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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- January 30, 2002 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 Interior Department Budget to Boost Geothermal Energy Large Wind Power Plant Under Evaluation for Nantucket Sound Acquisitions a Growing Trend in Solar and Wind Power Hawaii Resort Dedicates 250-Kilowatt Solar Power System New Zero-Emission Vehicle Rules On Hold in California DOE Awards $8 Million for Weatherization in Texas, Oklahoma *Energy Facts and Tips 2001 Ranked as Second Warmest Year on Record *About this Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Interior Department Budget to Boost Geothermal Energy Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced in mid- January that the Interior Department's proposed budget for next year will include funds to encourage geothermal energy development on public lands. The President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2003 will include $350,000 for the Bureau of Land Management to improve access for geothermal energy leasing in California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, and New Mexico. The budget will also include $500,000 for the U.S. Geological Survey to produce improved and updated information on geothermal resources. See the Department of Interior press release at: <http://www.doi.gov/news/020118a.html<;. Secretary Norton's announcement came as a follow-up to the "National Conference on Opportunities to Expand Renewable Energy on Public Lands," co-hosted by DOE and the Interior Department in November of last year. See the December 5th edition of the EREN Network News at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/archives/2001/dec05_01.html<. Further details of President Bush's budget proposal were anticipated in last night's State of the Union Address, but the text of the speech was not available at press time. The President is also expected to release his full budget proposal next week. Watch for further news of the President's budget in future editions of the EREN Network News. Large Wind Power Plant Under Evaluation for Nantucket Sound Cape Wind Associates, LLC is currently proposing to build a 420-megawatt wind power plant in the waters offshore of Massachusetts. If built, the facility will be the first offshore wind facility in the United States and the largest U.S. wind power plant yet. The company plans to erect 170 turbines in a part of Nantucket Sound called Horseshoe Shoal. A submarine cable system consisting of two power lines, each 115 kilovolts, will transmit the power from the facility to the shore at Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Monday that it will require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the facility, which will be built on state and federal waters stretching across about 28 square miles of the sound. The site is closest to land at Point Gammond, which is 4.1 miles away. The Corps will work closely with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is also performing an environmental review. On March 6th and 7th, the Corps will hold public meetings to help determine the range of issues the EIS should address and to identify significant issues that should be analyzed in depth. See the press release on the Corps' New England District Web site at: <http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/news/2002-16.html<. Cape Wind expects to begin construction on the facility in 2004 and complete it by 2005. See the Cape Wind Web site at: <http://www.capewind.org/learning/pglan02.htm<;. The Web site also includes a map of the site with overlays of shipping channels, ferry routes, and airplane flight lanes, as well as a link to computer-simulated views of the site from the shore, at: <http://www.capewind.org/benefiting/sitev02.htm<;. Pennsylvania also hopes to increase its wind power capacity: the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a permit for a new 60-megawatt wind facility in Wayne County last week. National Wind Power and Orion Energy LLC are developing the project, which will consist of 47 turbines on two parcels of land covering 858 acres. See the DEP press release at: <http://www.dep.state.pa.us/newsreleases/default.asp?ID=1468<;. Acquisitions a Growing Trend in Solar and Wind Power While wind power developers are at work in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, acquisitions appear to be growing in popularity as a way to obtain wind power capacity. For example, Entergy Corporation, a global energy company, announced in mid-month its purchase of a majority ownership in the newly completed Top of Iowa Wind Farm, an 80-megawatt facility in northern Iowa. See the Entergy press release at: <http://www.entergy.com/news_database/news-detail.asp?ID=306<. Shell WindEnergy Inc. followed suit shortly thereafter with its purchase of the 80-megawatt Llano Estacando Wind Ranch near Amarillo, Texas, from Cielo Wind Power, LLC. Shell WindEnergy is part of Shell Renewables, one of five core businesses of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. But for Shell Renewables, the big news last week was its buyout of solar photovoltaic partners Siemens AG and E. ON Energie AG. Their joint venture, called Siemens und Shell Solar, will now be owned entirely by Shell and will be known as Shell Solar. The wind and solar purchases are part of the Shell Group's plan to invest up to $1 billion in renewable energy technologies over the next five years. See the Shell Renewables press releases at: <http://www2.