The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is also looking to make a large green power purchase for the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The agency is requesting bids for between 20 and 80 million kilowatt-hours of green power over a two-year period. The Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) issued a request for proposals in early December, and bids are due on January 11th. See the DESC solicitation.
Certification of green power supplies went nationwide in mid-December, as the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that it has established a default national certification standard to cover those areas for which a regional standard has not yet been developed. CRS began certifying green power through its Green-e program in California and gradually expanded the process to 32 other states, but that process left many gaps in the national map. See the CRS press release.
Companies and government organizations in California have literally racked up a huge number of solar panels in recent weeks. In Fairfield, midway between Sacramento and San Francisco, the new Solano County Government Center features two solar power systems provided by PowerLight Corporation that generate a total of 340 kilowatts of power. In Colfax, about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, Felix Electric installed a 145-kilowatt solar power system at Hill Flat Lumber Company, using solar modules from RWE SCHOTT Solar Inc. And in Borrego Springs, just west of the Salton Sea in southern California, WorldWater & Power Corporation installed a 267-kilowatt solar power system to drive a 200-horsepower irrigation system at the Seley Ranches citrus orchard. See the press releases from PowerLight, RWE SCHOTT Solar, and WorldWater.
Finally, just to prove that California doesn't have a monopoly on large solar power systems, Pepsi Cola of Klamath Falls, Oregon, installed 172 kilowatts of solar power at three locations, including a 132-kilowatt system integrated into the company's main office and warehouse. Pacific Power, a PacifiCorp company, supported the project by buying green tags for its Oregon Blue Sky customers and is also providing net metering, which allows the company to earn credit for power fed back into the electrical grid. See the PacifiCorp press release.
The first U.S. power plant to be fueled primarily with poultry litter is now under construction in Benson, Minnesota, about 125 miles west of Minneapolis. Fibrowatt LLC completed financing of the 55-megawatt plant in mid-December and immediately began construction. The plant will consume about 700,000 tons per year of biomass, of which about 90 percent will be poultry litter and 10 percent will be other agricultural biomass. Fibrowatt LLC is partly owned by Fibrowatt Ltd., a company that has built three similar plants in the United Kingdom. SNC-Lavalin Power Inc. is building the Minnesota plant under a $142-million contract, and expects the plant to start operating in early 2007. See the press releases from SNC-Lavalin Power and Fibrowatt, as well as Fibrowatt's Benson Project Web page.
DOE has launched a new Web site with detailed information and tips on how to save money by developing smart energy habits. The site, www.EnergySavingTips.gov, serves as a consumer-friendly portal to detailed energy-saving information from various federal agencies.
"With winter upon us, it's a good time to evaluate how to save money through increased energy efficiency," said David K. Garman, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "The Department of Energy has taken the lead in helping to provide American consumers with useful, centralized, understandable information that will not only assist in identifying low-cost, short-term solutions, but also help with long-term energy-saving strategies."
See the DOE press release or go directly to the new Web site at www.EnergySavingTips.gov.
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Increased Moderately in 2003
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased by 0.7 percent in 2003, from 6,891 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent in 2002 to 6,936 in 2003, according to "Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2003," a report released in mid-December by DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). The 2003 increase is well below the rate of economic growth of 3.0 percent and below the average annual growth rate of 1.0 percent in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane increased by 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, while emissions of nitrous oxide and engineered gases (such as refrigerants) fell by 0.9 and 0.3 percent respectively. See the EIA press release.
As EIA released its report on greenhouse gas trends, DOE announced a new agreement with the U.S. power sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. DOE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Power Partners?a group comprising the American Public Power Association, the Edison Electric Institute, the Electric Power Supply Association, the Large Public Power Council, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Tennessee Valley Authority?establishing a voluntary framework for reducing the greenhouse gas emission intensity of U.S. power generation. Power Partners have pledged to reduce collectively the power sector's greenhouse gas emissions intensity by an equivalent of 3 to 5 percent (measured as emissions per unit of electricity produced) below 2000 to 2002 baseline levels, as measured over the 2010 to 2012 period.
Power Partners is one of 13 trade associations or business groups taking part in the President's Climate VISION program, an initiative with the goal of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the U.S. economy (measured as carbon-equivalent emissions per unit of economic output) by 18 percent between 2002 and 2012. See the DOE press release.
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