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Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 12:56:04 -0700 (PDT)
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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- September 19, 2001
A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN).
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/>
=================================================
Featuring:
*News and Events
A Message from the Editor
California Power Authority Pursues 1000 MW of Renewables
New Hybrid System to Power Honda Civic in 2002
Home Depot Starts Selling Residential Solar Power Systems
Organic Molecules May Yield Inexpensive Solar Cells
Stateline Wind Project Gets Green Light in Oregon
DOE Awards $30 Million for Bioproduct Technologies
DOE Funds Seven Projects to Improve Reciprocating Engines
*Site News
Renewable Energy Analytic Studies Network
*Energy Facts and Tips
Power Outages, Rebuilding, Increased Energy Security,
and Isolated Price Hikes Follow Terrorist Attacks
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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A Message from the Editor
The audience for EREN Network News is truly international,
and we received a flood of sympathetic comments over the
past week. A warm thanks to all who touched us with their
responses. Sympathies arrived from Germany, Italy, France,
Poland, Pakistan, India, Israel, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Australia, Canada, Columbia, and Cuba. It's a good reminder
that the people of the United States do not stand alone.
Today's "Energy Fact and Tip" focuses on the energy
impacts of last week's attack, but the remainder of our
newsletter returns to its standard format.
Also, today's newsletter was delayed due to concerns about
the "Nimda" computer worm. We apologize for any
inconvenience.
California Power Authority Pursues 1000 MW of Renewables
The new California Power and Conservation Financing
Authority, which has the mission of ensuring a reliable power
supply for the state, has announced its intentions to acquire
1000 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy capacity by
next summer. The Power Authority is currently negotiating
with 14 parties, representing mainly wind and biomass projects,
to supply the needed capacity. See the September 17th
press release on the Power Authority's Web site at:
<http://www.capowerauthority.ca.gov/MediaRelease/main.asp>.
The Power Authority is also requesting bids for fuel cells
systems, microturbines, and solar photovoltaic systems.
See: <http://www.capowerauthority.ca.gov/Requestforbids/main.asp>.
Governor Gray Davis has set a goal of providing 17 percent
of the state's electricity supply from renewable energy
sources, which the authority estimates will require 3,000 MW
of new renewable energy capacity over the next five years.
See the Background section of the Power Authority Web site
at: <http://www.capowerauthority.ca.gov/background/main.asp>.
New Hybrid System to Power Honda Civic in 2002
A hybrid electric version of the Honda Civic will be available
in the United States in 2002, and it will use a new, improved
hybrid gasoline-electric system as its power source. The new
system combines Honda Motor Company's newest lean-burn
4-cylinder engine with a more powerful motor, a more
efficient battery, and a smaller power control unit than are
used in the Honda Insight. The system also shuts down
three of the four cylinders when decelerating, cutting the
engine's compressive braking in half and allowing more
energy to be captured via regenerative braking, which
charges the battery. The result of all these features is a gas
mileage of about 68 miles per gallon, according to Honda.
The company expects to mass produce the new Hybrid
Civic, which will seat five. Although the vehicle will be
available in Japan in fall of this year, it won't be sold in the
United States until spring 2002. See the Honda press
release at:
<http://world.honda.com/news/2001/4010904.html>.
Honda also debuted its latest fuel-cell-powered car, the
FCX-V4, early this month. This latest experimental model
has a top speed of 87 miles per hour and, thanks to a high-
pressure hydrogen storage tank, can travel 186 miles
between fill-ups. Honda worked to make this model more of
a "real" vehicle by including luggage space and safety
features and even designing a user-friendly display for
monitoring the fuel cell and energy storage system. The
company still maintains that its goal is to introduce a
production fuel cell vehicle in 2003. See the Honda press
release at:
<http://world.honda.com/news/2001/c010904_1.html>.
Home Depot Starts Selling Residential Solar Power Systems
Some energy experts have said that the solar energy
industry won't be truly successful until the average consumer
can walk into The Home Depot and buy a solar power
system. Well, that day has arrived -- in San Diego,
California, at least. AstroPower, Inc. announced in early
September that three of The Home Depot's stores in the
San Diego area are now offering the systems. The Home
Depot is providing a full-service program that includes
financing, installation, and service of the solar power
systems. See the AstroPower press release at:
<http://www.astropower.com/homedepot_release.htm>.
Combined with last month's announcement about residential
solar energy systems from Green Mountain Energy Company
(GMEC), the AstroPower announcement suggests that solar
energy may finally be achieving mainstream acceptance in
the United States. See the GMEC announcement in the
September 5th issue of EREN Network News at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/archives/2001/sept05_01.html>.
Need to know more about the status of solar electric power?
UPEx'01, the Photovoltaic Experience Conference and
Exhibition, is coming to Sacramento, California, with
sponsorship by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and
the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). The
conference will be held as originally scheduled, from
September 30 through October 4. For more information, see
the SEPA Web site at:
<http://www.solarelectricpower.org/upex/default.cfm>.
