Message-ID: <20444336.1075861007982.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 16:00:10 -0800 (PST) From: keber@mail.nrel.gov To: eren@mail.nrel.gov Subject: EREN Network News -- 01/16/02 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: EREN X-To: eren@mail.nrel.gov X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Richard_Ring_Mar2002\Ring, Richard\Deleted Items X-Origin: Ring-R X-FileName: rring (Non-Privileged).pst ================================================= EREN NETWORK NEWS -- January 16, 2002 A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN). ================================================= Featuring: *News and Events "FreedomCAR" Program to Advance Fuel-Cell Vehicles Ford Shows Hybrid Escape SUV at Detroit Auto Show Wind Capacity Surges Ahead in the U.S. and the World Wind Turbine Installed on Novel Tower Without Large Crane North Carolina Utilities to Pursue Green Power New York Power Authority Buys Eight 200-Kilowatt Fuel Cells *Energy Facts and Tips U.S. Energy Companies Expanded Oil, Gas Reserves in 2000 *About this Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "FreedomCAR" Program to Advance Fuel-Cell Vehicles DOE announced last week a new government-industry program for the advancement of high-efficiency cars: "freedomCAR". The new program will focus on fuel cells and hydrogen production from renewable energy sources. DOE will carry out the freedomCAR program in partnership with the U.S. Council of Automotive Research -- a cooperative research organization formed by Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and DaimlerChrysler Corporation. In fact, the "CAR" in "freedomCAR" stands for "Cooperative Automotive Research." FreedomCAR replaces the Clinton-era "Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles" (PNGV), which aimed to produce an affordable sedan that achieves 80 miles per gallon by 2004. In contrast, the long-term goal for freedomCAR is to develop technologies for hydrogen- powered fuel cell vehicles that will require no foreign oil and emit no harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases. An interesting aspect of freedomCAR is its emphasis on developing a hydrogen supply infrastructure: many automotive companies are currently developing cars that would be fueled with low-sulfur gasoline, methanol, or natural gas fuels, which would be converted to hydrogen using onboard fuel processors. FreedomCAR looks farther ahead to an energy economy that is built around hydrogen as the energy carrier. See the DOE press release, with a link to a fact sheet, at: . So how do you produce hydrogen? Today, most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. It can also be produced by passing a current through two electrodes immersed in water, but that technique tends to be expensive. Researchers are now examining ways to make hydrogen from organic materials, to generate it from organic processes, or to produce it directly from sunlight and water. Some catalysts help sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but researchers are also using modified solar cells immersed in water, called photoelectrodes. For more information, see the Hydrogen Information Network on EREN at: . For those more technically inclined, the proceedings of the 2001 DOE Hydrogen Program Review are posted on the Hydrogen Information Network at: . Ford Shows Hybrid Escape SUV at Detroit Auto Show Ford Motor Company is displaying the hybrid electric version of its Escape sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the North American International Auto Show, now underway in Detroit. Ford confirmed that the vehicle will be available in 2003, and announced that its emissions will be low enough to qualify as a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) under California law. The vehicle is expected to achieve nearly 40 miles to the gallon. See the Ford Hybrid Electric Vehicle Web site at: . While domestic auto companies continue to prepare their hybrid-electric vehicles for production, U.S. sales of the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight continue to grow. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. announced that it sold 15,556 Priuses in the United States in 2001, up from 5,562 in 2000 (U.S. sales of the Prius began in mid-2000). American Honda announced Insight sales of 4,726 in 2001, up from 3,788 in 2000. See the Toyota press release, "Toyota Sets Sales Record for Sixth Year in a Row," on the Toyota Pressroom Web site at: . See the American Honda press release at: . The Honda Civic Hybrid, unveiled in Japan last month, had its U.S. debut in Los Angeles early this month. Honda claims the Civic Hybrid will achieve about 50 miles per gallon and will cost about $20,000. Honda expects to sell 2,000 vehicles per month when it goes on sale in the United States in April. See the American Honda press release at: . Wind Capacity Surges Ahead in the U.S. and the World U.S. wind power capacity increased by 66 percent in 2001, according to figures released yesterday by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The record growth of 1,694 megawatts boosted the total U.S. wind power capacity from 2,564 megawatts to 4,258 megawatts. AWEA says last year's installations represent capital investments of about $1.7 billion and will produce enough electricity to meet the annual needs of 475,000 U.S. households. See the January 15th press release on the AWEA Web site at: . The U.S. growth in wind capacity is actually outpacing the world growth: according to the Earth Policy Institute, world wind power capacity increased 31 percent in 2001. In fact, wind capacity grew faster in the United States than in the other four leading wind-development countries: Germany, Denmark, India and Spain. Germany, however, still has nearly twice the wind power capacity as the United States, thanks to aggressive government policies for wind power development. German wind power capacity overtook U.S. wind