paul district energy system, which is currently fueled with coal, oil, and natural gas. See the Trigen-Cinergy Solutions press release.

District heating and cooling systems rely on a central energy source that provides heating and cooling services to several city blocks or even the majority of a downtown area. Economies of scale allow these systems to operate at high efficiency, slashing building energy use and emissions. In St. Paul, for instance, more than 75 percent of the downtown building space is served by the district energy system, which cut carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent when it first went into service. See the District Energy St. Paul Web site.

Federal Fuel Facility First to Offer Ethanol, Natural Gas
The federal government's first fueling station to offer a selection of two alternative fuels opened Monday in Arlington, Virginia. Owned by the Navy Exchange Service and located near the Pentagon, the fueling facility will provide both ethanol and natural gas for federal vehicles. Three additional fueling stations are planned this year in the Washington, D.C., area. See the Department of Defense press release.

Commonwealth Edison Offers "Solar Connect Illinois"
Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) has teamed up with SunWize Technologies, Inc. to offer solar energy systems in its service area this summer. Along with offering customers savings on the solar photovoltaic systems, ComEd is also providing incentives for more dealers to distribute and electrical contractors to install solar energy systems. Some homeowners will also be allowed to sell excess electricity back to the utility as part of its "Wind and Photovoltaic Generation Pricing Experiment." The "Solar Connect Illinois" program will formally begin on June 21st. See the ComEd press release.

DOE Announces $2.7 Million in Wind Power Grants
DOE announced yesterday the award of $2.7 million in grants to promote the development of wind power across the United States. The grants will fund wind energy information and outreach programs, as well as economic impact studies. Although the grants will go to organizations in nine states, several of the projects have a regional or national scope. For example, MSB Energy Associates of Middletown, Wisconsin, will provide wind energy education and outreach to Native American tribes. See the DOE press release.

AEP Installs Small Wind Turbines, Posts Data on Web Site
American Electric Power (AEP) announced last month that it will install five small 10-kilowatt wind turbines at locations throughout its service area as part of a program to educate customers and students about wind energy. The company, which provides electricity to seven states in the Midwest and eastern United States, will install turbines in both weak and strong wind areas and provide real-time and cumulative performance data online. See the AEP press releases.

Currently, AEP has two of the turbines installed — one in Groveport, Ohio, and one in Beckley, West Virginia. Additional turbines will be erected in Virginia, Indiana, and Michigan. The data from the turbines are being posted on AEP's "Learning from Wind!" Web site — a follow-up to AEP's "Learning from Light!" Web site, launched last year to educate students about solar energy. See the "Learning from Wind!" Web site — particularly the "Wind Output Graphs".

CWRU Researchers Develop Prototype Miniature Fuel Cell
A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) have used microfabrication technology to produce a fuel cell the size of a pencil eraser. The team printed multiple layers of fuel cell components onto a substrate — a process that could lead to low-cost, high-volume production of fuel cells, similar to the way that many types of integrated circuits are currently manufactured. The prototype device uses hydrogen, but an advanced version of the fuel cell, using methanol as a fuel, is under development. The tiny fuel cell produces just 5 thousandths of a watt. See the CWRU press release.

Site News

Clean Energy Partnerships: A Decade of Success
This Web site features recent success stories from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The site spotlights successes from across the spectrum of buildings, power, transportation, industry, and the Federal Energy Management Program. The results are dramatic — from a more efficient industrial base to a growing clean energy technology industry; from tremendous energy savings in homes, offices and government buildings to fleets of vehicles powered by domestically produced alternative fuels.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

State Support for Renewable Energy is Growing
A report released last month by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has found that current state commitments to renewable energy will boost renewable generating capacity by 40 percent above 1997 levels. The UCS report, "Clean Power Surge: Ranking the States," found that 10 states have set minimum renewable electricity standards, and 13 states have established funds to encourage renewable energy development. Those funds will total about $2 billion through 2012. See the UCS press release, with a link to the full report.

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