Organic Molecules May Yield Inexpensive Solar Cells
Producing solar cells may one day be as simple as applying
a liquid to a sheet of plastic and waiting for the cells to
"assemble" themselves, according to researchers at the
University of Arizona. The liquid will be composed of organic
molecules that will collect on the plastic surface in a way that
forms a very organized coating. If the researchers are
successful, that coating will be able to efficiently convert
solar energy into electricity. If the difficult task of creating the
right organic molecules succeeds, the simplicity of the
production process could result in low-cost solar cells. The
research is partially funded by DOE's National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. See the story by selecting "Science &
Research" in the header of the university's news page at:
<http://uanews.opi.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews>.
Stateline Wind Project Gets Green Light in Oregon
The Stateline Wind Project, a 300-megawatt wind project
that straddles the border between Washington and Oregon,
has received approval for construction from the Oregon
Energy Facility Siting Council. Due to concerns about
impacts on the Washington ground squirrel, which is listed
as an endangered species in Oregon, two strings of turbines
had to be eliminated from the Oregon side of the border.
FPL Energy is already constructing the project on the
Washington state side. See the council's announcement at:
<http://www.energy.state.or.us/siting/announce.htm#Stateline>.
For more information about the Stateline Wind Project, see
the project Web site at: <http://www.statelinewind.com/>.
DOE Awards $30 Million for Bioproduct Technologies
DOE announced on Monday that it will award $30 million to
11 projects that will develop technology to produce
chemicals, plastics, materials and other products from plant
matter and other natural waste materials. These so-called
"bioproducts" save energy while reducing the use of
nonrenewable resources such as petroleum. The 11 projects
will be carried out over the next three to five years, and
cover the range of processes from harvesting to final
product. Funds will also establish university education and
training programs in the area of bioproducts. See the DOE
press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/seppr/pr01157.htm>.
DOE Funds Seven Projects to Improve Reciprocating Engines
Natural-gas-fired reciprocating engines are one of many
technologies that are currently being used for on-site
generation of power in homes and businesses. To improve
the efficiency of these engines, DOE is investing $3.6 million
in seven research and development projects. The projects
will also seek to lower costs and emissions from the engines.
See the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/seppr/pr01158.htm>.
Honda Motor Company, Ltd. announced in late August that it
is preparing to test a home unit in Japan that produces
power, heat, and hot water using a natural-gas engine.
Systems that produce both heat and electricity are called
"cogenerators." The Honda cogenerator will produce one
kilowatt of electricity and three kilowatts of heat, converting
85 percent of the energy in the natural gas into either heat or
electricity. See the Honda press release at:
<http://world.honda.com/news/2001/p010830.html>.
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SITE NEWS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Renewable Energy Analytic Studies Network
<http://www.nrel.gov/reasn/>
This Web site from DOE's National Renewable Energy
Laboratory includes news, reports, tools, and data related to
the analysis of renewable energy technologies. The site also
serves an on-line community by providing interactive
features such as a discussion group, file sharing, live chats,
and real-time polls.
For this and other recent additions to the EREN Web site,
see <http://www.eren.doe.gov/new/whats-new.html>.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Outages, Rebuilding, Increased Energy Security,
and Isolated Price Hikes Follow Terrorist Attacks
One of the impacts of last week's terrorist attack on the
World Trade Center was the loss of electrical service to
lower Manhattan. Two electrical substations next to the
Trade Center were totally destroyed and a third substation
was knocked out of service. Major electrical transmission
cables were also lost. As of this morning, the city's electric
utility, Con Edison, had managed to restore power to all of
lower Manhattan after installing more than 33 miles of new
high-voltage cable. However, the utility is still asking people
in lower Manhattan to minimize their use of electricity. More
than 1,900 Con Edison workers have labored around the
clock to restore power. See the Con Edison press releases
at: <http://www.coned.com/about/about.asp?subframe=news>.
In response to the attacks, security was heightened
throughout the U.S. energy infrastructure. Shipments of
nuclear material were halted and security was heightened at
nuclear plants, refineries, pipelines, and along the electricity
transmission grid. Taking a longer view, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) noted that the electric, gas,
and oil companies that it regulates may need to adopt new
procedures, update existing procedures, and install facilities
to further safeguard their systems. FERC announced that it
will approve applications to "recover prudently incurred
costs" for such actions and will expedite any such requests.
These costs will presumably be passed on to consumers.
See the FERC announcement at:
<http://cips.ferc.fed.us/Q/CIPS/MISC/PL/PL01-6.000.TXT>.
Fears of supply disruptions apparently led some U.S. gas
stations to hike their prices to as much as $5 per gallon.
DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham announced on the day
after the attack that such price hikes were unjustified, and
asked consumers to call the DOE Hotline (1-800-244-3301)
to report such incidents. See the DOE press release at:
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/seppr/pr01155.htm>.
As of Monday, DOE's Energy Information Administration
(EIA) reported that U.S. petroleum prices were generally
holding steady. See the price summaries (particularly for
retail gasoline) on the EIA Web site at:
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/info_glance/prices.html>.
See also the EIA's assessment of oil markets from the day
after the attack, under "Featured Topics" on the EIA home
page at: <http://www.eia.doe.gov/>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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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, Kevin Eber, at
kevin_eber@nrel.gov.