Energy User News articles from December 1999

Energy User News archives from December 1999

Increase In Solar Storms Threaten U.S. Power Supplies.
December 1, 1999... Compounding electricity users' unease about the reliability of the nation's power supplies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that increases in solar storms and other activity could disable some power...

1999 Energy User News Efficient Buildings Awards.
December 1, 1999... ATLANTA - The energy managers responsible for this year's winners of EUN Efficient Building Awards were honored recently for demonstrating a remarkable mix of innovation and common sense in their efficiency designs and improvements. The winners...

Energy-efficient schools.
December 1, 1999... Energy-efficient schools may he linked to academic achievement, according to the findings of a recent study. It shows student test scores improved as much as 20% in math and 26% in reading as a result of maximum exposure to daylight in their...

American businesses are increasingly interested.
December 1, 1999... American businesses are increasingly interested in generating their own power, according to a recent RKS Consulting survey. Within groups expressing interest, significant pluralities - from 39% to 52% - are interested in generating 100% of...

Production of greenhouse gases.
December 1, 1999... Production of greenhouse gases, thought to he responsible for global warming, barely increased in the U.S. last year, according to the federal Department of Energy. Production of carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases grew by only 0.02% while...

Electricity generation.
December 1, 1999... Electricity generation will he the fastest growing market for natural gas over the next 15 years as the nation's independent power generators (IPGs) look to gas to fuel their turbines, according to a study released by the Gas Research Institute...

Sierra Pacific Resources.
December 1, 1999... Sierra Pacific Resources has agreed to buy Portland General Electric from Enron Corp. for approximately the price Enron paid for the utility just three years ago - $2 billion. With the acquistion, Sierra Pacific will have 1.7 million electric,...

Note to Utilities: Remember the Customer.
December 1, 1999... HOUSTON -- Standing out from the crowd of power producers, utilities, power marketers and ESCOs in attendance at PowerMart '99 in Houston, was industrial end-user David Hawk. The director of Energy Natural Resources at J.R. Simplot Co., a...

Decline In R&D Jeopardizes Reliability: EPRI.
December 1, 1999... The reliability of America's power grid is increasingly threatened while the technologies needed are delayed in commercial deployment due to a lack of financial incentives and R&D, according to a report recently released by the Electric Power...

Agreement Would Outlaw Magnetic Ballasts.
December 1, 1999... ROSSLYN, Va. -- Member companies of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association's (NEMA) lighting division recently signed a joint agreement that will set new efficiency standards for electronic ballasts to go into effect April 1, 2005....

Partnership Offers Independent Energy Procurement and Consulting.
December 1, 1999... BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. -- Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., has announced the acquisition of Westwood Energy Group, an energy procurement consulting firm based in Boston, a move that makes Siemens a source for non-energy-producer procurement...

Allegheny Awarded Bids for Chemical Companies.
December 1, 1999... Believed to be the largest committed energy aggregation project in the United States to date, Allegheny Energy Supply has been awarded bids to provide more than 200 megawatts of electricity to a group of chemical companies in New Jersey. The...

Don't Expect Large Price Drops: EIA.
December 1, 1999... Average electricity prices will decline a modest 0.6% between 1998 and 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2000 says electric prices will fall from 6.7 cents per kWh to 5.8 cents/kWh in...

Largest Exchange to Date of Emission Rights.
December 1, 1999... Zahren Alternative Power, a U.S. landfill company, and Ontario Power Generation, a Canadian utility, have announced what is called the largest exchange to date of emission rights. Reports say the deal involves the rights to emit 2.5 million...

Distribution Center Stays Cool without AC.
December 1, 1999... Large fans prove to be cost-effective alternative to mechanical cooling Escada makes fashionable women's clothing that is worn by the supermodels of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Until recently, however, its 225,000-square-foot distribution...

Portland Leads the Way in Fuel Cell Technology.
December 1, 1999... One of the first of its kind, Portland experiment shows promise Digester Gas + Air = Power + Water + Heat + Carbon Dioxide. This is the innovative formula for recycled energy from the City of Portland's new fuel cell power plant. ...

Fast Food Eateries Reduce AC Costs, Increase Comfort.
December 1, 1999... Heat gain from large expanses of glass is cut by glazing product Over 300 McDonald's restaurants nationwide are reducing air conditioning costs and increasing patron and staff comfort by using clear, colorless insulating glass. ...

