ENERGIES... week of February 17, 2002
HELP WANTED - GREEN ENERGY. That's a new heading that may be in the
Help Wanted section of the newspaper some day soon. The Economic Policy
Institute (EPI) and the Center for a Sustainable Economy (CSE) have
released a new report - Clean Energy and Jobs, A Comprehensive Approach
to Climate Change and Energy Policy - that lays out plans as to how the
U.S could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent by 2020
while creating 660,000 new jobs by 2010 and an additional 800,000 by
2020.
In summary the report recommends that...
-- Fossil fuels should be taxed on their carbon content , while at the
same time labor taxes (income taxes) should be reduced to a level which
would keep revenue impact neutral.
-- Research, development and commercialization of cleaner, more
efficient energy technologies should be increased.
-- Job-transition packages, such as retraining, should be created for
workers affected by the change to cleaner energy technologies.
-- U.S. competitiveness could be maintained by adjusting the fuel-tax
structure for disproportionally affected products.
An earlier study by the Union of Concerned Scientists mirrors the
EPI/CSE study, saying that increasing average fuel economy to 55 miles
per gallon by 2020 would create 100,000 new jobs in the auto industry.
Visit the EPI at http://www.epinet.org/ , CSE at
http://www.sustainableeconomy.org/ .
SIMPLE SOLAR. Solar water heating is simple and relatively
inexpensive. Yet the two basic uses for hot water, for space heating (a
warm home) and domestic hot water (a hot shower) are quite different.
A hot water space heating system using radiators, baseboard heating,
or in-floor radiant heat is a closed system using water that flows in a
loop under low pressure.
Hot water that is used for a bath or a brought to boil for a cup of
tea must come in fresh from the street, or well, under high pressure,
and is of course consumed.
Instead of having two systems, and the incurring expenses, PowerTech
Solar has developed a heat exchange system that would allow one thermal
solar collector system to make hot water for both space heating and
domestic use. The company is looking for partners particularly in the
U.S. to further develop and market the technology. Visit PowerTech at
http://www.powertech-solar.com/ .
SOLAR SCHOOLS. Rooftops of classrooms seem to be a popular place to
install solar photovoltaic systems. Aside from the high square footage
of a typical school roof, a solar system becomes an educational tool
that acclimates youth to alternative energy technologies at an
impressionable age. Schools, too, are largely in use at the same time of
day solar power is the most effective.
Atersa (Aplicaciones Tecnicas de la Energia, S.A.) a division of
AstroPower operating in Spain, has been chosen by the Brazilian Ministry
of Mines and Energy (MME) to supply packaged solar photovoltaic power
systems to 582 schools in Brazil that don't have access to the power
grid.
To be installed by locally trained technicians, the solar systems
will provide power for lighting, refrigerators and television sets.
Each package will include a number of solar modules up to 120 watts
each, inverter, batteries, mounting hardware, and DC fluorescent
lighting.
The entire project is valued at nearly $3 million.
Evergreen Solar and Japanese marketing partner Kawasaki Heavy
Industries have installed a 70-kilowatt solar system on the Yachiyo
Shoin High School in Yachiyo City Chiba Prefecture in Japan. As one of
the largest systems installed on a school in the Prefecture, the 770
square meter array will supply power, in part, to the school's lighting
and air conditioning systems. The annual output from the system should
be about 67,200 kilowatt hours and offset 11,140 kilograms of carbon
emissions - the equivalent of carbon sequestration in a forest of over
28 acres.
Visit AstroPower at http://www.astropower.com/ , Evergreen Solar at
http://www.evergreensolar.com/ .
MARKETING MONEY. While building more green power generation capacity
seems the most logical thing to do in the effort to displace
conventional power technologies, building new green capacity doesn't
help if there are no customers to buy that electricity. Finding new
customers and getting them to sign on the dotted line starts with
marketing and then good salesmanship - both of which take money to do.
Green Mountain Energy has received an additional $24 million in
equity funding which the company has earmarked for business building -
sales and marketing. Green Mountain will use the money to increase
marketing efforts to consumers in states with competitive markets such
as Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The company will
also pursue business opportunities where it would become the primary
energy provider for large groups of customers. And Green Mountain will
also look to become partners with other utilities to encourage them to
sell Green Mountain branded products as a renewable choice for their
customers.
Visit Green Mountain at http://www.greenmountain.com/
WORLD WIND WATCH. The U.S. will continue to have at least one player
in the utility-grade wind turbine manufacturing business. The turbine
manufacturing arm of Enron Wind has been sold to GE Power Systems. The
purchase, which also includes eleven marketing and sales offices around
the world, does not include any of Enron Wind's wind farms. Since Enron
Wind will also file for bankruptcy, those assets will probably be sold
in those proceedings.
The acquisition by GE seems a natural fit. GE is already heavily
into the power generation business. Visit Enron Wind at
http://www.enronwind.com/ .
NEW! NEW! NEW! ... NewsLinks ...
--- Schott Applied Power Corporation's New 165 Watt Photovoltaic Module
Enables Energy Security http://www.schottappliedpower.com/ (2/14/02)
--- Hundreds Sign Up for Green Power, PSE's 6-week Old Program Takes Off
http://www.pse.com/ (click News) (2/19/02)
--- Allison Transmission Showcases Home Grown Hybrid Vehicle Technology
http://www.media.gm.com/ (click Full List of Releases) (2/20/02)
--- GM Teams Up With EPA to Address Climate Concerns
http://www.media.gm.com/ (click Full List of Releases) (2/20/02)
--- Westport, Ford and Arthur D. Little Inc. Win $416,000 in funding for
Natural Gas Engine Research http://www.westport.com/ (2/20/02)
--- Cummins Inc. Demonstrates Clean, Natural Gas Bus Engines to Pres.
George W. Bush http://www.westport.com/ (2/21/02)
--- H Power Introduces EPAC (tm)-500 Portable Fuel Cell Product
http://www.hpower.com/ (2/21/02)
Send ENERGIES to a friend or colleague. Visit Green Energy News on
the Web at http://www.nrglink.com/ . For free ENERGIES subscription
contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Copyright Green Energy News Inc. 2/23/02
vol.6 no.47
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