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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:
January 5, 2005
Page 1
News and Events
Site News
DOE Launches New Web Site With Energy-Saving Tips
Energy Connections
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Increased Moderately in 2003
News and Events
DOE Announces Appointment of Dan Arvizu as New NREL Director
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced yesterday the appointment of Dan Arvizu as director of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. Formerly senior vice president and chief technology officer for CH2M Hill, Dr. Arvizu succeeds Vice Admiral Richard Truly, who announced his retirement last June. Midwest Research Institute (MRI) also appointed Dr. Arvizu as senior vice president. MRI, headquartered in Kansas City, has operated and managed NREL for DOE since the lab first opened in 1977, and has teamed with Battelle to run the lab since 1998.
"Dan shares our view about the importance of getting our technology out of the lab and into the marketplace, and he is an excellent choice to lead NREL," said DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, David K. Garman. "Under Dan's leadership, we expect NREL to achieve new heights of technical excellence and market relevance."
Dr. Arvizu holds both a doctorate and master's degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State University. He will assume his new post on January 15th. See the DOE press release.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved new regulations in mid-December that will make appliances sold in the state the most energy-efficient in the nation. The new energy regulations set standards for incandescent lamps; audio and video equipment; residential pool pumps and portable electric spas; evaporative coolers; ceiling fans, exhaust fans and whole house fans; commercial ice makers, refrigerators and freezers; vending machines; commercial hot-food holding cabinets and water dispensers; and other appliances. The regulations go into effect on a staggered schedule beginning in January 2006, and are expected to avoid 100 megawatts of load growth each year they are in effect, as consumers start buying the new appliances.
The new regulations also cover external power supplies, the small transformers that power answering machines, cell and cordless phones, and a host of other small consumer products and appliances. These devices draw electricity whenever they are plugged in to an electrical socket, even if the product they are powering is not in use. In this standby mode, some power supplies use 15 times more energy than equivalent energy-efficient models, costing the average California homeowner as much as $75 in wasted electricity each year. The new standard will require power supplies to use at most 0.5 Watts when the device is off, and will start to go into effect in July 2006. See the CEC press release and the Appliance Efficiency Regulations Rulemaking Web page (which includes the proposed regulations).
While many of today's appliances have built-in energy-saving features, including "sleep" modes on computers and printers, they lack consistency in the controls for such features. The use of different terms and symbols for controlling low-power modes confuses some users, discouraging them from taking advantage of these energy-saving features. Thankfully, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) approved in early December a new standard, IEEE 1621, which covers the terms, symbols, and indicator lights for such power controls. DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed the draft standard with CEC funds. See the LBNL Web site, which includes the draft version of the standard.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) approved $745 million in funding in late December to support the state's Clean Energy Program. The funds will be allocated over the next four years, with three-quarters of the funds going toward energy efficiency and the remainder going toward renewable energy programs. The funds will help the state achieve its goal of drawing on 300 megawatts of renewable electric generation capacity by the end of 2008, with 90 megawatts consisting of solar photovoltaic power systems. The NJBPU will hold the 2005 budget steady at $139 million but increase it to an average of $202 million per year for the years 2006 to 2008. Funding for the Clean Energy Program comes from electric and gas customers through a charge added to their utility bills. See the NJBPU press release.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in late December that as of November 1st, 2004, it began buying 100 million kilowatt-hours per year of green power for its facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The three-year purchase of renewable energy credits will support the generation of renewable power from a biomass power plant in Port Wentworth, Georgia, to offset the electricity from non-renewable sources used by the EPA's facilities in the Triangle Park area. As a result of this and previous purchases, EPA's offices and laboratories are currently meeting 77.7 percent of their electricity needs from renewable energy through a combination of green power purchases and the purchase of renewable energy credits. See the EPA press release and the EPA's related Green Power Web page.
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