EREN Network News

November 14, 2001

News and Events

• First Commercial Wind Power Plant in South Dakota Dedicated
• Xcel Energy Provides $10 Million for Renewable Energy
• GM to Install Solar Power, Microturbines in Dealerships
• Intel, PC Industry, EPA Demonstrate Energy-Saving PCs
• Energy Star Program Marks Successes, Starts New Campaign
• U.S., Japan Pursuing Space-Based Solar Power Systems

Energy Facts and Tips

• U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increased 3.1 Percent in 2000

News and Events

First Commercial Wind Power Plant in South Dakota Dedicated
Two rural power cooperatives in South Dakota held a dedication ceremony early this month for the first commercial wind power plant in the state. Basin Electric Power Cooperative and East River Electric Power Cooperative dedicated their new "PrairieWinds" project, which consists of two 1.3-megawatt Nordex wind turbines. The project is supported by customers who chose to buy wind power in 100-kilowatt-hour blocks for three dollars extra per month. See the Basin Electric press release.

Xcel Energy Provides $10 Million for Renewable Energy
Xcel Energy announced last week that it chose eight Minnesota renewable energy projects to receive nearly $10 million in funding. More than $5 million will fund a hydropower facility at St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis. The remaining funds will go toward two projects to convert cow manure and solid and liquid waste from the corn and pea canning process into methane for power production, one project to produce power from methane that is currently being wasted at a corn processing plant, one rebate program for grid-connected solar power systems, one solar power system on the roof of the Science Museum of Minnesota, one wind turbine installation at a school, and the installation of six wind turbines of a new design.

The projects are funded by the state's Renewable Development Fund, to which Xcel Energy must contribute $500,000 annually for each nuclear-spent-fuel cask stored outside the Prairie Island nuclear plant after January 1st, 1999. The fund currently amounts to more than
$16 million. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission must approve Xcel Energy's choice of projects. See the company's press release.

GM to Install Solar Power, Microturbines in Dealerships
General Motors Corporation (GM) announced last week that it will install a solar power system at a dealership in San Fernando, California, as well as five microturbine generators at dealerships in Southern California. The solar power system, made by BP Solar, will save the dealership about 18,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year — enough to power three homes in Southern California. The microturbine generators, which will be installed starting in 2002, will each supply about 500,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity to the dealerships. Capstone Turbine Corporation will provide the natural-gas-fueled microturbines. GM will also donate four bi-fuel natural gas passenger vans to non-profit, community- service organizations in Southern California. All of the actions are the result of the Community Clean Air Partnership, a public-private partnership of GM and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. See the GM press release.

Intel, PC Industry, EPA Demonstrate Energy-Saving PCs
Intel Corporation and four personal computer (PC) manufacturers demonstrated energy-saving technology for personal computers on Monday at Comdex Fall 2001, a major exposition for the information technology industry. The PCs were built around Intel Pentium 4 processors that support the company's Instantly Available PC (IAPC) guidelines, which outline technologies that allow a PC to power down into a standby mode of five watts or less. Intel claims that IAPC technology has the potential to save consumers and businesses as much as $3.5 billion by 2010 if it is implemented on all computers worldwide.

IAPC technology also meets the guidelines for the Energy Star program, an energy-saving initiative supported by DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA Administrator Christie Whitman noted at the event that such energy management features could reduce energy use in the typical PC by as much as 70 percent. See the Intel press release.

Intel also announced a new line of "ultra dense" servers that are meant to save both space and energy. The servers use a Pentium III chip that operates at a server-industry-low of only 1.1 volts. The servers are expected to lower both power consumption and cooling requirements for so-called "server farms," which provide much of the Internet's infrastructure. See the Intel press release.

Unfortunately, many companies fail to realize the energy savings they expect from power management features such as IAPC. One reason is that employees often reset or override the energy-saving features. But a new company called EZConserve, Inc. hopes to provide a solution by allowing companies to control the power management features of their PCs through company networks. The system will give employees some control during working hours but will institute the best energy-saving strategies during off hours. EZConserve received a grant of $750,000 last week from the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance in support of this effort. See the EZConserve press release.