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=rw-br<. Hawaii Resort Dedicates 250-Kilowatt Solar Power System The Mauni Lani Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii dedicated its new 250-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system last week. The sun-tracking system was manufactured and installed by PowerLight Corporation. The installation brings the resort's total solar power capacity to 500 kilowatts, which PowerLight claims as the most solar electric generating capacity of any resort in the world. The resort projects savings of $5 million over the next 25 years by using solar power. See the PowerLight press release at: <http://www.powerlight.com/pr/012202powertracker.html<;. Part of the resort's solar generating capacity is actually on the move -- it's a fleet of solar-powered golf carts. A photovoltaic canopy on each cart helps keep its battery charged, significantly reducing the resort's use of grid power to recharge the carts. PowerLight just delivered 60 of the carts to the resort, which plans to convert its entire fleet to solar power by the end of 2003. See the PowerLight press release at: <http://www.powerlight.com/pr/012202suncaddy.html<;. The demand for solar power systems grew significantly in 2001. At California's Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), for example, nearly 1,200 kilowatts of solar generating capacity was installed on more than 220 homes and business in 2001 -- nearly seven times more than the utility installed in 2000. That growth spurt helped SMUD to achieve a total solar capacity of 10 megawatts, spread over more than 1,000 solar power systems that were installed through the utility's Solar Pioneers program. SMUD expects the program to continue growing rapidly in 2002; to meet the demand, the utility has tripled the number of staff and contractors working on the program. See the SMUD press release at: <http://www.smud.org/info/02archive/0118_solar_landmark.html<. New Zero-Emission Vehicle Rules On Hold in California California's latest set of rules for Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs), issued by the state's Air Resources Board (ARB), have failed to win approval from the California Office of Administrative Law. The ARB announced last week that the rules were apparently not approved because it failed to follow proper procedures when giving notice of its proposed changes to the program. ARB has 120 days to remedy the situation, and it expects to meet that deadline. See the notice on the ARB Web site at: <http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/zev2001/zev2001.htm<;. New York, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with its own version of the ZEV program. The state's current regulations require ten percent of all vehicles sold in the state to be ZEVs, which in practical terms means electric vehicles, starting with Model Year 2005. Early this month, Governor George E. Pataki announced an alternative approach for automakers that starts a year earlier but includes credits for vehicles with near-zero emissions -- vehicles referred to as Partial ZEVs or PZEVs in the California rules. The new approach also allows partial credits for PZEVs that use alternative fuels or hybrid technologies. These changes are similar to changes made in California by the ARB, but on a slower timetable. See Governor Pataki's press release at: <http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/year02/jan4_02.htm<. State standards for auto emissions are governed by unusual rules: by federal law, only California can set stricter standards than the federal standards, and other states must either follow federal standards or adopt standards essentially equal to California's. This approach helps keep the standards manageable for automakers, but places California in a leadership position. New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont have followed California's lead on ZEV rules. Reportedly, Massachusetts is now taking an approach similar to New York's, and Vermont has not yet announced what approach it will take. DOE Awards $8 Million for Weatherization in Texas, Oklahoma DOE announced last week its award of $8 million to Texas and Oklahoma for weatherization assistance to low-income households. DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program provides funds to state and local agencies, as well as Native American tribes, for measures that improve the energy efficiency of the homes of people that can least afford to waste energy. The program provides comprehensive energy auditing, health and safety diagnostic services, and whole- house energy efficiency services, including air infiltration reduction, insulation, heating system service, and measures to reduce residents' use of electricity. See the DOE press release at: <http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/janpr/pr02010.htm<;. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001 Ranked as Second Warmest Year on Record The year 2001 was the second warmest globally since record keeping began in 1880, according to data released in mid-January by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Only 1998 ranked higher, and temperatures that year were boosted by strong El Nino conditions. In contrast, 2001 began with weak La Nina conditions, which tend to depress global average temperatures. Temperatures in the United States were also above average; the year ranked as the sixth warmest since record keeping began in 1895. See the report on NOAA's National Climatic Data Center Web site at: <http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2001/ann/ann.html<;. Conditions appear ripe for 2002 to become a record- breaking year: according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the tropical Pacific Ocean is warming, a trend which could lead to an El Nino by early Spring. However, NOAA cautions that it is too early to predict the magnitude or duration of the anticipated El Nino. See the NOAA press release at: <http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s849.htm<;. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Kevin Eber, at kevin_eber@nrel.gov.
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