EREN Network News

April 18, 2001

News and Events

• Earth Day Plans Emphasize Renewable Energy, Parked Cars
• California Governor Signs $500-Million Energy Saving Bill
• DOE Announces Standards for Washers, Water Heaters, Air Conditioners, and Heat Pumps
• DOE Releases New Software for Saving Energy in Buildings
• Arizona Utility Dedicates 400 Kilowatts of New Solar Power

• High Performance Zion Visitor Center

• Studies: Ocean Temperatures Support Global Warming

News and Events

Earth Day Plans Emphasize Renewable Energy, Parked Cars
Earth Day 2001 arrives on Sunday, April 22nd, and for the second year in a row, the Earth Day Network is emphasizing renewable energy. "America has an historic opportunity to lead the world into the solar era," says Denis Hayes, chair of the Earth Day Network.

But a prelude to Earth Day may actually draw more attention than the main event. Earth Car Free Day, to be held on Thursday, April 19th, will encourage people to leave their cars at home for the day. Earth Day Network is working with The Commons, a Paris-based group, to organize the event, which will reduce the air pollution and energy use caused by Earth's 700 million cars — for a day, at least. Organized activities are planned in cities throughout the world, including major U.S. cities such as New York, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. See the Earth Car Free Day page on the Earth Day Network Web site.

Policymakers tend to see the need to reduce our use of personal vehicles as a matter of reducing the vehicle miles traveled by the average individual. A wide variety of factors can affect the vehicle miles traveled, including urban planning, carpooling, mass transit systems, alternative transportation, shared vehicles, telecommuting, and so- called "smart" transportation technologies. For more information on all these approaches, see the "Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled" page in the EREN Transportation section.

In the United States, we seem to be making progress, at least when it comes to public transportation. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) reported on Monday that U.S. public transportation ridership is up for the fifth straight year. In 2000, the use of public transportation increased 3.5 percent over the previous year — four times faster than the growth in U.S. population — while car use remained level. See the APTA press release.

California Governor Signs $500-Million Energy Saving Bill
California Governor Gray Davis signed legislation last week that establishes a $500-million program to save energy in the state. The bill provides 50 percent rebates to consumers that buy efficient refrigerators and air conditioners and pays the full cost of installing energy-efficient lighting in businesses. It channels $60 million to municipal power authorities to augment their energy efficiency programs legislation, and also includes $105 million for distributed generation projects using renewable energy and other clean energy sources. The governor noted that Californians had reduced their electricity use by 9.2 percent in March, which shows promise for the summer goal of reducing power consumption by 10 percent.

An additional bill provides $240 million to low-income households for such services as home weatherization. See the governor's press releases from April 10th, 11th and 16th.

The governor also signed legislation that will allow homeowners and businesses to connect systems up to one megawatt in capacity to the electrical grid and receive credit for power they provide to the grid. The so-called "net metering" law was praised by the California Solar Energy Industries Association, which has a press release posted on the PowerLight Corporation Web site.

California home and business owners that may be tempted by the new net metering law have more good news in store: the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced in late March that it has approved new incentive programs for customers that choose to generate their own power. The credits run the gamut of distributed generation technologies and range up to $4.50 per watt for photovoltaic or wind energy systems, or for fuel cell systems using a renewable fuel. See the CPUC press release.

DOE Announces Standards for Washers, Water Heaters, Air Conditioners, and Heat Pumps
DOE announced action on new energy standards last week that by 2030 will save enough energy across the United States to equal the output from 62 new 400-megawatt power plants.

DOE completed a 60-day review of new energy standards for washers and hot water heaters, letting stand regulations that by 2004 will cut the energy use of clothes washers by 22 percent, cut the energy use of gas water heaters by 8 percent, and cut the energy use of electric water heaters by 4 percent. In 2007, the washer standards will tighten, reducing the energy use of new washers by 35 percent compared to today's standards. The energy savings from the washer standard alone will yield a net U.S. economic benefit of $15.3 billion by 2030. See the DOE press release.

DOE also announced its intention to propose new standards that will yield a 20 percent decrease in energy use for central air conditioners and heat pumps used in homes. The proposal will set the new standard for central air conditioners and heat pumps at a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 12, which is less restrictive than a 13 SEER standard proposed by the Clinton administration.

The SEER rating represents the total cooling provided by a central air conditioner or heat pump during the normal cooling season, divided by the total electric energy that it consumes during the same period. A unit with a 13 SEER rating would use 7.7 percent less electricity than a unit with a 12 SEER rating. The 12 SEER rating is equal to the current Energy Star criterion for energy-efficient air conditioning. See the Energy Star Web site.

"We were particularly concerned that the Clinton rule placed too high a cost burden on consumers,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. The Clinton rule would have increased the cost of a system by $122 compared to the new proposed standard, increasing the buyers' payback time from 9.8 years to 11 years. See the DOE press release.

DOE Releases New Software for Saving Energy in Buildings
DOE released last week a next-generation computer program called EnergyPlus, which simulates energy use in buildings based on their design. EnergyPlus allows users to calculate the impacts of different heating, cooling and ventilating equipment and various types of lighting and windows, allowing users to maximize building energy efficiency and occupant comfort. Earlier DOE building design software has already been used by architects, engineers, building owners, and managers to save an estimated $20 billion. EnergyPlus adds new features that permit users to simulate the effect of window blinds, electrochromic windows, and complex daylighting systems. See the DOE press release.

EnergyPlus can be downloaded from the EREN Web site.

Electrochromic windows, by the way, are windows that can be darkened or lightened electronically. This new window technology will allow automatic, electronic control of solar heating or daylighting in buildings. See the Electrochromics Windows Research site on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Web site.

Arizona Utility Dedicates 400 Kilowatts of New Solar Power
APS, Arizona's largest utility, dedicated three new solar electric systems early this month, adding 400 kilowatts of new solar energy capacity to its electrical supply. The three new photovoltaic systems — located in the cities of Glendale, Prescott, and Gilbert — doubled APS' installed solar generating capacity, which is financed by customers who pay a premium for their electricity. APS has nearly 2,500 participants in its solar energy program, the APS Solar Partners. See the April 2nd press release on the APS Web site.

Site News

High Performance Zion Visitor Center
The Zion National Park Visitor Center is one of the U.S. National Park Service's most energy efficient complexes. This Web site explores the center through a QuickTime Virtual Reality tour that provides 360-degree panoramas of each energy-saving measure along with the scenic beauty of Zion. (The free QuickTime plug-in is required to view the panoramas.)

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

Studies: Ocean Temperatures Support Global Warming
Two new studies of ocean warming say that recent observations agree well with what scientists would expect from global warming, providing new confirmation for the theory. A recent study of ocean warming found that the upper 3000 meters of the oceans have increased in temperature over the past 50 years. The two new studies, published in the April 13th edition of Science magazine, used different climate models and found that these observations agree well with what the models expect when the greenhouse effect is amplified by emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. See "Anthropogenic Warming's Oceanic Signature," on the Science magazine Web site.

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