|
|
Enron Mail |
Please respond to eren_network_news=================================================
EREN NETWORK NEWS -- July 25, 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 U.S. Investment in Energy Efficiency Research Pays Off Company Builds First 5,000-Horsepower HTS Motor Honda, BMW Start Up Hydrogen Fueling Stations Texas Wind Plant Expands; Shell Buys Wyoming Plant Tyson Foods to Convert Chicken Manure to Energy University of Michigan Leads American Solar Challenge *Site News Green Energy Ohio *Energy Facts and Tips Study: Earth Likely to Warm 4 to 7 Degrees by 2100 *About this Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Investment in Energy Efficiency Research Pays Off The United States has reaped huge economic benefits from its investments in energy efficiency research and development, says a report released last week by the National Research Council (NRC). An NRC panel examined 17 energy efficiency projects that represented $1.6 billion in federal investment, or roughly 20 percent of the $7.3 billion that DOE has spent over the past 22 years. The panel estimates that the $1.6 billion investment yielded net economic benefits of $30 billion. Incredibly, three DOE projects that cost only $11 million resulted in most of the economic benefit: compressors for refrigerators and freezers, energy-efficient fluorescent- lighting components called electronic ballasts, and low- emission (low-e) window glass that resists the transmission of heat through windows. The NRC also credits federal standards and regulations that incorporated the efficiencies attainable by these new technologies, ensuring that the technologies would be adopted nationwide. As part of the report, the panel also examined federal investments in fossil energy research and development. For 22 projects costing $11 billion -- about 73 percent of the $15 billion spent over 22 years -- the NRC estimates net economic benefits of $10.8 billion. See the July 17th press release on the National Academies Web site at: <http://nationalacademies.org/topnews/<;. See also the full report -- especially the executive Summary -- on the National Academy Press Web site at: <http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074487/html/<;. Company Builds First 5,000-Horsepower HTS Motor American Superconductor Corporation has built the first 5,000-horsepower motor that uses high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires in its rotor, the company announced last week. Because HTS wires carry large amounts of electrical current with low energy losses, the HTS motor is roughly half the size and weight of a conventional motor, and also reduces the energy losses by up to 50 percent. According to the company, motors greater than 1,000 horsepower in size use one-quarter of the electricity generated in the United States, so the potential energy savings from large HTS motors could be significant. See the American Superconductor Web site at: http://www.amsuper.com/5000htsmotor.htm<;. Honda, BMW Start Up Hydrogen Fueling Stations American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announced in early July the startup of a hydrogen fueling station for its fuel-cell-powered vehicles. Located at Honda's research and development center in Torrance, California, the station uses solar power to extract hydrogen from water. The solar panels on the station generate enough hydrogen to power one fuel-cell vehicle, but additional electrical power from the power grid is used to increase the hydrogen production capacity. The new station will support Honda's fuel cell vehicle development program and will be used for hydrogen production, storage and fueling. See the July 10th press release on the Honda Web site at: <http://www.hondacorporate.com/press/index.html?s=american&;y=2001<. BMW also opened a hydrogen fueling station this month. The company's new liquid hydrogen fuel station is located at its Engineering and Emissions Control Test Center in Oxnard, California. BMW is taking a different approach than most car companies, burning hydrogen directly in advanced internal-combustion engines. A fleet of its 12-cylinder hydrogen-fueled cars came to Los Angeles this month as part of the company's "CleanEnergy WorldTour 2001" -- several of the cars will remain at the Oxnard facility for extensive testing and demonstrations. See the BMW press release at: <http://www.bmwusa.com/news_events/news_l.cfm?item_id=2035600115<. QUANTUM Technologies WorldWide, Inc. is also doing its part for hydrogen-powered vehicles: the company has developed a vehicle storage tank for hydrogen that can hold the gas at pressures of 10,000 pounds per square inch. See the press release at: <http://www.qtww.com/Press/6-27-01.htm<. Texas Wind Plant Expands; Shell Buys Wyoming Plant TXU Corporation and American Electric Power (AEP) announced last week