*News and Events
DOE Awards $20.4 Million to 13 Building Efficiency Projects
Canada to Join International Hydrogen Partnership
Oklahoma Gains a Massive 102-Megawatt Wind Power Plant
Toyota Launches U.S. Sales of its New Prius
Netherlands Team Holds Wide Lead in World Solar Challenge
Will Electrokinetics Yield a New, Clean Energy Source?
DOE Awards $20.4 Million to 13 Building Efficiency Projects
DOE announced last week its award of $20.4 million to 13 projects that will advance energy efficiency in buildings. Industry partners will contribute more than $10 million to the projects, bringing the total investment to more than $30 million. The three-year projects will aim to develop advanced technologies for lighting systems, windows, water
heaters, and air conditioning systems.
Among the technologies being investigated are LED (light-emitting diode) light sources using nanomaterials, organic materials, and other novel materials; new phosphor coatings for fluorescent lamps; wireless lighting control systems; advanced windows that use extremely lightweight insulating materials, called aerogels; “smart” windows
that mirror over in direct sunlight to reflect heat; electrochromic windows, which can be electronically lightened or darkened; commercial heat pump water heaters that use carbon dioxide as a refrigerant; air conditioning systems that add fresh outdoor air to maintain indoor air quality; and magnetocaloric air conditioners. Magnetocaloric cooling
devices, sometimes referred to as magnetic refrigeration, use a metallic refrigerant that exhibits the magnetocaloric effect: it heats up when placed in a magnetic field, and cools when the magnetic field is removed. [sorry this link is no longer available]
Canada to Join International Hydrogen Partnership
After an October 16th meeting with Herb Dhaliwal, Canada’s minister of natural resources, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced that Canada intends to join the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy. Secretary Abraham proposed the hydrogen partnership in April during his speech to the International Energy Agency Ministerial Meeting. Several other countries have shown interest in joining the partnership, which Secretary Abraham will kick off this fall by hosting the first ministerial meeting of the partnership.
The International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy will support the deployment of hydrogen technologies by establishing collaborative efforts in hydrogen production, storage, transport, and end-use technologies; creating common codes and standards for hydrogen fuel utilization; and sharing information necessary to develop hydrogen-
fueling infrastructure. See the October 16th press release on the DOE Web site at:
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For more information on hydrogen technologies, see DOE’s Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Oklahoma Gains a Massive 102-Megawatt Wind Power Plant
The first major wind power plant in Oklahoma went online last week, bringing 102 megawatts of wind power to the state. The Oklahoma Wind Energy Center, located near Woodward in northwest Oklahoma, was developed by FPL Energy and is providing half its power to the Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) and the other half to the Oklahoma
Municipal Power Authority (OMPA). It features 68 1.5-megawatt turbines, manufactured by GE Wind Energy. See the link to the OG&E press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]
The OMPA press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]
For background on the project, see the July 11th press release from FPL Energy at:
Oklahoma will soon gain its second wind power plant, as Zilkha Renewable Energy is building a 74.25-megawatt wind project near Lawton. Zilkha expects to complete the project, called the Blue Canyon Wind Farm, in December. See the Zilkha Web site: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Toyota Launches U.S. Sales of its New Prius
Toyota Motor Sales officially launched U.S. sales of its new Prius last week. The upgraded hybrid-electric vehicle is not only larger than its predecessor, but also achieves a higher mileage: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the new Prius will achieve 60 miles per gallon (MPG) in the city and 51 MPG on highways, for a combined city/highway mileage of 55 MPG. In contrast, the earlier version earned an estimated combined city/highway mileage of 48 MPG. In terms of emissions, the Prius has earned an AT-PZEV (Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) rating, which means that it is an SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) with
zero evaporative emissions.
Toyota is also holding the line on pricing for the new vehicle, keeping the base MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) at just under $20,000. But it may be awhile before you see one on a dealer’s lot: the company has already received nearly 12,000 pre-orders for the new Prius. Toyota currently plans to manufacture 36,000 Prius hybrids for the U.S. market this year.
The new Prius is packed with features to appeal to the technology hound, including drive-by-wire technology for the throttle and shifting systems, an electronically dimming “electrochromic” rear-view mirror, and a keyless entry and start system. See the Toyota Prius Web site: http://www.toyota.com/prius/
California drivers may have a new reason to buy a hybrid vehicle: On October 2nd, the State of California requested authority from the Secretary of Transportation to allow hybrid vehicles to drive in the HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes, even if they’re not carrying a passenger. See the Toyota Prius press releases at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Netherlands Team Wins World Solar Challenge
The Nuon Solar Team from the Netherlands won the World Solar Challenge in Australia. The lead vehicle, called the Nuna II, was one of three solar cars that reached Alice Springs on Monday, but the team widened its lead on Tuesday. A team from Melbourne, Australia, is trailing the Nuna II by 46 minutes, and the U.S. team from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is in third place. As of Tuesday, 22 solar cars were competing in the race.
See the “Latest Updates” and “Media” pages on the World Solar Challenge Web site at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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Will Electrokinetics Yield a New, Clean Energy Source?
A team of researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada announced Monday that they have discovered a new method of generating electricity. The researchers forced water through a filter made of porous glass, causing an electrical charge to build up on the filter via the electrokinetic effect — the physical separation of charges within a liquid, such as water, due to its interaction with a solid surface, such as glass. Using the pressure caused by a 30-centimeter column of water (a column about one foot high), the researchers were able to draw a current of 1.5 micro-amps from the glass filter. That’s an extremely small current, but the researchers believe that using
saltier water and a greater number of “microchannels” — the miniature channels existing in the pores of the glass filter — could yield a practical power source.
Although the authors described the technique as possibly “a new alternative energy source to rival wind and solar power,” it suffers from a potentially fatal flaw, namely, its low conversion efficiency. According to the authors’ paper, published Monday in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (a publication of the Institute of
Physics), the amount of electrical energy produced by the technique is expected to be less than 0.05 percent of the mechanical flow energy consumed by the pressure drop across the microchannels — at least, for dilute solutions. That suggests that for any natural source of flowing water, such as a river, a conventional turbine-generator would
yield far more electricity than would an electrokinetic device. However, the devices should be more efficient when driven by salt water, and may have an application in tidal or wave energy devices that aim to convert the energy in flowing seawater into electricity. See the announcement from the Institute of Physics at:
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See also the October 20th press release on the University of Alberta 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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