================================================= EREN NETWORK NEWS -- February 13, 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 Massachusetts Moves Ahead on Renewable Energy Requirement DOE Releases Design Guidelines for Energy Efficient Schools U.S. Ethanol Fuel Industry Sets Production Record in 2001 Environmental Assessment: GM Falls Short on Fuel Efficiency DOE Awards $6 Million to Missouri for Home Weatherization *Energy Facts and Tips EIA: Expect a Rise in Gasoline Costs, Drop in Heating Costs *About this Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Massachusetts Moves Ahead on Renewable Energy Requirement The Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources (DOER) released last week its final renewable energy portfolio regulation, which sets a minimum requirement for generating electricity from new renewable energy sources. The regulation requires all retail electricity providers in the state to draw on new renewable energy sources for at least one percent of their power supply in 2003, increasing to four percent by 2009. The state mandated the renewable energy regulation in its Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Act, enacted in 1997. The DOER regulation allows the use of solar, wind, and ocean energy, as well as landfill methane gas, anaerobic digester gas, and low-emission biomass power (but not from municipal waste), to meet the requirement. In general, only facilities that started commercial operation in 1998 or later will qualify. Biomass can also be co-fired with other fuels for partial credit if the facility meets certain criteria. Electricity providers that fall short of the requirements can opt to pay 5 cents per kilowatt-hour to the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation (MTPC), which administers the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. The MTPC, in turn, will use the funds to maximize the commercial development of new renewable generation facilities in the state. See the DOER press release, with a link to the full regulation, at: <http://www.state.ma.us/doer/pub_info/nr020207.htm>. The State of New York is also pressing ahead with plans to encourage renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency. The state's draft energy plan, now being reviewed in public hearings, includes plans to solicit long-term contracts for electricity from renewable energy sources, examine the feasibility of a requirement similar to Massachusetts' new regulation, help create a biofuels industry in the state, and encourage the use of distributed generation and combined heat and power technologies. The plan also proposes a statewide energy efficiency standard, voluntary energy- efficiency agreements with businesses, efforts to encourage alternative modes of transportation, and programs to promote energy efficiency in buildings. The plan specifically suggests a coordinated effort to include energy efficiency and other green building principles in rebuilding efforts in New York City. See the draft energy plan on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Web site at: <http://www.nyserda.org/sep.html>. DOE Releases Design Guidelines for Energy Efficient Schools DOE released last week the first of seven volumes of design guidelines for energy-efficient schools, providing the detailed information needed for schools to save millions of dollars in energy costs. U.S. schools for kindergarten through the twelfth grade spend a total of about $6 billion on energy each year, a quarter of which could be saved through energy efficiency. In addition, a number of recent studies show that students learn better in comfortable classrooms that make use of natural sunlight. The new design guidelines cover a wide range of technologies for schools in hot and dry climates, and also include numerous case studies. The remaining six volumes will cover the other U.S. climate zones and will be released by this summer. DOE aims to help school districts achieve energy savings as they renovate old schools or build new ones -- U.S. school districts are expected to spend $79 billion on such projects over the next three years. See the DOE press release at: <http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/febpr/pr02021.htm>. The design guidelines are a product of EnergySmart Schools, a part of DOE's Rebuild America Program. See the EnergySmart Schools Web site, including a link to the new design guidelines, on EREN at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/energysmartschools/>. U.S. Ethanol Fuel Industry Sets Production Record in 2001 The U.S. ethanol fuel industry achieved a record production of 1.77 billion gallons in 2001. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced in late January that production in 2001 increased to nearly 10 percent above 2000 production levels. Construction began on nearly 20 new ethanol plants in 2001, in part to meet an increase in demand for ethanol in California, which is phasing out its use of MTBE as a gasoline additive and is required to replace it with ethanol. See the RFA press release at: <http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pr020128.html>. The RFA also called attention on Monday to a DOE report that shows "no major infrastructure barriers exist" for a greatly expanded ethanol industry. The report examines the infrastructure impacts of producing and using more than 5 billion gallons of ethanol in the United States each year. See the RFA press release, with a link to the full report, at: <http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pr020211.html>. Environmental Assessment: GM Falls Short on Fuel Efficiency The first outside environmental assessment of General Motors Corporation (GM) has found that despite progress on many environmental fronts, GM has failed to improve the overall fuel economy of its fleet. The assessment was performed by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) with the cooperation of GM, and the results were released in late January. Back in 1994, GM was the first Fortune 50 manufacturing company to endorse the CERES Principles, which include goals for protecting human health, natural resources, and the global environment. The environmental assessment is one requirement of companies that endorse the CERES Principles. The CERES review did credit GM with increasing the fuel efficiency of its vehicles model-by-model, but concluded that increased sales of sport utility vehicles and trucks held steady the overall fuel efficiency of the GM fleet of cars and trucks. See the CERES press release at: <http://www.ceres.org/events_news/press_gm.htm>. With the emphasis on aluminum components in some high- efficiency cars, particularly the Honda Insight, you might think the steel industry would be averse to fuel-efficiency increases. If so, you'd be wrong. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), advanced high-strength steels can help vehicles achieve five-star crash ratings while doubling fuel efficiencies, without increasing their cost. An AISI study developed conceptual vehicle designs using the high-strength steels and compared the vehicles' predicted performance to high-efficiency concept cars such as the GM Precept. The AISI conceptual vehicles achieved similar vehicle weights and fuel efficiencies at lower costs, according to the study. Computer simulations showed the vehicles would earn a five-star crash rating in U.S. tests. See the AISI press release at: <http://www.autosteel.org/press_release_output.php3?prjob_num=1222>. DOE Awards $6 Million to Missouri for Home Weatherization DOE announced last week the award of more than $6 million to Missouri for weatherization assistance to low-income households. The award will boost the energy efficiency of an estimated 1,726 homes in the state. The grant is part of DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides funds to state and local agencies, as well as American Indian tribes, for measures that improve the energy efficiency of the homes of people that can least afford to waste energy. This year, the program will reduce the energy bills of roughly 105,000 low-income families, saving each an average of $218 per year. See the DOE press release at: <http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases02/febpr/pr02020.htm>. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY FACTS AND TIPS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EIA: Expect a Rise in Gasoline Costs, Drop in Heating Costs Crude oil prices are expected to gradually increase this year, pushing U.S. gasoline prices up too, says the latest "Short- Term Energy Outlook" from DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). Meanwhile, a mild winter is causing a low demand for heating fuels such as heating oil, propane and natural gas, causing a price slump for those fuels. The combination of a mild winter and a reduced energy demand due to the economic slowdown has allowed inventories of fuels to recover from last year's lows. The amount of natural gas in storage is high, causing lower prices and reduced drilling for natural gas. For gasoline prices, the combination of increased demand as the weather gets warmer and reduced OPEC oil production should push prices up about 15 cents by late spring, says EIA. See the EIA report at: <http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html>. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to this newsletter using the online form at: <http://www.eren.doe.gov/newsletter/subscribe/>. 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