EREN Network News

June 27, 2001

News and Events

• BPA Pursuing 830 Megawatts of Wind Power in Northwest
• US Home Plans 1,000 Solar Homes in Lincoln, California
• DOE Awards $17.9 Million for Fuel Cell Research
• Wisconsin Facility Generates Power from Cow Manure
• SCE Reaches Deal with Renewable Power Generators
• Marquette University Wins Solar Boat Race

Site News

• ColoradoEnergy.org

• EIA Provides Information on Summer Gasoline Prices

News and Events

BPA Pursuing 830 Megawatts of Wind Power in Northwest
DOE announced Monday that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) intends to sign pre-development agreements for seven new wind power projects in the Pacific Northwest that will total 830 megawatts in capacity. Five of the proposed projects are located in Washington and two are located in Oregon. The projects will produce enough electricity to power nearly 270,000 homes and, if built, should be complete by late 2003.

BPA will negotiate pre-development agreements with four companies — SeaWest WindPower, Inc.; Zilkha Renewable Energy; Columbia Wind Power; and Pacific Winds — and will perform environmental and technical assessments before signing power purchase agreements for the projects. See the DOE press release.

BPA had requested wind energy proposals in February of this year, and by late April had received 25 proposals that totaled 2,600 megawatts. See the May 2nd edition of EREN Network News.

BPA has also agreed on Monday to help Golden Northwest Aluminum Inc. develop new wind generating resources. BPA says its support will be limited to 200 megawatts of capacity. The agreement is part of a load-reduction agreement made by Golden Northwest, which will delay the restart of its smelters for an additional six months.

BPA announced six new load-reduction agreements with utilities and municipalities in the past week. The Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD), the Kittitas PUD, and the cities of Ellensburg and Bonners Ferry all agreed to 10 percent load reductions for one year, starting in October. The Springfield Utility Board agreed to a two-year reduction of 20 percent. More agreements are in the works, and the final outcome will be announced by BPA on Friday. See the BPA press releases.

US Home Plans 1,000 Solar Homes in Lincoln, California
US Home, a division of Lennar Corporation, announced last week that it plans to build 1,000 solar-powered homes in its Bickford Ranch community, located in Lincoln, California. AstroPower, Inc. has been selected to provide at least 500 of the solar electric systems beginning in 2003. US Home will install 917 grid-connected systems on new homes as a standard feature, and will make 83 systems available to existing homes in the community. See the AstroPower press release.

DOE Awards $17.9 Million for Fuel Cell Research
DOE announced Monday that it is awarding $17.9 million for cost-shared research in fuel cells. Nuvera Fuel Cells will develop an advanced high-efficiency fuel processor with a quick startup time for use in automobiles. Mechanology LLC will develop an efficient air compressor for fuel cells. Arthur D. Little will also develop an air compressor and will analyze the use of fuel cells for auxiliary power units for vehicles. The company will also analyze the risks associated with the variety of fuels that may be used to power fuel cells and will evaluate the impact of fuel-cell commercialization on the supplies and markets for platinum-group metals. Platinum group metals are used as catalysts in fuel cells. See the DOE press release.

Fuel cells have been making news in the transportation world lately: General Motors achieved a 24-hour endurance record in its fuel-cell-powered HydroGen1 minivan, Fuel Cell Technologies Corporation achieved a successful sea trial of a system meant to power a submarine under the Arctic ice cap, and Millennium Cell successfully tested a system that produces hydrogen from sodium borohydride, a derivative of the mineral borax. Electric vehicle maker ZAP even announced plans to market a fuel-cell-powered bicycle by 2002. See the companies' respective press releases:
GM May 2, 2001,
Millennium Cell May 3, 2001
Fuel Cell Technologies May 14, 2001,
Zap World May 14, 2001.

Are you left wondering how fuel-cell-powered vehicles will work? Fear not — DOE's Office of Transportation Technologies (OTT) recently published a fact sheet called "Just the Basics: Fuel Cells" that will tell you all about it. See the OTT "Just the Basics" Web page.

Wisconsin Facility Generates Power from Cow Manure
A new 750-kilowatt power plant at Tinesdale Farms in Wrightstown, Wisconsin, is the first in the state to be powered by cow manure. The facility uses a "digester" to convert the manure to methane, which is then burned to generate electricity. Ag Environmental Solutions, LLC owns and operates the facility, and Wisconsin Gas/Wisconsin Electric is buying the power and selling it to its customers. The manure comes from 1,800 milk cows at Tinesdale Farms, and generates enough electricity to power 250 homes. The facility will burn about 300,000 cubic feet of methane gas each day, reducing the odors from the farm by more than 90 percent. See the Wisconsin Energy Web site.

For researchers at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Washington State University, manure may be too valuable to burn. The researchers are starting a two-year joint research project that will examine processes to convert manure into commodity chemicals and other high-value products. Such "biobased" products and chemicals could replace products that are currently produced from petroleum. See the PNNL press release.

SCE Reaches Deal with Renewable Power Generators
Southern California Edison (SCE) announced last week that it had reached an agreement with most of its renewable power generators, settling overdue payments and establishing a long-term power agreement. The generators will be paid a fixed rate of 5.37 cents per kilowatt-hour over the next five years. According to SCE, 95 percent of the generators have signed on to the agreement, which also requires that they halt legal action against the company. See the SCE press release.

Marquette University Wins Solar Boat Race
Marquette University took top honors this week at the eighth annual Solar Splash, an international collegiate solar- powered boat race. Held in Buffalo, New York, the race featured two days of technical inspections and qualifying rounds, followed by three days of water competitions. Marquette clinched the title by winning the endurance event on Sunday, besting 19 other college teams. See the complete race results on the Solar Splash Web site.

Site News

ColoradoEnergy.org
This site gives Colorado residents one-stop access to energy information in their state. The site includes building codes and other laws, energy consumption data, and energy-saving tips and green energy information for consumers, businesses, builders, and architects. Also included are news and features on the hottest energy topics in Colorado.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

EIA Provides Information on Summer Gasoline Prices
Summer is here, and for people throughout the United States, it brings with it plans for road trips and concerns about the price of gasoline. To help you keep track of what's happening with gasoline prices, DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has started posting weekly updates on gasoline prices in cities and states throughout the country. See the "U.S. Retail Gasoline Prices".

If you need a more comprehensive look at the petroleum situation, you might want to look through the "Petroleum Supply Annual 2000," Volume 1 and Volume 2, which were just released by EIA last week. The reports include everything from petroleum production and shipping to detailed information about petroleum refineries.

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