Energy Conservation News articles from January 2001

Energy Conservation News archives from January 2001

OUTLOOK: Looking Back, Looking Forward.
January 1, 2001... Hopefully, all of ECN's readers survived 2000! If you continue to faithfully read this newsletter in 2001, your survival can't be guaranteed, but you'll likely do better than your competitors because society's focus on energy efficiency is...

Solar Continuing Skyward March.
January 1, 2001... Solar photovoltaic will be the fastest growing source of electricity generation in the U.S. for the next 20 years, according to government data. The use of solar PV to generate power will grow by more than 19% per year until 2020, while wind...

Negative Fuel Economy Trends.
January 1, 2001... Just released data published in Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends, 1975-2000 (EPA, Office of Transportation and Air Quality Library, 2000 Traverwood Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48105; Tel: 734/214-4311, Website:...

GOVERNMENT: Building Standards Cut Energy Use.
January 1, 2001... On January 3, the California Energy Commission (CEC, 1516 Ninth St., MS-29, Sacramento, CA 95814; Contact: Claudia Chandler; Tel: 916/654-4989) adopted emergency standards for energy efficiency in new buildings that are projected to cut the...

INTERNATIONAL: EU Launches Efficiency Debate.
January 1, 2001... The European Commission (EC, MO34 05/113, Rue de la Loi 200, B- 1049 Bruxelles; Tel: 32-2 296 19 55) has adopted a green paper on European energy strategy that clearly calls for more energy efficiency and cleaner energy production. "Confronted...

ENERGY MANAGEMENT/FINANCING Real-Time Pricing Reduces Bills.
January 1, 2001... When power shortages loom, a drop in demand of only 2.5% drops wholesale prices by 24%, according to an analysis just released by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI, 3412 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304; Tel: 650/855-2096, Email:...

RESIDENTIAL: Homes Showcases Efficiency Goals.
January 1, 2001... In urban New Jersey, Camden, East Orange, Jersey City, New Brunswick, Newark, Paterson, and Trenton will participate in a $14 million urban home-ownership initiative that gives low- and moderate-income families a chance to buy houses that...

Home Appliance Networking Pilot.
January 1, 2001... Urbana.ca, Inc. (Cambridge, Ontario), a provider of set-top boxes and physical and virtual communities, has entered into a licensing and co-marketing agreement with Sage Systems (1420 Harbor Bay Pkwy., Suite 160, Alameda, CA 94502; Website:...

Narrowband Home Networking Offered.
January 1, 2001... At the just-concluded Consumer Electronics Show, Sage Systems demonstrated a "smart" networked home that offers energy efficiency features controllable via the Internet without special wiring, without a home server, or any other expensive or...

COMMERCIAL: Yet Another 200 kW ONSI Unit Installed.
January 1, 2001... North Central Bronx Hospital (NCBH) has gained the distinction of being among the first medical facilities in the country to generate electricity from a fuel cell power plant. "This project demonstrates the suitability of this cutting-edge...

INDUSTRIAL: Electrode Lowers Smelting Cost.
January 1, 2001... An engineer at Ohio State University has patented a potentially major improvement in aluminum production: an electrode that could cut smelting costs by one-fourth and air pollution by half. Robert Rapp (Tel: 614/292-6178, Email:...

Reducing Inputs in Industrial Mixing.
January 1, 2001... Australian scientists have produced a revolutionary new mixer that is five times more energy efficient than traditional industrial mixing and can be used for everything from explosives to cosmetics. The now patented CSIRO rotated arc mixer...

Sensor Facilitates Energy Savings.
January 1, 2001... A new sensor developed to facilitate energy conservation in steel production has proven successful following a one-week prototype trial. The laser-based system, which measures the composition of gases exiting a steel-melting furnace, was...

TRANSPORTATION: Plastic/Silica Combo Slashes Engine Weight.
January 1, 2001... Tough, heat-resistant plastics may soon find their way into car and airplane engines as a result of research at Ohio State University. Scientists here have patented a method of mixing plastic with silica to create a material three to four times...

UTILITIES/POWER GENERATION Helios Energy Gets Patent Approval.
January 1, 2001... One of Helios Energy Technologies, Inc. (HEETech, 4 West Ave., LeRoy, NY 14482; Tel: 716/768-8915, Fax: 716/768-9209, Email: heetech@hfent.com , Website: www.heliosenergy.com) latest patent applications has been allowed by the U.S. Patent and...

