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EREN NETWORK NEWS -- January 23, 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/>
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Featuring:
*News and Events
California Cut Electricity Use by 6.7 Percent in 2001
Spire Solar Chicago Installs 100 Kilowatts of Solar Power
DOT Proposes No Change in Light Truck Efficiency Standards
Real-World Test of Superconductor Cable Delayed
Report Questions Government Support for Renewable Energy
*Energy Facts and Tips
Report Claims Utilities are Struggling to Power Data Centers
*About this Newsletter
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NEWS AND EVENTS
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California Cut Electricity Use by 6.7 Percent in 2001
The final numbers for California's electricity use in 2001 are in,
and they're impressive: compared to 2000, the state reduced
its total electricity use by 6.7 percent and its peak electricity
demand by 8.9 percent, or nearly 3,800 megawatts. Those
numbers are adjusted for economic growth and differences in
weather, but the cold, raw numbers still show a 4.4 percent
drop in electricity use and a 5.4 percent drop in peak demand.
Governor Gray Davis lauded Californians for their achievement.
See the statistics, with a link to a January 17th press release
from Governor Davis, at:
<http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/peak_demand_reduction.html>.
The Pacific Northwest can be proud, too, according to DOE's
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA): the region reduced its
electricity demand by roughly 85 megawatts, or enough to
power more than 80,000 homes, in 2001. See the BPA press
release at: <http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/KCC/nr/02nr/nr011702.shtml>.
Spire Solar Chicago Installs 100 Kilowatts of Solar Power
Spire Solar Chicago, a business unit of Spire Corporation,
announced last week the installation of a total of 100 kilowatts
of solar photovoltaic systems on six roofs in Chicago. The
systems were installed on the DuSable Museum of African
American History, the Homan Square Community Center,
Commonwealth Edison's South Hydome facility, two Chicago
public schools, and a small commercial building. The
installations are part of a local public/private partnership to
produce clean energy in Chicago. See the Spire press release
at: <http://www.spirecorp.com/Spire/news/PV369.html>.
DOT Proposes No Change in Light Truck Efficiency Standards
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA), a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT), released last week its proposed fuel efficiency
standards for Model Year 2004 light trucks. The proposed
standard holds the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency
(CAFE) standard for light trucks at its current level of
20.7 miles per gallon. The light truck classification includes
vans, pickup trucks, and most sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Since 1996, Congress has prohibited NHTSA from spending
any funds to consider changes to the CAFE standards.
Although that prohibition was lifted in December, the NHTSA
claims it has not had sufficient time to consider changes to
the standard. The NHTSA must issue its proposed rules
early enough to allow public comment and changes prior to a
final rulemaking, which must be issued by April 1st. The
public is invited to provide comments on the proposed fuel
efficiency standard before mid-February. See the January 18th
press release on the NHTSA Web site at:
<http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/press/index.cfm>.
On January 14th, four days before the proposed standards
were released, the National Research Council (NRC) sent
NHTSA a report confirming the NRC's conclusions on CAFE
standards, originally released in a detailed report published
in July 2001. The reassessment was performed after the
initial report was challenged by the automotive industry. The
latest report reaffirms that "technologies exist that, if applied
to passenger cars and light-duty trucks, would significantly
reduce fuel consumption within 15 years," and that
"assessment of currently offered product technologies
suggest that light-duty trucks, including SUVs, pickups, and
minivans, offer the greatest potential to reduce fuel
consumption..." See the new report on the National
Academy Press Web site at:
<http://books.nap.edu/books/NI000377/html/R1.html>.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), the overall fuel economy of light vehicles -- including
both light trucks and cars -- is now at a 21-year low of
20.4 miles per gallon. Although car mileage has remained
essentially flat for the past 16 years and light truck mileage
has stayed largely unchanged for the past 20 years, the
growing market share of light trucks has dragged down the
overall fuel economy of light vehicles. See the EPA "Light
Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends"
Web page at: <http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fetrends.htm>.
Note that actual fuel economies can be lower than the CAFE
standards for a number of reasons, including the fact that
manufacturers earn credits for any alternative-fuel vehicles
that they sell. Some manufacturers also fall below the
standards and pay penalties. To see how the details of how
manufacturers are meeting the standards, see the NHTSA
report on Model Year 2000 CAFE standards at:
<http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/studies/fuelecon/index.html>.
