EREN Network News

December 05, 2001

News and Events

• Interior, DOE Examine Renewable Energy on Public Lands
• Green Mountain Energy to Supply Green Power to Oregon
• Green Certificates: An Alternative Way to Buy Green Power
• Boeing Investigates Fuel Cell Power for Airplanes
• GM Announces Ethanol-Fuel Capability for Full-Size Pickups
• Segway Unveils the Scooter-Like "Human Transporter"
• Conoco Starts Up a 420-Megawatt Cogeneration Plant

Energy Facts and Tips

• October 2001 was the Warmest on Record Globally

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News and Events

Interior, DOE Examine Renewable Energy on Public Lands
U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton and DOE co-sponsored a conference last week that examined ways to increase the production of renewable energy on U.S. public lands. Secretary Norton and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham will present recommendations to the President and Vice President based on the conference. Secretary Norton noted that the President's National Energy Policy specifically directs her to reduce delays in geothermal lease processing. "Our shared mission is both simple and noble," said Norton to the conference attendees. "We must explore ways to better capture the sun's light, the sky's winds, the land's bounty, and the earth's heat to provide energy security for America's families."

David Garman, DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, attended the meeting, as did representatives from the President's Council on Environmental Quality, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Senator Byron Dorgan, who co-chairs the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, and Congressmen Zach Wamp and Mark Udall, co-chairs of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, also attended. Panels on renewable energy technologies were chaired by leaders in the fields of geothermal, wind, solar, biomass and hydropower energy. See the press release and Secretary Norton's speech on the U.S. Department of Interior Web site.

Panelists from the renewable energy industry made several recommendations at the conference. For example, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) called for reform of the hydropower licensing process and financial incentives for new hydropower development. See the NHA press release.

Green Mountain Energy to Supply Green Power to Oregon
Oregon's two largest electric utilities have selected Green Mountain Energy Company (GMEC) to provide a green power option to their customers. Pacific Power and Portland General Electric announced Monday that, pending the signing of final contracts, GMEC will start offering green power options in March 2002. This will include an option for customers to receive all their electricity from renewable energy sources. Oregon's new electric restructuring law requires that utilities provide access to such green power options.

GMEC has been active on several fronts lately. In mid- November, the company started switching thousands of customers over from the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company in Ohio. The company also dedicated a new 30-kilowatt solar electric system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. See the GMEC press releases.

If you are able to buy green power in your area, and you happen to be buying one of the 27 Green-e certified green power products sold in four states, we have good news: you're getting more than you paid for. In 2000, for the third year in a row, green power companies delivered more renewable power to the electric grid than they had promised — a total of 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable power. See the news, with links to the full Green-e report and press release, on the EREN Green Power Web site.

Green Certificates: An Alternative Way to Buy Green Power
Are you unable to buy green power from your utility? You might consider buying so-called "green tags" or "green certificates," which typically allow you to pay the extra cost of producing power from renewable energy at some facility that may be near or far from you. The power is typically sold into the local power markets at the going rate. The idea is, by paying the added cost, you earn the right to claim the environmental benefits of the power. See the list of "Green Certificate Marketers" on the EREN Green Power Web site.

One recent entry is NativeEnergy, which has launched WindBuilders, a green certificate program for new wind power construction. The company initially intends to build a 2.7-megawatt wind facility near Freeman, South Dakota, called the Graber Family Wind Farm. The company also intends to install more than 150 megawatts of wind capacity in the next five years. NativeEnergy claims that a one-year membership for $11 per month will avoid the production of 12 tons of carbon dioxide, which is roughly equal to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from the average U.S. household. See the NativeEnergy Web site.

Boeing Investigates Fuel Cell Power for Airplanes
Boeing Commercial Airplanes announced last week that it is working with Boeing's new Research and Technology Center in Madrid, Spain, to build an all-electric airplane. The company is modifying a small, single-engine airplane by replacing its engine with fuel cells and an electric motor that will turn a conventional propeller. Although the airplane will be an impressive demonstration, don't expect to see a fuel-cell-powered 747 anytime soon — Boeing currently anticipates using fuel cells only to meet on-board electricity needs on commercial aircraft. Currently, gas turbines are used in auxiliary power units that produce electricity and air for airplane systems while on the ground and for backup use in flight. Fuel cells are inherently cleaner and quieter than these auxiliary power units and can generate more than twice as much electricity with the same amount of fuel. See the Boeing press release.

GM Announces Ethanol-Fuel Capability for Full-Size Pickups
The first full-size pickup trucks that can run on E85 — an 85- percent ethanol fuel blend — will be available from General Motors Corporation (GM) in 2002. GM announced last week that E85 compatibility will be available as a special equipment option on select 1500-series Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras equipped with the 5300 Vortec engine. The option is available for customer orders through all Chevrolet and GMC dealers.

