EREN Network News

October 31, 2001

News and Events

• 24 Megawatts of Wind Power Go Online in Pennsylvania
• New Solar Power Installed in California, Coming to Ohio
• Ballard Power Systems Unveils New High-Power Fuel Cell
• Calpine Acquisition Aims at 49.5-Megawatt Geothermal Plant
• One Third of PG&E, SCE Customers Qualified for 20/20 Program
• Los Angeles to Try "Smart" Power Metering for Businesses

Site News

• Updated Web Site Launched in Honor of "Weatherization Day"

• U.S. Energy Situation: Updates in the Wake of September 11th

News and Events

24 Megawatts of Wind Power Go Online in Pennsylvania
The switch was flipped last week on two new wind power plants in Pennsylvania that will nearly triple the wind power capacity in the eastern United States. The 9-megawatt Somerset wind project and the 15-megawatt Mill Run wind project were both brought online last Wednesday. Together, the 16 wind turbines at the two projects will produce enough electricity each year to power 8,200 Pennsylvania homes. See the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection press release.

More than three-quarters of the wind power from the new energy projects has already been purchased, and most of it is going to three universities, one water utility, and one business. Those five wind power purchases — by the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Philadelphia Suburban Water Corporation, and Giant Eagle, Inc. — are the largest retail purchases of wind power to date in the United States. Penn State will purchase 13.2 million kilowatt-hours annually, which is more than the output of three of the turbines. Giant Eagle will purchase nearly 3 million kilowatt-hours of wind power over the next five years.

The wind farms were built through joint ventures of Atlantic Renewable Energy Corporation and Zilkha Renewable Energy, using 1.5-megawatt wind turbines produced by the Enron Wind Corporation. The Exelon Power Team is the long-term wholesale purchaser of the wind power, and Community Energy, Inc. is selling the power to commercial and residential customers.

New Solar Power Installed in California, Coming to Ohio
Schott Applied Power Corporation (SAPC) announced last week the completion of a 113-kilowatt solar power installation in Riverside, California. The system of cantilevered photovoltaic panels acts as a carport, providing shade for 152 parking spaces for the city's Utilities Operations Center, while generating power that is fed into the power grid. Under sunny conditions, the system generates enough electricity to power 100 homes. See the SAPC press release.

Ohio is also slated for a new solar electric system in the near future. Green Mountain Energy Company (GMEC) announced last week that it will help construct a 25-kilowatt solar power system at Lake Farmpark in Kirkland, Ohio. The solar power system will be one source of green power for 100 local communities that the company is serving through the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council. In addition, the company is performing a wind feasibility study in Ohio to evaluate potential wind power sites. See the GMEC press release

Ballard Power Systems Unveils New High-Power Fuel Cell
Ballard Power Systems fired the latest round in the fuel-cell performance war last week when it unveiled its new high- power fuel cell, the Mark 902. Ballard's fourth-generation fuel cell can serve either transportation needs or stationary power applications and can be sized from 10 to 300 kilowatts in power capacity. Passenger vehicles typically need about 35 kilowatts of power; transit buses will require the 300-kilowatt model. The company has already shipped evaluation versions of the fuel cell and expects to deliver production versions by the end of this year. See the Ballard press release.

According to Ballard, the Mark 902 fuel cell can produce as much as 2.2 kilowatts of electricity per liter of fuel cell volume. This high "power density" is necessary for transportation applications, which need a compact and powerful energy source. The struggle to achieve high power densities is fueling a rivalry in the fuel cell industry: Just one month ago, General Motors (GM) was boasting about its 1.75-kilowatt-per-liter fuel cell, which at that time was the top performer. See the September 26th edition of the EREN Network News.

GM, meanwhile, has formed a strategic partnership with Hydrogenics Corporation, a fuel-cell company. The two companies have already built a backup power system that uses an electrolyzer to generate hydrogen when the power is on. When grid power is lost, the system uses a fuel cell to generate electricity from the hydrogen. Yesterday, Nextel Communications signed an agreement with Hydrogenics to install a 25-kilowatt demonstration system at a cell tower site in California.

