Energy Conservation News articles from January 2003

Energy Conservation News archives from January 2003

OUTLOOK: EIA Forecast Addresses Efficiency.
January 1, 2003... According to EIA's just-released Annual Energy Outlook 2002, U.S. dependence on oil imports will grow over the next 22 years. Currently, the United States relies on imports to meet 55% of its petroleum needs, but by 2025, the EIA projects that...

Plan Could Create Economic Growth.
January 1, 2003... A new report from the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC, 35 East Wacker Dr., No. 1300, Chicago, IL 60601; Tel: 312/673- 6500, Fax: 312/795-3730), Job Jolt - The Economic Impacts of Repowering the Midwest: The Clean Energy Development...

Senators Introduce Global Warming Laws.
January 1, 2003... Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) have introduced legislation that they feel will address the global warming issue. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the McCain/Lieberman bill is the broadest in a series...

Greenhouse Emissions Down in 2001.
January 1, 2003... Total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, led by the decrease in carbon dioxide, fell by 1.2% in 2001, from 1,907 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCe) in 2000 to 1,883 MMTCe in 2001 (-23.7 MMTCe), according to Emissions of Greenhouse...

GOVERNMENT: Center Demonstrates Building Technologies.
January 1, 2003... The Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Energy Center has opened the Discovery Center, a new urban outreach facility located in Kauffman Legacy Park in Kansas City. The Discovery Center will demonstrate energy-efficient lighting and...

Energy Department Awards $4.4 Million.
January 1, 2003... The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced new awards totaling $4.4 million to advance energy-efficient, environmentally clean production and building technologies. The Energy Department selected 18 organizations out of 202 proposals to...

ENERGY MANAGEMENT/FINANCING Systems Cut Costs, Conserve Energy.
January 1, 2003... According to WebGen Systems, Inc. (41 William Linskey Way, Cambridge, MA 02142; Tel: 617/349-0724, Fax: 617/349-3612; Website: www.webgensystems.com), the California Department of General Services (DGS) has completed installation of WebGen's...

RESIDENTIAL: ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001Adopted.
January 1, 2003... The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air- Conditioning Engineers' (ASHRAE, 1791 Tullie Circle, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329; Tel: 800/527-4723) energy conservation standard will be included in the 2003 version of the International...

DG Gets Special Pricing.
January 1, 2003... According to New Jersey Natural Gas Co. (NJNG), the principal subsidiary of New Jersey Resources Corp. (1415 Wyckoff Rd., Wall, NJ 07719; Tel: 732/938-1480, Fax: 732/938-2620; Website: www.njresources.com), they have received approval from the...

COMMERCIAL: Geoexchange Catches on in California.
January 1, 2003... In Northern California, school districts have begun to install geoexchange systems in their facilities. The new Truckee Middle School will use a 135-ton geoexchange system to heat and cool its 87,000-sq.-ft. facility with a capacity of 1,000...

Largest PV Rooftop System Scheduled.
January 1, 2003... The largest solar electric rooftop system at any university in the world and the largest system in Southern California will be installed at Loyola Marymount University (www.lmu.edu) in early 2003. The installation involves a partnership between...

Schott Introduces Solar Electric Solution.
January 1, 2003... Schott Applied Power Corp. (SAPC, 4051 Alvis Ct., Rocklin, CA 95677; Tel: 916/625-9033, Fax: 916/625-9032; Email: jennifer.pecha@us.schott.com, Website: www.schottappliedpower.com) is now vending a freestanding solar electric system, called...

INDUSTRIAL: Hydrogen from Water, Without Electrolysis.
January 1, 2003... Researchers at DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (www.netl.doe.gov) have patented a "Method of Generating Hydrogen by Catalytic Decomposition of Water." The invention (see U.S. Patent 6,468,499) potentially leapfrogs current capital...

Toyota Aims for 15% Cut in Energy.
January 1, 2003... According to Toyota's (1, Toyota-cho, Toyota, Aichi 471-8571, Japan; Tel: +81-565-28-2121, Fax: +81-565-23-5800; Website: www.toyota.co.jp/en/index.html) latest environment report, the company plans to reduce energy use per unit of production...

Toyota plans to.
January 1, 2003... * achieve top levels of fuel efficiency in all vehicle classes. * introduce to market additional new hybrid electric vehicles by 2005. * deliver six "Toyota FCHV" fuel-cell vehicles to University of California campuses as the first...

Sorbent, RVS-1 Holds New Promise.
January 1, 2003... Ranjani Siriwardane, senior scientist at DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory, says her R&D 100 award-winning invention, developed to remove sulfur from high-temperature coal gasification streams, shows promise in biomass applications....

