================================================= EREN NETWORK NEWS -- March 20, 2002 A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN). <http://www.eren.doe.gov/> =================================================
Featuring: *News and Events California Governor Davis Extends MTBE Phase-Out to 2003 New Biodiesel Plant to Produce 30 Million Gallons Annually Canadian Companies to Produce BioOil from Wood Waste NREL Director: Renewable Energy Enhances Homeland Security Feds to Receive No-Cost Biomass Energy, Efficiency Gains DOE Renewable, Energy Efficiency Office to Reorganize *Energy Facts and Tips EPA Launches Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Program *About this Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- California Governor Davis Extends MTBE Phase-Out to 2003 California Governor Gray Davis dealt a blow to the U.S. ethanol fuels industry last week by extending the deadline for the phase-out of MTBE in the state to the end of 2003. Back in 1999, concerns about groundwater pollution led Governor Davis to order the phase-out of the use of MTBE as a gasoline additive in California by the end of this year. MTBE is an oxygenate, and is used to reduce ozone emissions. California sought a waiver from the oxygenate requirements, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied that waiver in June 2001. Since the only other gasoline oxygenate is ethanol, the MTBE phase-out will create a large market for ethanol in California. Delaying the phase-out will slow some of the rapid growth that the ethanol industry had expected. The governor's decision followed a report released last week that predicted gasoline supply shortages in Southern California if the phase-out proceeded as planned. Ironically, the expected supply problems are due to problems with gasoline supply and imports to the state, rather than ethanol supply concerns. The report, commissioned by the California Energy Commission (CEC), assumes that the ethanol supply is available, but predicts problems because fewer additives and more gasoline would be used in ethanol fuel blends. See the CEC MTBE Web page, which includes links to the Governor's announcement and the report, at: <http://www.energy.ca.gov/mtbe/index.html>. For its part, the ethanol industry claims it was ready to meet the anticipated demand and is asking California refiners to voluntarily shift from MTBE to ethanol blends. See the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) press release at: <http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pr020315.html>. The RFA claims are also backed by a recent report from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). That report says that ethanol capacity will be sufficient to meet the nation's needs, but expresses concern that the industry is concentrated in the Midwest and warns that bans of MTBE in other states could lead to capacity problems. See the GAO report, in Adobe PDF format only, at: <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02440r.pdf>. New Biodiesel Plant to Produce 30 Million Gallons Annually Southern States Power Company Inc. announced plans last week to build a biodiesel production factory in Riverside, California, capable of producing 30 million gallons per year of biodiesel fuel. If built as planned, the biodiesel plant will be the largest in the United States. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Lurgi PSI, Inc. to develop the facility. The company currently has a 10-million- gallon-per-year facility in Coachella, California, about 50 miles east of Riverside. See the March 14th press release on the Southern States Power Web site at: <http://www.sspowerco.net/newspress.cfm>. Biodiesel is also getting a boost in New York, where the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is spending nearly $700,000 this year to advance the use of biodiesel in the state. NYSERDA announced Monday that $320,000 will go to NOCO Energy Corporation in Tonawanda, New York, for the company to blend, market, and sell biodiesel in the Buffalo-Niagara area. A separate award of $62,000 will help the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to fuel 140 of its 330 buses with NOCO's biodiesel for at least a year. NOCO will use biodiesel to fuel its own fleet of trucks and will provide the fuel to the Town of Tonawanda for its municipal truck fleet. NOCO will also evaluate the use of bio-heating fuels in boilers and furnaces. See the NYSERDA press release at: <http://www.nyserda.org/press/2002/mar18_02.html>. Biodiesel is making inroads throughout the country. The first public biodiesel pump in Missouri opened in early March in Jefferson City, and became the starting point for the journey of a biodiesel-fueled truck to Washington, D.C. See the press releases on the National Biodiesel Board's Web site at: <http://www.biodiesel.org/default2.htm>. And in late February, a marina in Fort Meyers, Florida, became the first in the state to offer a biodiesel blend. See the February 28th press release from WCI Communities, Inc. by selecting "Company News" on the home page at: <http://www.wcicommunities.com/>. Do you need to locate a station that offers biodiesel or other alternative fuels? Try the newly redesigned "Alternative Fuel Station Map Site." The site has a simplified interface to help you find stations, and it now includes a "route mapper" that will help you find stations along a planned route. Sorry, but marinas aren't listed. See the Alternative Fuels Data Center Web site at: <http://www.afdc.doe.gov/refueling_mapsite.shtml>. Want to know more about biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel? Visit the revamped DOE Biofuels Web site, located at: <http://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/>. Canadian Companies to Produce BioOil from Wood Waste While ethanol and biodiesel fuels are surging ahead in the United States, two Canadian companies intend to build a demonstration plant to produce yet another renewable fuel, called BioOil. Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation has been operating a 10-ton-per-day pilot facility in Vancouver since last year, converting wood waste and agricultural wastes into a liquid fuel that can be burned in boilers, gas turbines, and diesel engines. Dynamotive announced in late February that it is working with Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor) on a joint technical review of a 200-ton-per-day BioOil plant. As currently conceived, the BioOil plant would be built alongside a Canfor facility, converting its wood waste into BioOil, which would in turn be used to fuel kilns in the Canfor facility. DynaMotive produces the fuel using a high- temperature process called pyrolysis. See the DynaMotive press release at: <http://www.dynamotive.com/news/newsreleases/020226.html>. NREL Director: Renewable Energy Enhances Homeland Security Renewable energy technologies can enhance homeland security, according to Richard Truly, director of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Speaking before the National Press Club last week, Truly noted that wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar energy sources can reduce U.S. reliance on foreign energy sources, thereby bolstering U.S. energy security. But they also serve to protect the country's energy infrastructure from attack. "Renewable energy technologies - particularly when deployed as a distributed energy resource - can play a vital role in securing our energy infrastructure," said Truly. "The more energy efficient we are, the more energy we get from sustainable, domestic resources, the less pressure we have on our energy infrastructure and the less vulnerable we are to disruption." See the NREL press release at: <http://www.nrel.gov/hot-stuff/press/0902_security.html>. Or go directly to Truly's speech, on the NREL Web site at: <http://www.nrel.gov/director/trulyspeech_031402.html>. Feds to Receive No-Cost Biomass Energy, Efficiency Gains DOE announced last week that it has selected five energy service companies to provide federal facilities with energy efficiency services combined with energy from biomass and "alternative" methane sources. DOE's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) will set up umbrella contracts with the five companies, making it relatively simple for individual federal sites to arrange for these services. Called Energy Savings Performance Contracts, or ESPCs, the contracts require no investment from federal agencies. Instead, the companies finance and implement energy- saving projects, and then are repaid over a period of time based on the actual energy savings achieved. For the five contracts announced last week, the companies will convert federal facilities to allow them to use biomass energy sources, such as dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural crop residues, aquatic plants, wood and wood residues, animal wastes and other organic waste materials. The companies will also install systems that use methane from organic sources like landfills and wastewater treatment plants. In an unusual move, coal bed methane sources are also included. To help offset the costs of the biomass and methane systems, the companies will also install energy efficiency improvements. The combined value of the contracts may be as high as $200 million. See the DOE press release at: <http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/marpr/pr02042.htm>. See also the FEMP Web site at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/femp/financing/espc/biomass.html>. So what, you may ask, is coal bed methane? It's methane trapped within coal seams that is released by coal mining. If simply ventilated from the coal mines, it becomes a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, but it can instead be captured and used as an energy source. See the Coalbed Methane Outreach Program on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site at: <http://www.epa.gov/coalbed/>. DOE Renewable, Energy Efficiency Office to Reorganize DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is planning to reorganize to a flatter structure that focuses more on programs. David Garman, Assistant Secretary for EERE, announced the proposed changes on Monday. The new organization will eliminate the current "sector" offices -- power, buildings, industry, transportation, and federal energy -- and instead will create 11 offices focused on programs such as solar, geothermal, and hydrogen and infrastructure. The reorganization will also elevate the role of communications and outreach. Garman expects the reorganization to take effect in May. See the announcement on the EERE home page on EREN at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/ee.html>. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EPA Launches Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Program In support of President Bush's plan for voluntary programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its new "Climate Leaders" program in late February. The 11 charter members have committed to complete a corporate-wide greenhouse gas inventory and to work with EPA to set an emissions reduction target. General Motors Corporation is one of the Climate Leaders charter members. For the full list, see the EPA press release at: <http://www.epa.gov/epahome/headline_022002.htm>. The EPA is also lending a hand to this process through its sponsorship of the Greenhouse Gas Technology Center. Technologies that may help reduce greenhouse gas emissions are subjected to independent testing to verify their performance. Applicants must share the cost of the testing and pay a $1,000 application fee. The center's Web site currently includes verification test results for three microturbine systems and one fuel cell system. See the Web site at: <http://www.sri-rtp.com/>. BP is living proof that companies can accomplish significant greenhouse gas reductions if they try. The company has cut emissions from its own operations to 10 percent below 1990 levels, and achieved its goal eight years early. BP achieved its cuts at no cost, primarily by increasing energy efficiency in its operations. The company notes, however, that with its anticipated growth, it will require diligence and continued efficiency improvements to hold its emissions levels constant. See the BP press kit, with links to the press release and a related speech, at: <http://www.bp.com/centres/press/stanford/index.asp>. While launching the EPA program, the Bush Administration has also made agreements with both Canada and Japan to work cooperatively on global climate change. The wide- ranging agreements may include work on cogeneration, renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency technologies. See the U.S. State Department press releases at: <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/8678pf.htm> and <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/8578.htm>. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to this newsletter using the online form at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/subscribe/>. This Web page also allows you to update your email address or unsubscribe to this newsletter. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN) home page is located at <http://www.eren.doe.gov/>. 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