Water: A Crisis for the New Millennium?
December 1, 1999... Water and energy have a great deal in common, not the least of which is that water and wastewater plants consume large amounts of energy Managers in the energy business have demonstrated amazing versatility over the past two decades. As...

Making the Energy Transaction Work.
December 1, 1999... Understanding the intricate relationship between ESCOs and finance companies helps end-users as well Let's face it, the energy service management and financing industries often do not cooperate optimally in their joint efforts to deliver a...

Efficiency and Comfort Needn't Constrain Architectural Appeal.
December 1, 1999... Intended to save energy, government building boasts clean lines and a user-friendly environment as well Proof that energy efficiency can have visual appeal, the Burnaby-Fraser Tax Services Building, a 105,000-square-foot, mid-rise office...

Under Control In Denver.
December 1, 1999... An aging building control system is replaced by state-of-the-art technology The MCI Tower is located downtown in the Mile High City. Built in the early 1980's, it is a 42-story mixed-use facility, with the upper 22 floors used for offices,...

Pure Energy Savings for Air Force.
December 1, 1999... Despite budgetary pressures, Robins AFB finds a way to save Like many other Department of Defense (DOD) facilities, Robins Air Force Base is under tremendous budgetary pressure, with the result being that money normally invested in...

Arena Skates By High Energy Costs.
December 1, 1999... Maintaining optimum ice conditions and comfort levels in a warm climate calls for every trick in the book When planning the construction of a new ice skating arena, the owners had a long list of essential conditions. They wanted to keep...

Heating Up and Cutting Back.
December 1, 1999... Condo residents get plenty of hot water while management gets smaller bills Energy-efficient heat pump water heaters, lightweight storage tanks, and a computerized monitoring system to save energy costs and provide timely service at the...

Performance Contract Spells Relief.
December 1, 1999... Faced with a variety of energy needs in several schools, this district needed a way to finance them As its aging inventory of electric equipment became increasingly inefficient in many of the Shenendehowa Central School District's...

California Municipality Transforms Infrastructure.
December 1, 1999... Building systems at the end of their useful life and a tight budget prompted decisive action With 350,000 square feet of buildings averaging 30 years of age, the City of Orange was hard-pressed to upgrade equipment in order to reduce...

Analysis Precedes Savings.
December 1, 1999... A thorough energy audit revealed where company could realize savings Nalco/Exxon Energy Chemicals, L.P. (NEEC) performed an energy audit of its facilities in Sugar Land, Texas, in January 1998. This audit led the company to implement an...

Follow the Sun.
December 1, 1999... Resident comfort concerns lead to tighter control and energy savings With over-heating and over-cooling a source of tenant complaints and a waste of energy, a new system that monitors and compensates for heat gain and loss as the sun...

Energy Retrofits Serve Justice.
December 1, 1999... Lighting and HVAC improvements replace older components Built in 1984, the Rancho Cucamonga Law and Justice Center was in need of a serious energy retrofit effort in order to upgrade older components with more energy-efficient lighting and...

Pay Now or Pay Later: Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Analysis Techniques.
December 1, 1999... Analytical tools lead to appropriate energy project decisions The classic challenge for energy users is to determine when it is appropriate to spend more money now in order to save money in the long term. Fram Oil Filter's slogan, "You can...

DEGREE DAYS FOR SELECTED CITIES.(Illustration)
December 1, 1999... DEGREE DAYS FOR SELECTED CITIES Oct. Monthly Monthly Cumulative Cumulative Monthly Deviation Deviation Deviation Deviation...

1999 Energy User News Efficient Buildings Awards.(Brief Article)
December 1, 1999... ATLANTA - The energy managers responsible for this year's winners of EUN Efficient Building Awards were honored recently for demonstrating a remarkable mix of innovation and common sense in their efficiency designs and improvements. The winners...

Note to Utilities: Remember the Customer.(Brief Article)
December 1, 1999... HOUSTON -- Standing out from the crowd of power producers, utilities, power marketers and ESCOs in attendance at PowerMart '99 in Houston, was industrial end-user David Hawk. The director of Energy Natural Resources at J.R. Simplot Co., a...