TRANSPORTATION: RAND Evaluating Fuel Atomizer.
January 1, 2003... RAND (1700 Main St., P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138; Tel: 310/393-0411, Fax: 310/393-4818) and Save the World Air, Inc. (29229 Canwood St., Suite 206, Agoura Hills, CA 91301; Website: http://savetheworldair.com/) have entered into...

More Delays for CA Zero-Emission Program.
January 1, 2003... The California Air Resources Board (ARB) proposed new changes to its Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program on January 10, 2003, delaying the start of the program until 2005. ZEVs are battery- or fuel cell-powered electric vehicles that produce no...

Slightly Improved Economy Standards.
January 1, 2003... In the first proposed change to fuel economy standards in many years, the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will seek to increase fuel economy standards for light trucks...

UTILITIES/POWER GENERATION Stingray Generates Tidal Energy.
January 1, 2003... The Engineering Business Limited (EB), a company based in the United Kingdom, reported partially successful results from its tidal energy prototype in December. The prototype, called Stingray, was temporarily installed in Scotland's Yell Sound...

Great River Energy Awarded Grant.
January 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Great River Energy (17845 East Highway 10, Elk River, MN 55330; Tel: 763/441-3121, Fax: 763/241-2366) an $11 million grant to help fund a large-scale coal-drying study at its Coal Creek Station power plant...

Online Wind Database Expands.
January 1, 2003... Landowners and industrial wind energy developers worldwide can now investigate more wind resource data from the upper Midwest. The Energy & Environmental Research Center's (EERC) Plains Organization for Wind Energy Resources (POWER) Wind Energy...

APPLIANCES: International Rectifier Intros New Chips.
January 1, 2003... Over the last couple years, International Rectifier (IR, 233 Kansas St., El Segundo, CA 90245; Tel: 310/726-8000, Fax: 310/322- 3332; Website: www.irf.com) has had a veritable avalanche of new chip product introductions most of which have a...

Partnership Pushes Micro Fuel Cells.
January 1, 2003... Intermec Technologies Corp. (6001 36th Ave., West Everett, WA 98203-9280; Tel: 425/348-2600, Toll-Free: 800/347-2636, Fax: 425/355-9551; Website: www.intermec.com) has signed a strategic commercial partnership with MTI MicroFuel Cells, Inc....

NA Efficiency Standards, Labeling.
January 1, 2003... According to the just-released report, North American Energy Efficiency Standards and Labeling, as a result of Mexico's recent adoption of new standards for energy efficiency, the Mexico, Canada, and the United States will have harmonized...

HVAC: DuPont to Test New Materials.
January 1, 2003... PowerCold Corp. (P.O. Box 1239, 115 Canfield Rd., La Vernia, TX 78121; Tel: 830/779-5223, Fax: 830/253-8181; Email: pwcl@powercold.com) and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (1007 Market St., Wilmington, DE 19898; Tel: 302/774-1000, Fax: 302/774-...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Cool Chips and SRI in Research Agreement.
January 1, 2003... Cool Chips, plc (COLCF) has entered into a research agreement with SRI International (www.sri.com) specifically for the further characterization and fabrication of prototype Cool Chip devices. SRI International is a leading independent research...

Smart Window Wins Industry Awards.
January 1, 2003... Popular Science and Aerospace Engineering have both selected Research Frontiers' (240 Crossways Park Dr., Woodbury, NY 11797- 2033; Tel: 516/364-1902, Toll-Free: 888/773-7337, Fax: 516/364- 3798; Website: www.refr-spd.com) patented SPD-Smart...

Ocean Power Declares Bankruptcy.
January 1, 2003... Ocean Power Corp., a U.S. company with a focus on Stirling heat engines, announced on December 10, 2002, that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Formed in 1992 to develop modular power plants and seawater desalination units, Ocean Power...

RESOURCES: Version of EnergyPlus Simulation Software.
January 1, 2003... A new version of EnergyPlus (1.0.3) was recently released and is now available on the EnergyPlus website (www.energyplus.gov). Version 1.0.3 is available for both Windows and Linux users. The following new or improved capabilities have been...

Software Tool from DOE.
January 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Energy BestPractices Steam program has developed a free, easy-to-use model that to develop quick, reliable estimates for the impacts of improvements on plant productivity. The most accurate way to analyze potential steam...

Solid Understanding of Psychrometrics.
January 1, 2003... A solid understanding of psychrometrics, the science that involves properties and processes of moist air, can prevent costly mistakes in the design and operation of commercial, residential, and industrial cooling, dehumidification, drying, and...

CALENDAR.
January 1, 2003... February 24-26, 2003. 2003 RESNET Conference, San Diego, CA. Contact: Residential Energy Services Network, P.O. Box 4561, Oceanside, CA 92052-4561; Tel: 760/806-3448; Website: www.natresnet.org/conference/ March 17-19, 2003. Texas...