The Monsanto Company placed the first order for the vehicles, ordering 50 Silverados for use in the field. See the GM press release.

Segway Unveils the Scooter-Like "Human Transporter"
Segway LLC ended a year of speculation on Monday with the unveiling of the Human Transporter, or HT, a scooter-like device for short-distance travel. Looking somewhat like an upended manual lawn mower, the two-wheeled device uses gyroscopes and sensors to allow the rider to balance effortlessly. The Segway HT will initially be available only for commercial use — the U.S. Postal Service and Amazon.com are among the first to test it out — and will be sold to consumers in 2002. The company expects to eventually produce three models to meet varying terrain and space requirements. Segway's founder, Dean Kamen, generated considerable media interest about a year ago when news leaked of the then-secret project, code-named both "IT" and "Ginger." See the Segway press releases.

Along with its unique balancing technology, the Segway HT includes energy-management technology borrowed from other electric vehicles. Saft provided nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal-hydride batteries with integrated charge management, and a brushless electric motor designed by Pacific Scientific recovers energy and recharges the batteries while decelerating or going downhill. Unknown at this time, of course, is if the device will truly decrease urban traffic, as the inventor intends, or if it will just decrease the use of more old-fashioned energy-saving transportation systems, like walking or riding a bicycle. But regardless, the technology is intriguing. Peruse the Segway's content-rich Web site.

Conoco Starts Up a 420-Megawatt Cogeneration Plant
Conoco Energy Solutions announced last week the startup of a 420-megawatt cogeneration power plant at a DuPont chemical plant in Orange County, Texas. Conoco will supply natural gas to the power plant, which will provide steam and power to the DuPont Sabine River Works facility. The power plant, owned jointly by Conoco and NRG Energy, Inc., will generate more power than the DuPont facility requires, and the excess power will be sold into the Texas electricity market. See Conoco press release.

Power plants that produce both useful steam and electricity are known as cogeneration plants, or combined heat and power (CHP) plants. They achieve a much higher efficiency than typical stand-alone power plants. To spur greater investment in CHP plants, a recent report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) concluded that an investment tax credit was the best option. Another recent report suggested establishing special emission standards for CHP plants. See these and other efficiency-related announcements on the ACEEE press release page.

Even without such incentives, two CHP plants are currently planned for California. In late October, the California Energy Commission (CEC) gave its approval for the construction of the Valero Cogeneration Project, a 102-megawatt facility proposed for the Valero refinery in Benecia. The $100 million plant will consist of two combustion turbine generators that will produce enough electricity to run the refinery, in effect taking it off the state's electrical grid. Steam produced by the power plant will be used in refinery processes, allowing the retirement of three older boilers. Refinery gas will fuel the facility, freeing natural gas for other users. The Valero Refining Company expects to complete the facility by the end of 2002. See the CEC press release.

The other CHP plant now planned for California demonstrates that CHP doesn't necessarily involve large industrial facilities. In late October, Koch Financial Corporation announced that it is financing a 14.4-megawatt CHP plant at California's San Diego State University. Koch will provide more than $22 million in tax-exempt financing for two natural-gas turbine generators. Waste heat from the turbines will be used for either steam heat or absorption cooling for the campus, or possibly to generate more electricity. See the Koch press release.

Energy Facts and Tips

October 2001 was the Warmest on Record Globally
High average global temperatures this October earned the month the unwelcome distinction as the warmest October on record, announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in late November. The globally averaged temperature was 58.2 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 degrees Celcius) — 1.0 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius) above the long-term average. The year-to-date global temperature stands at 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius) above average, the second-warmest January-to-October period since global surface temperature records began in 1880.

According to NOAA, global temperatures have risen by 1.0 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius) over the past 100 years. The rise in temperature has been more rapid during the past 25 years, at a rate approximately three times greater than the century-long trend. See the NOAA press release.

Although surface temperatures have risen rapidly over the past 25 years, the temperatures in Earth's lower troposphere have remained steady. The lower troposphere extends from the Earth's surface up to about 8 kilometers, or about 5 miles, and its near-constant temperature has led critics to question the surface temperature data. However, researchers at DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) believe they have an answer to the dilemma: Volcanoes.

The LLNL scientists used a statistical procedure to separate El Nino and volcanic effects in observed temperature records. They found that aerosol particles from the El Chichon eruption in 1982 and the Pinatubo eruption in 1991 cooled the lower troposphere and probably masked the actual warming of the troposphere. Volcanoes therefore supply at least part of the explanation for the different temperature trends at the Earth's surface and in the troposphere. See the LLNL press release.

For all the data on global temperature trends, including both the surface and lower troposphere temperatures, see NOAA's National Climatic Data Center Web site.

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