power capacity in 1997. According to the Earth Policy Institute, the world's total wind power capacity is now at 23,300 megawatts -- more than five times the U.S. capacity. See the Earth Policy press release, with links to detailed tables and graphs, at: . (Note that the Earth Policy numbers are preliminary, so they are slightly lower than the AWEA numbers.) If the latest news is any indication, world wind power capacity will continue to grow rapidly in 2002. Ireland gave the go-ahead for the world's largest offshore wind power facility last week. Ireland's Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources approved a wind power lease of the Arklow Bank, a sand bank located more than four miles off the coast of Ireland. Eirtricity, Ireland's largest renewable energy developer, intends to build a 520-megawatt wind plant along the sand bank, beginning with 60 megawatts in 2002 and completing the site by 2005. See the eirtricity Web site at: . Wind Turbine Installed on Novel Tower Without Large Crane A single 660-kilowatt wind turbine was installed in December in Omaha, Nebraska, to serve a green power program run by the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD). The installation uses an innovative tower designed by Valmont Industries Inc. that incorporates a lifting platform for installing the turbine. The platform eliminated the need for a large crane to install the turbine. See the OPPD Web site at: . Valmont Industries believes its wind turbine tower could help expand the installation of wind turbines into rugged terrains that present access problems for large cranes. See the Valmont Web site at: . North Carolina Utilities to Pursue Green Power A Green Power Program Advisory Committee formed last year in North Carolina has led the electric utility companies throughout the state to pursue a green power program. According to Advanced Energy, which helped form the advisory committee, the three investor-owned utilities in North Carolina have publicly declared their intentions to file for a green power program with the state's utility commission. The state's municipal utilities and electric cooperatives have also agreed to participate. A statewide program should be in place by mid-year. Advanced Energy is a non-profit energy consultancy founded by the North Carolina Utilities Commission in 1980. See the Advanced Energy Web site at: . Green power also continues to advance in Washington state, where all the utilities are now required by law to offer a green power program. The latest offerings come from Avista Utilities, which serves nearly 310,000 electric customers in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, and from Clark Public Utilities in southwest Washington. Clark Public Utilities is buying so-called "green tags" from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, while Avista is buying wind power from the Stateline Wind Project that went online at year end. See the Avista Web site at: . And see the January 7th press release from Clark Public Utilities by selecting "News Releases" on the Web site at: . Utah Power's "Blue Sky" green power program is also gaining ground -- Salt Lake City's Uinta Brewing Company opened its new brewery last week with the announcement that it will buy 100 percent renewable energy to power the facility. The brewery expects to purchase more than a quarter million kilowatt-hours of wind power per year. See the announcement on the Utah Green Power Web site at: . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging more companies to buy green power through its Green Power Partnership Program. Companies that commit to buying green power will gain technical support and public recognition from EPA by joining the partnership. See the newly revised Green Power Partnership Program Web site at: . New York Power Authority Buys Eight 200-Kilowatt Fuel Cells UTC Fuel Cells announced last month the sale of eight fuel cell systems to the New York Power Authority (NYPA), which will use them at four wastewater treatment facilities in New York City. NYPA will use waste gas (primarily methane) from the water treatment process to power the fuel cells. Each of the units generates 200 kilowatts of electricity. See the UTC Fuel Cells press release at: . Other recent fuel cell developments include the installation of a Nuvera Fuel Cell at a Verizon telecommunications site in Massachusetts and the shipment of a 5-kilowatt fuel cell -- produced by DCH Technologies, Inc. -- to the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC). See the December 18th press release on the Nuvera Web site at: . See also the HARC press release at: . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Energy Companies Expanded Oil, Gas Reserves in 2000 The major U.S. energy companies achieved great success with their drill bits in 2000, significantly boosting oil and gas reserves, according to a report released last week by DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). The major U.S. energy producers expanded their worldwide oil and gas reserves by an equivalent of 6.6 billion barrels of crude oil in 2000, exceeding their worldwide oil and gas production by 22 percent, allowing the reserves to gain some ground over production. Meanwhile, the companies actually gained 60 percent of their oil and gas reserve increases through mergers and acquisitions. The companies nearly doubled their worldwide capital expenditures in 2000, and most of the growth in spending went toward mergers and acquisitions. The companies also posted record profits, as their net income increased 133 percent from 1999 levels to a new record of $53.2 billion. See the EIA press release, with a link to the full report, at: . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to this newsletter using the online form at: . 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 . If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact the editor, Kevin Eber, at kevin_eber@nrel.gov.