Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:October 1, 2003

*News and Events

Lansing, Michigan, Joins DOE’s Clean Cities Program

R&D 100 Awards Include 12 Renewable, Efficiency Technologies

New Automotive Technologies Shine in Clean Vehicle Rally

All-Solar Community in Arizona to Feature 487 Off-Grid Homes

West Coast Governors Aim to Address Global Warming

Study Finds Big Potential for Saving Energy in Supermarkets

*Energy Connections

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Launched in Chicago

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NEWS AND EVENTS

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Lansing, Michigan, Joins DOE’s Clean Cities Program

DOE designated the Greater Lansing Clean Cities Coalition as the newest member of its Clean Cities Program on September 26th. Earning such a designation from the program, which promotes the use of alternative fuels, is not a simple task: The Lansing, Michigan, group has been working for seven years to advance the use of alternative fuels in the area. After the City of Lansing partnered with St. Johns and other area communities and groups to form the coalition, DOE helped the coalition to build a market foundation for alternative fuel vehicles, form its own group of stakeholders, hold meetings, identify a coordinator, define goals, and develop an action plan to achieve those goals.
The Clean Cities designation recognizes the Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities Coalition as working to strengthen the nation’s energy security, improve air quality and stimulate the local economy by creating new alternative fuel markets. See the September 26th press release on the DOE Web site at:

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Clean Cities is a locally based, voluntary government and industry partnership, coordinated by DOE, which is designed to promote the use of alternative fuels. The program just launched the Web site for its next national conference, to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in early May 2004. See the Clean Cities Program Web site and the Web site for the 10th National Clean Cities Conference and Expo at:
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R&D 100 Awards Include 12 Renewable, Efficiency Technologies

If there’s any question about the importance of energy research and development (R&D) in our society, this year’s R&D 100 Awards from R&D Magazine should put those doubts to rest. DOE-funded research won 35 of the 100 awards, and DOE national laboratories contributed to many of the innovations. See the September 25th press release on the DOE Web site at:

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Among all the awards, 12 relate to energy efficiency and renewable energy. In the renewable energy realm, First Solar, LLC and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have created a technique to deposit thin films of photovoltaic material at a rate of about one module per minute. First Solar is using the technology to produce

cadmium telluride solar modules, but the process could be extended to other photovoltaic materials. Another award winner is a system that separates polluting solids, liquids, and noxious gases from steam that is vented from a geothermal power facility. Sandia National Laboratories not only contributed to that development, but also

developed an acoustic telemetry device that could help provide information on a geothermal well as it is being drilled. The device transmits data from the drill bit by sending sound waves up along the well-drilling tubing.

In the energy efficiency arena, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory won an award for EnergyPlus, a computer program for modeling building energy performance. An additional award went to Los Alamos National Laboratory for developing an energy-efficient supercomputer that uses a cluster of 240 processors, yet requires no cooling. The cluster achieves up to 10 times more computing power per kilowatt of electricity than other supercomputing platforms. Los Alamos also developed a flexible tape made of high-temperature superconductor material. The conductive tape is able to carry 200 times the electrical current that copper wire can carry. Advanced materials also

earned an award for Argonne National Laboratory, which helped develop a low-friction carbon-based coating that bonds extremely well even under severe conditions. The coating could help engines and other machinery run more efficiently and last longer. And Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory helped develop a laser system that forms precise shapes in thick metal parts. Used in aircraft, the process could lead to lighter components and increased fuel efficiency.

But not all energy-efficiency innovations came from DOE projects. For instance, a team from Hitachi, Ltd. developed an electronic drive system for air conditioning motors that helps them to operate at peak efficiencies. IdleAire Technologies Corp. developed a system that provides power to trucks at truck stops, eliminating the fuel waste

and pollution caused by idling trucks. The company is currently operating six installations and plans to open four in California and three in Texas in the near future. Praxair, Inc. developed a supplemental refrigeration unit for use at plants that liquefy atmospheric gases, such as nitrogen and oxygen. The supplemental system uses only about half as much electricity as a stand-alone liquefier. And Aspen Aerogels, Inc. created a blanket-type insulation using aerogels — extremely light, sponge-like structures of solid material — that insulates four times better than fiberglass.