Venture to Speed PV Growth.
January 1, 2001... AstroPower, Inc. (Solar Park, 461 Wyoming Rd., Newark, DE 19716- 2000; Contact: Michael Wright; Tel: 302/366-0400 ext. 195, Fax: 302/368-6474, Website: www.astropower.com) has signed a technical cooperation agreement with Elkem (Hoffsveien 65 B...

Siemens Cuts Modules Needed.
January 1, 2001... Siemens Solar Industries, L.P. (4650 Adohr Ln., Camarillo, CA 93012; Contact: Tina Nickerson; Tel: 805/388-6519 or 805/482-6800, Fax: 805/388-6395, Email: tinanickerson@solar.siemens.com ,Website: www.siemenssolar.com) has begun producing a...

Getting PV Safely onto the Grid.
January 1, 2001... A new way to safely, simply, and effectively connect electricity- producing photovoltaic (PV) solar systems to utility company power grids has been developed by the DOE's Sandia National Laboratories (Contact: John Stevens; Tel: 505/844-7717,...

APPLIANCES: Sales Grow For Energy Star.
January 1, 2001... NPD INTELECT Market Tracking (Contact: Leslie Singer; Tel: 516/625-2302, Email: leslie_singer@npd.com) has just reported that retail sales of Energy Star energy-efficient appliances have increased 31% year-to-date (January-September, 2000)...

HVAC: ARI Supports Hike in Efficiency Standard.
January 1, 2001... The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI, 4301 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 425, Arlington, VA 22203. Contact Ed Dooley; Tel: 703/524-8800, Fax: 703/528-3816) has called for a 20% increase in federal minimum efficiency standards for...

MOTORS: Motor Drive Design Development.
January 1, 2001... International Rectifier (233 Kansas St., El Segundo, CA 90245; Tel: 310/726-8000, Fax: 310/322-3332, Website: www.irf.com) has created a new motor drive power management architecture, positioned between the micro- or DSP-controller and the...

Controllers Demo in China's Oil Fields.
January 1, 2001... Power Efficiency Corp. (4220 Varsity Dr., Suite E, Ann Arbor, MI 48108; Contact: Gordon Molesworth; Tel: 520/625-0550 or 734/975- 9111, Fax: 734/975-9115, Website: www.performancecontrol.com), developers and marketers of energy-saving motor...

LIGHTING: TechLite Spearheads California Contracts.
January 1, 2001... TechLite, Inc. (6106 E 32nd Pl., Tulsa, OK 74135-5451; Contact: Jim Arvidson; Tel: 800/864-6074 or 918/622-8014) has been selected by Siemens Business Technologies (SBT), Northern California District, to engineer and construct over $5 MM in...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Load Response Solutions Offered.
January 1, 2001... PJM Technologies, Inc. (PJM Tech, 22 Commerce Rd, No. D, Fairfield, NJ 07004-1604; Contact: Fran Barrett, Director, Business Development; Tel: 610/666-8888 or 973/227-2224, Email: barretfs@pjm.comor), a wholly-owned unregulated subsidiary of...

Sizeable Savings at EnergyGateway.com.
January 1, 2001... According to Procter & Gamble (One Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202; Contact: Michele Kidd; Tel: 513/634-5575 or 513/983-1100, Fax: 513/983-9369, Email: kidd.ma@pg.com , Website: www.pg.com), they have achieved significant savings...

RESOURCES: New Database of Industrial Competitiveness Resources.
January 1, 2001... The Wisconsin Consortium for Energy Efficiency, formed to assist industry in improving competitiveness, recently created the Resource Guide for Wisconsin Industries. The Resource Guide (Website: www.ecw.org/cieguide) is a web-based database...

Profiles of Energy-Saving Industrial Technologies.
January 1, 2001... Technologies that are likely to offer energy-saving alternatives to current technologies and practices in the industrial sector are profiled in a new ACEEE report, "Emerging Energy-Efficient Industrial Technologies." Increasingly, industry is...

CALENDAR.
January 1, 2001... February 26-28, 2001, RESNET: National Conference on Home Energy Ratings and Residential Energy Efficiency Financing, Cocoa, FL. Contact: RESNET, Email: resnet@earthlink.net. March 12-15, 2001, The 3rd International Trade Fair for Energy...