EREN Network News

July 11, 2001

News and Events

• BPA Customers Commit to Save Energy, Avoid Huge Rate Hike
• Montana Power Receives Bids for 1,650 Megawatts of Wind
• Southern California Gas Offers Incentives for On-Site Power
• New Funds Encourage Alternative-Fuel Vehicles in California
• New York Businesses and Building Owners to Conserve Energy

Site News

• Solar Explorer

• World Energy Use Grew 2.1 Percent in 2000

News and Events

BPA Customers Commit to Save Energy, Avoid Huge Rate Hike
DOE's Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) announced in late June that the Pacific Northwest's utilities and industries had committed to reduce their collective electrical demand by 2,277 megawatts, thereby avoiding a threatened 250 percent rate hike. The demand reduction is within 5 percent of BPA's goal of 2,400 megawatts. Because of the commitments to reduce demand, BPA will only increase rates by 46 percent on October 1st. BPA estimates that the load reduction will save its customers a total of $4 billion. See the BPA press release

Despite the demand reductions, BPA is still doing everything it can to maximize power production from this year's limited hydropower resources. BPA announced in late June that it cannot spill water from its reservoirs to help migrating salmon this summer, stating that the loss in power generation would lower the power system's reliability to an unacceptably low level. See the BPA press release.

Just how bad is the drought in the Pacific Northwest? A new Web site from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sheds some light on that question. The site shows current U.S. conditions in terms of the Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI), which becomes more negative as conditions deteriorate: a PHDI of -3 or more is a severe drought, and a PHDI of -4 is an extreme drought. The site then looks at the probability, based on weather statistics, of receiving enough precipitation to ameliorate the drought (increase the PHDI to -2) and to end it (increase the PHDI to -0.5). Based on data from May, the probability of ending the drought by August is less than 1 percent for most of the region, but by November the likelihood of rainier weather improves the odds dramatically. See the NCDC Web site.

Montana Power Receives Bids for 1,650 Megawatts of Wind
Montana Power Company announced last week that wind energy developers responded strongly to its recent request for wind power proposals — intending to install 150 megawatts of wind power, the company received 23 proposals that total 1,650 megawatts. Montana Power will select among the projects this summer and expects construction to be complete by July 2002. See the Montana Power press release.

Southern California Gas Offers Incentives for On-Site Power
Southern California Gas Company announced Monday that it has launched a $13.6-million-per-year rebate program for customers that install on-site power generators. Aimed at businesses and large residential complexes, the program offers an incentive of $4.50 per watt (up to half the project cost) for large renewable power installations, $2.50 per watt for fuel cells and $1.00 per watt for microturbines, gas turbines, and internal combustion engines. See the company's press release.

The company also broke ground in late June on a new Central Energy Plant that will provide electricity, heating, and cooling at its three-building Pico Rivera site. A microturbine will generate 75 kilowatts of electricity for the site, and the waste heat from the microturbine will be used to help drive a super-efficient natural gas absorption chiller. The chiller will use no ozone- damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and will produce hot water for space heating and chilled water for cooling. See the company's press release.

New Funds Encourage Alternative-Fuel Vehicles in California
The California Energy Commission (CEC) is providing more than $10 million in funds to buy alternative-fuel buses and to install natural-gas refueling stations throughout the state. The CEC announced in late June that it was distributing nearly $3 million in grants to 16 public agencies in California to help with the cost of installing refueling stations for natural-gas-powered public fleets, including fleets of garbage trucks and buses. The CEC announced in early July that at least 52 school districts in the state will receive new low-emissions school buses. CEC will spend $7.5 million to buy 66 new buses — 37 powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), 3 by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and 26 by low-sulfur diesel. The bus purchase is part of a larger $50 million California program to reduce emissions from buses.

Natural-gas powered buses are also now serving Hearst Castle, located in southern California. Sixteen new buses started service in late June to take visitors on the 10-mile round trip between the visitor center and the castle. See the press release from the Southern California Gas Company.

Alternative-fuel buses are also coming to Glacier National Park in Montana. Ford Motor Company, in partnership with the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, is refurbishing the park's historic Red Buses to run on propane — the first was completed in June. See the U.S. Department of Interior announcement.

See also the National Park Foundation Web site.

New York Businesses and Building Owners to Conserve Energy
Lest we give the impression that all the news is happening out West, let's turn our attention to New York City, which is also facing tight electricity supplies this summer. To help avoid any power outages, the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce (NYCP) and the Real Estate Board of New York are leading a voluntary energy conservation program among major New York City businesses and building owners. Participants in the program will raise building temperatures by two degrees Fahrenheit, turn off unnecessary lights, and activate energy management features on their computer equipment. The participants expect to reduce their electricity demand by 25 to 30 megawatts through these simple measures. In case of power emergencies, the participants will take additional actions to reduce their demand by as much as 160 megawatts — enough to power 160,000 homes. See the press release on the NYCP Web site.

The program leaders already have commitments that represent more than 300 million square feet of office space in the city. See the Summer Energy Program page on the NYCP Web site.

The Independent Power Producers of New York (IPPNY) have announced their five-point program to address the state's long- and short-term energy needs. The program includes increased energy conservation and accelerating the siting of new, cleaner, diverse power sources. See the IPPNY press release.

Site News

Solar Explorer
This site, sponsored by the Tucson Citizen newspaper in Tucson, Arizona, provides a weekly wrap-up of solar articles from the paper, as well as solar facts, photos, and a glossary of terms. The site is powered solely by solar power.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

World Energy Use Grew 2.1 Percent in 2000
BP released its respected "Statistical Review of World Energy" for 2000 in late June. The report finds that after two years of essentially no growth, world energy use grew 2.1 percent in 2000. Natural gas was the most rapidly growing fossil fuel, experiencing 4.8 percent growth in 2000. Oil prices averaged 58 percent higher than in 1999, holding growth in that fuel to only 1.0 percent. The use of coal also increased, with a decreased use in China offset by rapid growth in the rest of Asia, Europe, and the United States. The report is compiled annually by the company, using government and public sources of data.

For the first time, BP also prepared a "Statistical Review of U.S. Energy" for the year 2000. U.S. energy consumption also grew at a faster pace than in recent years — 2.3 percent growth for the year — due in large part to colder weather. See the BP press release or go directly to the two reports.

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