See the R&D 100 awards on the R&D Magazine Web site at:

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Press releases relating to many of awards mentioned above can be found at the following links:

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New Automotive Technologies Shine in Clean Vehicle Rally

The Challenge Bibendum, a Michelin-sponsored show and rally for clean vehicles, was held in California last week, and the sponsors noted significant advancements in clean car technologies. While the first Bibendum, in 2002, mainly featured alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles, this year’s event was dominated by hydrogen-powered

cars, hybrid-electric vehicles, and advanced diesel engines. Although there is no true winner, 32 vehicles earned Gold Awards for zero or near-zero emissions. In addition, two design awards — the Style Advancement Award and the Technical Integration Award — were presented in two categories: production vehicles and prototype vehicles. The 2004 Toyota Prius won both awards in the production category, and the 2002 Mercedes Benz F-Cell A-Class — a fuel-cell vehicle — won both awards in the prototype category. See the September 25th press release on the Challenge Bibendum Web site at: http://www.challengebibendum.com/

Among the innovative entries at the Bibendum was an electric car powered by lithium-ion batteries, provided by AC Propulsion. Called the tzero, the prototype has a 300-mile range, accelerates from zero to 60 miles per hour in only 3.6 seconds, and has a top speed of 100 miles per hour. AC Propulsion also brought a hybrid electric vehicle that achieves a range of 30 to 40 miles using just its lead-acid batteries, but can also travel longer distances by burning

gasoline to recharge its batteries. When stopped, the car can be connected to a natural gas supply line to fuel the car’s generator, which can supply power to a house or to the electrical grid. See the AC Propulsion press release, in PDF format only, at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Other entries include a fuel-cell-powered station wagon from Anuvu, Inc.; a natural-gas-fueled truck, provided by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E); and a biodiesel-fueled Volkswagen Jetta TDI Turbo from Green Star Products, Inc. And although no winner is declared, the biodiesel Jetta won Gold Awards in six categories, more than any other production vehicle. See the press releases from Anuvu, PG&E, and Green Star Products, Inc. at: [sorry this link is no longer available], [sorry this link is no longer available], and

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All-Solar Community in Arizona to Feature 487 Off-Grid Homes

A new housing development near Kingman, Arizona, lacks one feature most developments take for granted: power lines. Every “ranchette” in the 487-home community will be equipped with a 1.65-kilowatt solar power system; when all the homes are built, the community will have a combined solar power capacity of just over 800 kilowatts. The homes use propane to fuel their furnace, refrigerator, and range and oven, and also include electric water heaters that can be upgraded to propane. The GreenWood Ranch Estates held its grand opening in late August. See the Solar Energy Industries Association press release and the GreenWood Web Site at:

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A model solar home also opened for viewing in Wrentham, Massachusetts, last week. The new home development is energy efficient — the homes all earned the Energy Star label — and up to 25 of the homes will feature solar power systems. The model home includes a 1.3-kilowatt system manufactured by Evergreen Solar, and a 2.6-kilowatt system is also available. With a combination of state tax incentives and funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, homeowners should pay only one-quarter to one-half the cost of the solar power system. See

the press release from Evergreen Solar at:

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Buyers of the Wrentham homes also have another way to save on the cost of their solar power systems: they can sell their renewable energy credits to Mainstay Energy. The company is offering one-time payments of $100 per kilowatt for solar power systems and $50 per kilowatt for wind energy systems to homeowners and businesses throughout New England. The system must have been powered up in 1998 or later. See the Mainstay Energy Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available].

