EREN Network News

January 24, 2001

News and Events

• Nevada Test Site to Host Second-Largest U.S. Wind Plant
• DOE Adopts New Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances
• BP Opens First U.S. Service Station with Solar Canopy
• Shea Homes to Include Solar Electric Systems on New Houses
• DOE Issues New Standard for Measuring Energy Savings

• Green LA — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

• Scientific Panel Boosts Predictions of Global Warming

News and Events

Nevada Test Site to Host Second-Largest U.S. Wind Plant
DOE announced last week that the Nevada Test Site (NTS) will be the location for a 260-megawatt wind power facility, which will be the second-largest wind plant in the United States. The NTS, located 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, was used for testing nuclear weapons until 1992. The NTS Development Corporation (NTSDC), a non-profit organization funded by DOE, has since been working to develop the site's renewable energy resources. To build the wind plant, NTSDC has formed a partnership with MNS Wind Company, which is itself a partnership being negotiated between M&N Wind Power and Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. The first 85 megawatts of wind turbines — enough to provide power to 85,000 people — will be complete by the end of this year. See the DOE press release.

See also the NTSDC Web site.

In related news, FPL Energy, LLC announced that it has started construction of a 25.5-megawatt wind facility in Iowa County, Wisconsin. The 17-turbine wind plant will be completed by spring. Wisconsin Electric will buy the electricity from the plant, which will power more than 5,000 homes. See the press release on the FPL Energy Web site.

DOE Adopts New Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances
DOE announced last week the adoption of new energy efficiency standards for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps, clothes washers and water heaters, and for commercial heating and cooling equipment. The new standards are projected to save consumers and businesses more than $19 billion through the year 2030 and will alleviate the need to build 91 new 400-megawatt power plants. In one of the final statements of his presidency, then-President Bill Clinton remarked, "These standards once again demonstrate that environmental protection and economic growth go hand in hand." See the DOE press release.

In related news, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has just updated its online "Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings" to include the latest models of energy-efficient boilers and furnaces See the ACEEE Web site.

BP Opens First U.S. Service Station with Solar Canopy
BP announced the opening early this month of a service station in Indianapolis that features a solar-electric canopy. The Indianapolis station is the first U.S. "BP Connect" store, a model that BP intends to use for all new or significantly revamped BP service stations. The canopy is built using translucent photovoltaic modules made of thin films of silicon deposited onto glass. BP is building similar service stations in Cleveland, Chicago, and Atlanta that will open in the next few weeks. See the BP press release.

The thin-film solar modules are being manufactured at a BP Solar plant in Toano, Virginia. See more information about the solar modules.

Shea Homes to Include Solar Electric Systems on New Houses
Shea Homes, Inc. and AstroPower, Inc. announced early this month that solar electric systems will become a feature in new Shea communities. Shea Homes is the 10th largest builder in the United States, having built 5000 homes in 1999. Shea Homes will start by building 100 homes near San Diego, California, that will feature Astropower's solar photovoltaic systems. The homes will also be 40 percent more efficient than California's building code requires. Over the next 18 months, the company intends to build a total of 200 homes that include solar electric systems. See the press release on the AstroPower Web site.

DOE Issues New Standard for Measuring Energy Savings
DOE announced last week the release of the third edition of the "International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol" (IPMVP). The protocol provides an overview of current best practice techniques for verifying the energy savings due to energy efficiency, water efficiency, and renewable energy projects in commercial and industrial facilities. It may also be used by facility operators to assess and improve facility performance. See the DOE press release.

See also the IPMVP Web site.

Site News

Green LA — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
This site educates Los Angeles residents about their green power options. Residents can sign up for green power and learn about solar power and energy efficiency programs, including the financial incentives available to incorporate these technologies into homes and businesses. In addition, the site includes information about purchasing electric vehicles and locating charging stations.

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

Scientific Panel Boosts Predictions of Global Warming
Leading climate change scientists and government officials from around the world have finalized a major report confirming that the evidence for humanity’s influence on the global climate is now stronger than ever before. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released on Monday the first volume of its Third Assessment Report, which updates the scientific assessment of research into global warming. The new report projects a global warming of 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius (2.5 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, significantly higher than the increase of 1.0 to 3.5 degrees Celsius predicted by the IPCC in its previous assessment report. According to the report, sea levels are likely to rise 9 to 88 centimeters (3.5 to 34.6 inches) over the same period. See the IPCC Web site.

Although an update of the global impacts of climate change is not yet available from the IPCC, the U.S. assessment of the potential impacts of climate change — released in draft form in June 2000 — is now available. However, the U.S. version was based on a global warming of at most 4.4 degrees Celsius (8 degrees Fahrenheit). See the U.S. National Assessment.

The Worldwatch Institute is already noting signs of environmental decline in its "State of the World 2001" report. According to the report, the Arctic ice cap has already thinned by 42 percent, and 27 percent of the world's coral reefs have been lost. See the press release on the Worldwatch Institute's Web site.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, accelerating the introduction of renewable energy "is one of the most pressing issues facing mankind in the new millenium" if the threats of climate change and the need to tackle poverty and ill health in the developing world are to be addressed. See the UNEP press release.

And finally, a positive note: although U.S. greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the voluntary reductions of greenhouse emissions by U.S. companies and organizations tripled between 1995 and 1999. A total of 201 U.S. companies and other organizations reported they had undertaken 1715 projects in 1999, achieving the equivalent to eliminating 226 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions — about 3.4 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 1999. Most of the reductions were achieved by the electric power industry. See the press release from DOE's Energy Information Administration.

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