EREN Network News

February 28, 2001

News and Events

• BPA Seeks 1,000 Megawatts of Wind Power
• Arizona Commission Adopts Renewable Energy Mandate
• General Motors Sues to Overturn California ZEV Rules
• Study: Ethanol Helps U.S. Economy by Cutting Oil Imports
• Green Mountain Gains 50,000 Philadelphia-Area Customers

• Cogen Europe

• U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Clean Air Act Standards
• Study Ties Black Carbon Soot to Global Warming

News and Events

BPA Seeks 1,000 Megawatts of Wind Power
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) announced last week that it seeks to install "upwards of 1,000 megawatts" of wind power and is now soliciting proposals from companies. "We want as much power as fast as we can get it to help alleviate the energy shortage," said George Darr, BPA’s renewable resource program manager. According to BPA, wind power projects "are particularly attractive because they can come online in a relatively short time (24 to 30 months), offer power that is competitively priced with other sources such as combustion turbines, are relatively easy to site and expand, have low environmental impacts (including no carbon emissions) and are highly desirable to buyers of 'green' power." The 1,000 megawatts BPA is soliciting would supply the needs of about 150,000 households in the Northwest. See the BPA press release.

Wind power will also get a boost in Colorado, where last week the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ordered Xcel Energy to include a wind energy project in its plans. As part of a five-year energy plan, the CPUC ordered Xcel Energy to negotiate a contract for a 162-megawatt wind plant near Lamar. Although Xcel Energy currently has a customer-supported wind energy program, the Lamar wind plant will be the first Colorado wind installation to be included in the company's rate base, which is paid by all of the company's electric customers in the state. See the CPUC press release.

Arizona Commission Adopts Renewable Energy Mandate
The Arizona Corporate Commission (ACC), which regulates the utilities in Arizona, announced early this month the adoption of a new rule, the Environmental Portfolio Standard, requiring the state's regulated utilities to generate a minimum of 0.2 percent of their total retail energy sales from renewable sources in 2001. That percentage will increase each year, reaching 1.0 percent in 2005 and topping out at 1.1 percent in 2007. The ruling is particularly significant for solar electric technologies, which must be used to meet half of the requirement through 2003, and then must be used to meet 60 percent of the requirement. See the ACC press release.

For more information, including the full text of the order, see the ACC's "Environmental Portfolio Standard Developments" Web page.

The Environmental Portfolio Standard is one example of a policy that is generally referred to as a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). For more information about RPS policies, see the American Wind Energy Association's Web site.

General Motors Sues to Overturn California ZEV Rules
General Motors Corporation (GM) filed suit last week against the California Air Resources Board (ARB) in an attempt to overturn ARB's latest ruling on Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs). GM contends the ARB has violated California laws by overlooking the effects of the regulation and declining to consider better alternatives. See the GM press release.

The ARB adopted new rules for its ZEV program on January 25th. Since the new rules are somewhat confusing, the ARB has published a fact sheet to summarize and clarify them. See the fact sheet on California's "ZEVinfo" Web site.

One of the new rules is the creation of a new category of vehicles, called the "advanced technology partial-credit ZEV," or AT-PZEV, which use such advanced technology as compressed natural gas, hybrid electric technology, or fuel cells. Manufacturers of such vehicles earn partial credits toward their required sales of ZEVs. Because the vehicles must also meet California's Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standard, have zero evaporative emissions, and include a 150,000-mile warranty on emissions control equipment, neither the current Honda Insight nor the Toyota Prius qualify as AT-PZEVs. However, the natural gas-powered 2001 Honda Civic GX has been certified as meeting the standard, as Honda announced on Monday. See the Honda press release.

Study: Ethanol Helps U.S. Economy by Cutting Oil Imports
A study released last week by Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns finds that an increased use of ethanol in the United States would channel more money into the U.S. economy while reducing the amount sent overseas to pay for oil imports. The study found that quadrupling the use of ethanol over the next fifteen years would save U.S. consumers $57.5 billion, add $685 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product, increase the total income of U.S. households by nearly $186 billion, and create more than 156,000 new jobs. The study did not include the positive effect on farm income that would result from the expanding domestic market for agricultural products. The study was released at the 6th Annual National Ethanol Conference, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

The conference also featured a demonstration of the benefits of ethanol-blended diesel, which the RFA claims reduces particulate matter emissions from diesel engines by 30 to 40 percent. See the press releases on the RFA Web site.

Green Mountain Gains 50,000 Philadelphia-Area Customers
Green Mountain Energy Company, a supplier of electricity from renewable energy and other "clean" energy sources, announced last week that it will be providing electricity to 50,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. The company will provide discounted electricity to randomly selected customers of PECO Energy who have not yet chosen a new provider of energy services. See the press release on the Green Mountain Energy Company Web site.

Site News

Cogen Europe
Cogen Europe is the European association for the promotion of cogeneration. Its membership includes more than 190 power companies, power authorities and companies involved in cogeneration in 30 countries. The Web site provides a general explanation of cogeneration, an overview of European legislation favorable to cogeneration, and a related publications list.

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

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Clean Air Act Standards
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to set clean air standards based on health considerations, without considering the costs of meeting those standards. The unanimous decision rejected a challenge by an alliance of industrial groups that had opposed EPA rulings on smog- causing ozone and fine particulates, or soot.

The Supreme Court ruling leaves both the ozone and fine particulate standards in place. However, the EPA must revisit its implementation of the ozone standard. For a summary of the ruling, see the press release from the American Lung Association.

For the full text of the Supreme Court decision, see the Cornell Law School's Supreme Court Collection.

The EPA standards may impact a wide variety of activities, many of which are energy related. Fine particulates are primarily caused by industrial and residential combustion and vehicle exhaust. Ozone is caused by pollutants emitted from motor vehicles, power plants, factories, chemical solvents, combustion products from various fuels, and consumer products. For more information about these pollutants and the EPA standards, see the EPA Web site.

Study Ties Black Carbon Soot to Global Warming
A scientist at Stanford University recently published a study that finds emissions of black carbon soot may be responsible for 15 to 30 percent of global warming. Sooty particulates are ignored in most climate models because the soot alone has very little warming effect. But the new study, published in the February 8th edition of Nature, found that black carbon particles, which compose much of the soot in the air, are very likely to combine with other chemicals in the atmosphere, greatly enhancing their effect on global warming. See the Stanford University press release.

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