Not all communities in the United States are so keen on solar energy, as Akeena Solar, Inc., a solar power company, recently found out. After the company installed a 2.97-kilowatt solar power system on the roof of its office building in Los Gatos, California, it was denied a final approval of its building permit because the solar modules were visible from the street. All rooftop equipment in the city must be screened from view. Not lacking in irony, the company suggested using solar panels to screen the system, but the city failed to find the humor in that proposal. See the Akeena Web site at: http:
//www.akeena.net/about/Losgatossolar.html

Akeena’s appeal before the Los Gatos Town Council is documented on pages 5 to 7 of the council minutes from August 4th, available in PDF format only at:

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West Coast Governors Aim to Address Global Warming

The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington teamed up last week to announce that they will work together to address global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in their states. Specifically, the states will try to use their combined purchasing power to obtain fuel-efficient vehicles and tires with low rolling resistance. The states also hope to develop a chain of emissions-free truck stops along the Interstate 5 corridor (see the IdleAire

technology description in the R&D 100 Awards story above) and will attempt to use a similar approach for ships in port. The three states also plan to encourage development of renewable energy resources and to develop uniform energy efficiency standards. The governors’ staffs will work together to develop joint policy recommendations, to be

presented to the governors no later than September 2004. See the September 22nd press releases on the Web sites of Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and Washington Governor Gary Locke at:

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Study Finds Big Potential for Saving Energy in Supermarkets

A collaboration of five countries in the International Energy Agency (IEA) has yielded a study that finds significant potential for energy savings in supermarket refrigeration systems. The study, released in September by DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), was intended to examine ways to reduce the global warming impact of supermarket refrigeration systems, based on the concern that refrigerant leakage would be a major contributor to global warming. And indeed, advanced systems would cut the global warming impact of supermarket refrigeration by about 60 percent, mostly due to reduced emissions of refrigerants. But the study also found that supermarkets could achieve additional global warming benefits by recovering the waste heat from their refrigeration systems. According to the study, most stores could provide about 40 percent of their space heating and water heating needs using this waste heat. The study was performed as part of a series of efforts under the IEA Heat Pump Program; the supermarket refrigeration efforts are called “Annex 26.” See the report by selecting “Reports” on the ORNL Annex 26 Web page: [sorry this link is no longer available]

According to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), a nonprofit corporation, large energy savings can also be achieved in reach-in refrigerators and freezers — chiefly used in restaurants — and commercial icemakers, which are used in hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. Up to 50 percent of the energy used by reach-in refrigerators and freezers could be saved, says CEE, as well as 15 and 20 percent of the energy used by commercial icemakers. See the

CEE press release at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

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ENERGY CONNECTIONS

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Launched in Chicago

The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) began trading carbon dioxide emission allowances on Tuesday, officially marking the start of market operations. With the sale of allowances for 125,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the CCX claims it is now operating the first multi-sector, multi-national market to reduce and trade greenhouse gas emissions. Attending the opening, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham hailed the new market as “precisely the kind of private-sector initiative that the Bush Administration has been calling for in response to the climate change challenge.” See the September 30th press release on the newly revised CCX Web site at:

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Secretary Abraham also discussed greenhouse gas emissions while addressing a group of European global climate policy experts on September 17th. Secretary Abraham said no technologies currently exist

to significantly cut emissions of gases linked to global warming. Unless such technologies are developed, he said, greenhouse gas reduction targets in global-climate treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol will not be achievable without severe economic hardship.

“The United States is neither ashamed of its position on Kyoto nor indifferent to the challenges of climate change,” Secretary Abraham said. “The United States is investing billions of dollars to address these challenges.” See the September 17th press release from DOE at:

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Meanwhile, the Kyoto Protocol will not go into force unless it is ratified by Russia. Speaking on Monday before the World Climate Change Conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that there have been calls for Russia to ratify the protocol as soon as possible, to which he responded, “the Russian Federation is closely studying and

examining this question, which is part of a complex of difficult and unclear problems. A decision will be made when this work is finished.” See President Putin’s speech on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]>.

The World Climate Change Conference began on Monday in Moscow and continues through October 3rd. See the conferenc
e Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

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Kevin Eber is the Editor of EREE Network News, a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

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