Calpine Acquisition Aims at 49.5-Megawatt Geothermal Plant
Calpine Corporation announced its acquisition of new geothermal development rights in northern California yesterday, a move intended to pave the way for development of a 49.5-megawatt geothermal power plant in the area. Calpine acquired two companies that owned most of the geothermal development rights in the Glass Mountain Known Geothermal Resource Area, located about 30 miles south of the Oregon border. That acquisition gave Calpine the geothermal development rights for nearly the entire Glass Mountain area, totaling 66 square miles. The company says the power plant, called the Fourmile Hill Geothermal Project, is in advanced development and should go online in late 2004. Calpine already has incentive financing from the California Energy Commission and a power purchase agreement with DOE's Bonneville Power Administration. See Calpine press release.

One Third of PG&E, SCE Customers Qualified for 20/20 Program
About one third of the electric customers of California's two largest utilities — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) — cut their electricity use by more than 20 percent for at least one of the past four summer months, the two utilities announced recently. That energy savings earned those customers an additional 20 percent off their bills through the state's 20/20 rebate program.

PG&E, which has 4.6 million electric customers, announced on Monday that its customers earned a total of $120 million in savings — that's in addition to the savings caused by their reduced electricity use. The utility says that more than half of its customers cut their electricity use by at least 5 percent during the summer months of June through September. See the PG&E press release.

SCE reported last week that 32 percent of all the bills it had processed as of October 5th qualified for the rebate. The average savings per bill was $25, for a total of nearly $117 million in credits for all qualifying customers. See the SCE press release.

Arizona was doing its part this summer as well. Governor Jane Dee Hull announced in mid-October that six major state agencies reduced their energy use by 5 percent in July and August (compared to last year's energy use), saving $130,000 in energy costs and helping to avoid power shortages. The state had instituted an energy-saving campaign called "It's No Sweat," which emphasized simple ways to save energy without inconvenience. See the governor's press release.

Los Angeles to Try "Smart" Power Metering for Businesses
The Los Angeles Department of Power and Water (LADWP) is preparing to install "smart" real-time electricity meters for 3,400 of its large business customers. The metering systems will allow businesses to manage and forecast their energy loads in real-time, calculate bills in detail based on when they use power, and even monitor their energy usage on the Internet. The system will also transmit outage and power usage data via satellite to LADWP's communications center. The systems are being provided by Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, Inc., which claims that the systems will reduce electricity bills by 15 percent and free up enough energy to power 240,000 households. See the Siemens press release.

Puget Sound Energy in Washington already has more than five months experience with a similar program aimed at residential customers. The utility's experiment with time-of- day pricing for 300,000 of its residential customers was recently approved to continue through May 2002. In addition, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission authorized the utility to begin charging variable, time-of-day electricity rates to approximately 20,000 businesses.

According to Puget Sound Energy, power usage data from June and July indicate that variable, time-sensitive rates are promoting a strong conservation ethic among its customers. Residential customers paying time-of-day rates shifted about 5 percent of their electricity usage, on average, away from the morning and early evening hours, when power prices are highest. These customers also reduced their overall electricity use in June by more than 6 percent compared to June 2000. See the Puget Sound Energy press release.

Site News

Updated Web Site Launched in Honor of "Weatherization Day"
Today is Halloween, of course, but did you know that yesterday was "Weatherization Day"? Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham marked the DOE-designated day by noting that the department's Weatherization Assistance Program is helping U.S. households save an average of $300 in heating and cooling costs this year. Since 1976, the program has weatherized the homes of nearly five million low-income families across the United States. See the DOE press release.

DOE also marked the occasion by launching a newly updated Web site for the Weatherization Assistance Program. The new site features a clean design and simple navigation to information that state officials and applicants need about the program, its benefits, eligibility requirements, and DOE guidelines. The site also features a map-driven guide to weatherization activities that are being carried out in each state. See the new Weatherization Assistance Program Web site.

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

Energy Facts and Tips

U.S. Energy Situation: Updates in the Wake of September 11th
Since the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, U.S. energy security has been a strong focus of attention, while concerns about U.S. energy supplies and energy market disruptions have risen (although energy prices have generally fallen since the attacks). Seeing a need for constantly updated information, DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has established the Energy Situation Analysis Report, which provides the latest energy market highlights, weekly petroleum information, U.S. petroleum price and supply statistics, and other information related to energy markets. The October 30th edition, for example, includes a quote from U.S. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge about the need for increased security within the energy industry. According to EIA, the report will be produced as long as events warrant. See the latest Energy Situation Analysis Report on the EIA Web site.

About this Newsletter

You can subscribe to this newsletter using the online form at: http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/subscribe/. This Web page also allows you to update your email address or unsubscribe to this newsletter.

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN) home page is located at http://www.eren.doe.gov/.

If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact the editor.