that AEP's wind plant in west Texas will be expanded by 20 megawatts. The Trent Mesa Project, now under construction near Abilene, will have a capacity of 150 megawatts when the expansion is complete. Power generation will begin there this fall. See the press release on the Trent Mesa Project Web site at: <http://www.trentmesa.com/nl07172001.htm<;. Shell Renewables announced Monday that it has stepped into the U.S. wind energy market by buying the 50-megawatt Rock River I wind facility in Wyoming. The facility, which is scheduled to begin operation in October, marks the start of Shell Renewables' U.S. wind power company, which is called Shell WindEnergy Inc. See the July 23rd press release on the Royal Dutch/Shell Web site at: <http://www.shell.com/royal-en/0,6091,,00.html<. Construction of Rock River I was announced in June by SeaWest WindPower Inc., which is selling the facility to Shell WindEnergy. See the June 6th edition of EREN Network News at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/archives/2001/june6_01.html<. Since wind power is an intermittent source of electricity -- it is only available when the wind blows -- how much wind power can a utility use without impacting electric system operations? This issue -- called "wind integration" within the power industry -- is being tackled through a new study coordinated by the Utility Wind Interest Group (UWIG). DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory will provide technical support for the study, which will be performed by Electrotek Concepts. See the UWIG press release at: <http://www.uwig.org/newsreleases.html<;. Tyson Foods to Convert Chicken Manure to Energy Up to 85,000 tons per year of chicken manure in the Chesapeake Bay region will find a new use within the next few years, as Tyson Foods, Inc. plans to convert it into energy. The company announced earlier this month that it is beginning the permitting process to build a gasification facility at its processing plant in Temperanceville, Virginia. The new facility will convert both the chicken manure and about 30,000 tons per year of sludge from its wastewater treatment plants into steam for use in the processing plant. The $12 million plant will be able to produce 120,000 pounds of steam per hour, and should be completed roughly 18 months after ground is broken for the project. See the Tyson Foods press release at: <http://www.tyson.com/corporate/news/viewNews.asp?article=795<;. University of Michigan Leads American Solar Challenge Today is the last day of the American Solar Challenge -- the solar car race that runs from Chicago to Los Angeles -- and the University of Michigan is in the lead. Michigan took the lead from the University of Missouri-Rolla on Thursday and has held onto it ever since. To check on the current status of today's race, click on the American Solar Challenge link on the Terion Web site at: <http://207.139.70.21/American/master/console.fvw<;. As of Monday, 28 cars remained in the race, although only 13 had reached Barstow, California. To check the latest results, see: <http://formulasun.org/asc/aboutasc/history/asc2001/overall.html<;. See also the press releases for the race, posted at: <http://formulasun.org/asc/media/pressreleases/releases.html<;. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SITE NEWS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Green Energy Ohio <http://www.greenenergyohio.org/<; This site, sponsored by the Ohio chapter of the American Solar Energy Society, promotes environmentally and economically sustainable energy policies and practices in Ohio. It includes a monthly newsletter, a renewable energy directory for Ohio, and brochures and fact sheets on renewable energy and electric choices. 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Study: Earth Likely to Warm 4 to 7 Degrees by 2100 The Earth is most likely to experience a global warming of 4 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, according to a new probability analysis performed by scientists in the United States and Europe. A 5-degree temperature rise has the highest probability, and the probability is 90 percent that the temperature rise will be between 3 and 9 degrees, say the researchers. The study was published in the July 20th issue of the journal Science. See the press release from the National Center for Atmospheric Research at: <http://www.ucar.edu/communications/newsreleases/2001/temps.html<;. Injecting probability analysis into climate models is a recent trend in the science of global warming -- a similar analysis performed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in March reached very similar conclusions. See the April 25th edition of the EREN Network News at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/archives/2001/apr25_01.html<. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
|