Energy Star Program Marks Successes, Starts New Campaign
The Energy Star program, a joint DOE/EPA program, helped save U.S. businesses and consumers more than $5 billion in 2000, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of the emissions from more than 10 million cars. The program's successes were noted in the EPA's 2000 Annual Report, released last week. EPA noted that all of its voluntary greenhouse gas programs, which include Energy Star, saved a total of 74 billion kilowatt-hours in 2000, achieving greenhouse gas emissions reductions equal to removing almost 25 million cars from U.S. roads.

EPA also announced a new Energy Star public awareness campaign called "Change." The two-year campaign will include television, radio and print public service announcements that emphasize specific actions consumers and businesses can take to use energy more efficiently. See the Energy Star News Room.

U.S., Japan Pursuing Space-Based Solar Power Systems
The National Space Development Agency of Japan, or NASDA, has announced plans to develop a satellite-based solar power system that would beam energy back to Earth. A satellite carrying large solar panels would use a laser to transmit the power to an airship at an altitude of about 12 miles, which would then transmit the power to Earth. NASDA currently expects to develop the laser technologies in the next 10 years and aims to conduct its first power transmission test in 2025. See the NASDA Web site.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States has been pursuing a similar approach, although with less ambitious goals. A September review of the NASA research by the National Research Council (NRC) found the research worthwhile, although it noted that the funding levels would have to be much higher to achieve its goals. The review noted that "dramatic reductions" would be needed in the cost of placing the system into Earth orbit and in the cost of the solar panels, and that significant progress is still needed in the technology to manage the power in space and beam it back to Earth. See the NRC report.

The subject of space-based power has also been examined by Resources for the Future (RFF), a Washington-based group that studies energy and environmental policy. A report issued last year suggested that space-based power would have difficulty competing with land-based power sources, and urged that economic analyses continue in tandem with the technology development. However, a more promising avenue was suggested in an October report, which examined the concept of using a space-based power plant to beam power to other space-based facilities. See the "Discussion Papers" in the Space section of the RFF Library.

If those concepts aren't far enough into outer space for you, consider this: wind energy might be a great energy option on Mars. It turns out that solar power systems, which are usually used for power in space, would be least effective during Martian sand storms, when it's windy, of course. So a wind and solar hybrid energy system might work best. Similar systems operating in Alaska and Antarctica may serve as models for these Martian power systems. See the NASA Ames Research Center press release.

Energy Facts and Tips

U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increased 3.1 Percent in 2000
U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide increased 3.1 percent in 2000 — well above the average growth rate of 1.6 percent for last decade, according to DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy production and use is responsible for 98 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, which in turn make up 80 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The report, released last week, showed the increase to be distributed among electric power production and energy used for residences and for transportation. However, despite a 4.1 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), there was no growth in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions from industry. See the EIA press release, with a link to the full report.

The timing of the EIA report was somewhat ironic, since it was released just as international negotiators finally agreed on a set of rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol establishes limits on greenhouse gas emissions for industrialized countries, but the United States has announced that it will not ratify the agreement. With the establishment of rules for implementing the Protocol, it remains to be seen if enough other countries will ratify it. The Protocol will take effect only when ratified by at least 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of developed country emissions of carbon dioxide in 1990.

The final rules include many of the concessions that the United States had requested in previous years. Specifically, the rules allow countries to trade their carbon emission credits, allow industrialized countries to take credit for clean development projects in developing countries, and allow credits for carbon-absorbing "sinks" such as forestry projects and land management efforts. See the Pew Center on Global Climate Change summary.

Although the United States does not intend to ratify the Protocol, U.S. representatives did attend the latest meeting (called the Seventh Session of the Conference of Parties, or COP-7). Paula J. Dobriansky, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, reaffirmed in a speech at COP-7 that "the Bush Administration will continue to play a leadership role in addressing the long-term challenge of climate change both at home and around the world." See the U.S. Department of State speech.

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