Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:April 9, 2003

*News and Events

DOE Awards $130.6 Million to 32 States for Weatherization
Fuel Economy For Light Trucks to Increase 7 Percent by 2007
California’s Small, Clean Power Generators Avoid Extra Fees
Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Picks Seven Solar Projects
Michigan Energy Center to Combine Fuel Cell, Solar, and More
Nevada PUC Approves Solar Thermal Power Plant Contract

*Site News

Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative

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NEWS AND EVENTS

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DOE announced on April 4th its award of $130.6 million to 32 states for energy efficiency improvements to the homes of low-income families. Low-income families spend an average of 14 percent of their income on energy, compared with 3.5 percent for the average American. Weatherization reduces an average home’s energy costs by $224 a year. The program gives a priority to low-income families that include children, the elderly, or people with disabilities.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on April 1st that it will increase the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks by 1.5 miles per gallon (mpg) over the next three years, as it had proposed in December 2002. The current standard of 20.7 mpg for pickup trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) will increase to 21.0 mpg for Model Year (MY) 2005, 21.6 mpg for MY 2006, and 22.2 mpg for MY 2007. According to the NHTSA, this is the first increase in CAFE standards since MY 1996 and is the largest increase in fuel economy standards in the last 20 years [Editor’s Note: even this miniscule amount]. The new rule is expected to save more than 3.6 billion gallons of gas over the lifetime of the new vehicles. See the April 1st press release from the NHTSA at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

California’s Small, Clean Power Generators Avoid Extra Fees

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a decision last week that will exempt customers using small, clean power generators — including solar, wind, and fuel-cell systems — from extra power surcharges. In creating the exemption, the CPUC noted that it was “removing barriers to installation of clean customer-owned generation and removing the cloud of uncertainty that has been discouraging customers from investing in systems.”

In late 2002, the state instituted a surcharge on so-called “direct access” customers — customers that had left their traditional utilities to buy power from independent energy suppliers. The surcharge was imposed to assure that these customers shared the financial burden of recovering from California’s energy crisis of 2000 and 2001. Although some had argued that the same surcharge should be applied to self-generated power, the CPUC decided on April 3rd to exempt small, clean power generators “on the basis of broader public policy to encourage self-generation and the use of renewable resources.” For specific rules regarding the exemption, see the CPUC press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) announced last week its funding of seven solar electric projects throughout the state. The CCEF will provide $2.3 million for the seven projects, which are expected to cost about $3.6 million. The systems will be installed at such diverse locations as a compost processing facility, a recycling center, an ecology center, a water pump
ing station, and a bus maintenance facility, as well as at the Hamden Government Center. The total peak capacity of the seven systems is expected to exceed 100 kilowatts. See the CCEF press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Connecticut isn’t the only state funding fuel cell installations: the Michigan Public Service Commission is providing a $3 million grant for FuelCell Energy, Inc. to install one of its 250-kilowatt fuel cell systems at the new Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon. To be completed this fall, the fuel cell power plant will be integrated with a heat recovery system for heating and air conditioning, a solar electric system, and a nickel-metal-hydride battery system, allowing the new 26,000-square-foot building to power itself. See the FuelCell Energy press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

The first new solar thermal power plant in 13 years earned a green light in late March, when the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved contracts between Nevada’s electric utilities and the Eldorado Solar Electric Generating Station (ESEGS). Under development near Boulder City, Nevada, the ESEGS will be the third-largest solar thermal power plant in the nation, with a capacity of 50 megawatts. Like the existing commercial plants in California, the ESEGS will use parabolic troughs to heat oil, which is then used to boil water into steam to power a turbine generator. The plant is expected to begin operating by March 2005. See the Nevada PUC press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]