Real-World Test of Superconductor Cable Delayed
A test of a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) cable at
a Detroit Edison substation has been delayed indefinitely.
According to American Superconductor Corporation, which
made the HTS wires for the cables, a problem with the
vacuum insulating system used to help keep the cables cool
is preventing Detroit Edison from placing the HTS cables into
service. The company says the HTS wires met all their
performance requirements, and the vacuum insulating
technology is a proven technology that would not be
expected to hinder the future use of HTS cables. Pirelli
Energy Cables and Systems, the cable manufacturer, is
expected to issue a revised timetable for the demonstration
project in spring.
The Detroit Edison substation is the site of the first
installation and demonstration of an underground HTS cable
in a U.S. utility network. The utility installed three 400-foot
cables inside 4-inch-diameter underground ducts during the
summer of 2001. All other cable components, including the
cryogenic cooling and vacuum insulating systems, were
completed in the fall.
American Superconductor does have some good news,
though: its 5,000-horsepower HTS motor prototype, which
uses HTS wires in its rotor winding (the part of the motor that
rotates), was successfully tested at full load early this month.
The motor also successfully carried a peak load of 7,000
horsepower while running at its rated speed. Both the HTS
rotor coils and the refrigeration system met or exceeded their
performance goals, and the system as a whole operated at
an efficiency of 97.2 percent. The company claims it also
identified potential changes to the stator (the part of the
motor that stays still, or static) that could boost the efficiency
of the motor to 97.7 percent. See the American Superconductor
press releases at: <http://www.amsuper.com/press.htm>.
Report Questions Government Support for Renewable Energy
A report issued early this month by the Cato Institute, a
non-profit public policy research foundation, says that
government subsidies for renewable energy sources are
unwarranted. The report says that renewable energy is not
likely to gain significant market share in the foreseeable
future without a significant increase in government subsidies
or mandates. The report also claims that the environmental
benefits of renewable energy could be achieved more
cheaply using other technologies.
The report does acknowledge that government subsidies for
fully commercialized fossil energy technologies -- oil, coal,
and natural gas -- are nearly double those for renewable
energy, while nuclear and fossil fuels are also receiving
more research and development funds. It also suggests that
natural gas prices and availability will remain stable for the
foreseeable future. See the Cato Institute press release, with
a link to the full report, at:
<http://www.cato.org/new/01-02/01-08-02r-2.html>.
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ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS
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Report Claims Utilities are Struggling to Power Data Centers
A report issued last week suggests that electric utilities are
having a difficult time providing power to electronic data
centers, including so-called "Internet hotels" that provide
servers for Web sites. The Platts report finds that such data
centers can consume from 8 to 50 times the electricity per
square foot used by standard commercial buildings. For
instance, a 344,000-square-foot data center under
construction in Washington State is expected to draw up to
105 megawatts of power when it is complete. Such high
power loads are causing some data centers to develop their
own power sources. See the news release from Platts, one
of The McGraw-Hill Companies, at:
<http://www.platts.com/pressreleases/pressrelease2002-0118.shtml>.
The Platts report might be somewhat suspect, however, in
light of a report issued last summer by DOE's Lawrence
Berkeley Laboratory (LBL). That report found that, for a
variety of reasons, data centers often greatly exaggerate
their power needs. It concluded that data centers use at
most 50 watts per square foot, and usually closer to 40 watts
per square foot. This number applies only to the computer
room part of the facility, and not surrounding office areas.
Using these figures, the data center in Washington would
need at most 17.2 megawatts of power -- probably much
less. See the August 29th edition of EREN Network News at:
<http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/archives/2001/aug29_01.html>.
A report released last month by the Renewable Energy
Policy Project (REPP) suggests that energy use in data
centers could be even lower. Using efficient servers,
properly sized and efficient cooling systems, and other
energy efficiency approaches, data centers could reduce
their electricity demand by 20 to 50 percent, according to the
report. See the REPP announcement, with a link to the full
report, at:
<http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1008083982_982708646.html>.
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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