Energy Conservation News articles from July 1998

Energy Conservation News archives from July 1998

OUTLOOK: Voters Want Taxes on Polluting Fuels
July 1, 1998... According to a just-released survey commissioned by Friends of the Earth (PO 337 Burlington, VT 05402; Tel: 802/862-1706) and conducted by International Communications Research (Media, PA), there is significant support for tax reform that shifts...

Efficiency Budget Under Heavy Fire
July 1, 1998... In a major attack on President Clinton's Domestic Climate Change Initiative, the House Appropriations Committee voted on June 25 for major cuts in the energy efficiency programs funded through the Dept. of Energy (DOE)--$25 million below 1998...

Slow Growth in Energy Consumption
July 1, 1998... According to the Energy Information Administration latest Annual Energy Review (Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC 20585), during 1997, a year when the nation's economy expanded by almost 4%, energy consumption grew by less than 1%--the lowest...

GOVERNMENT: Long Payback on Efficiency Upgrades
July 1, 1998... The city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania will reportedly save $75,000 per year in energy costs under a 10-year energy-management contract awarded to PP&L Spectrum (2 N. Ninth St., Allentown, PA 18101-1179; Tel: 610/774-5151) in mid-June. The contract...

Los Angeles, NY in New Initiatives
July 1, 1998... A new efficiency program of the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (DWP, 111 N. Hope St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; Tel: 213/367-1338) has been approved by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. Consisting of 12 different services for...

INTERNATIONAL: Efficiency Possibilities in Thailand Under Study
July 1, 1998... With a national electric demand growth rate of 6%, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is preparing to meet the increasing demand for electric power by entering into an agreement with EPRI to study electricity usage in...

ENERGY MANAGEMENT/FINANCING Center Selects Datapult System
July 1, 1998... The new Easton Town Center, a 600,000 sq. ft., 14 building complex, has signed a contract to use Datapult for energy information services. Datapult is a new energy information service from AEP Communications, LLC, a subsidiary of American...

Enviro-Check/Duke Team for Services
July 1, 1998... Enviro-Check, Inc. (7121 Grand National Dr. No. 101, Orlando, FL 32819- 8390; Tel: 407/352-2266) has signed an agreement with Duke Energy Trading and Marketing, L.L.C. (DETM, 422 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28242; Tel: 704/594-6200) authorizing...

Huge Energy Survey in the Works
July 1, 1998... Regional Economic Research (RER, 12520 High Bluff Dr., No. 220, San Diego, CA 92130-2062; Tel: 619/481-0081), Opinion Dynamics Corp. (ODC, 1030 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138-5335; Tel: 617/492- 1400), and the Chicago-based Gas Research...

Research Targets Building Controls
July 1, 1998... The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA, Corporate Plaza West, 286 Washington Ave. Extension, Albany, NY 12203-6399) Advanced Controls for Efficiency (ACE) program has $650,000 available to co-fund projects that...

RESIDENTIAL: Savings from Fuel Cell-Powered Homes
July 1, 1998... In June, Plug Power demonstrated the first residential fuel cell to successfully power a home. Plug Power unveiled its proprietary Plug Power 7000, a prototype residential power generation system, before a gathering of federal and state energy...

COMMERCIAL: Integrated Systems for Improved Buildings
July 1, 1998... Funding for projects that develop, demonstrate, evaluate, or introduce innovative technologies that function with other building systems in an integrated manner to optimize overall performance in terms of energy and resource efficiency will be...

Peak Options Lower Utility Costs
July 1, 1998... Detroit Edison (2000 Second Ave., Detroit, MI 48226-1279; Tel: 313/235-4000) has received approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to provide three new electric rate options for large commercial customers that will provide them...

INDUSTRIAL: Coke Oven Experiments Generate Savings
July 1, 1998... Nippon Steel Corp. (6-3, Otemachi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-71, Japan; Tel: +81-3-3242-4111), NKK Corp. (1-1-2, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan; Tel: +81-3-3212-7111) and other major steelmakers plan to jointly develop energy-saving...

Southwire Continues Supercon Development
July 1, 1998... HTS power cables can be especially attractive because they could allow electric utilities to reduce energy distribution losses and to upgrade power density by up to 10 times within existing power corridors, especially in congested urban areas...

Maximizing Energy Potential of Trees
July 1, 1998... A new CSIRO process gets the most energy value of trees while producing activated carbon for a booming purifier market. The technology was developed by Paul Fung of CSIRO Forests and Forest Products, who says that activated carbon is a world...

TRANSPORTATION: Direct-Injection Engine Burns 26% Less Fuel
July 1, 1998... Around the first of this month, Toyota (1, Toyota-cho, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture 471-71, Japan; Tel: +81-0565-28-2121) began deliveries of its first direct-injection gasoline-powered passenger cars in Japan. The new engine family is currently...

Shipments of ASICs for GDI Engines Commence
July 1, 1998... Integrated Sensor Solutions, Inc. (ISS, 625 River Oaks Pkwy., San Jose, CA 95134; Tel: 408/324-1044) has begun production shipments of its SCA2095 application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to Nagano Keiki Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan.). The...

UTILITIES/POWER GENERATION Major Milestone Seen with UPFC
July 1, 1998... A revolutionary new device that pushes the limits of the laws of physics, making it possible to precisely control and direct the flow of electricity on high capacity transmission systems, was dedicated on June 26th at American Electric Power's (1...

Printers Optimize Catalyst Search
July 1, 1998... Ordinary office laser printers could turn out to be the best tool for searching for new catalysts to power the next generation of fuel efficient engines. A team of U.S. scientists from Pennsylvania State University have discovered that printers...

Distributed Generation Drives New Market
July 1, 1998... Distributed generation, where power generation equipment is installed at or near the load site, has been around for many years. But, with urbanization and the advent of government deregulation, larger, more centralized power generation plants...

APPLIANCES: Putting Everything on a Chip
July 1, 1998... Major semiconductor makers including Texas Instruments, Inc. (8505 Forest Ln. Dallas, TX 75243-4136; Tel: 972/995-2011) and NEC Corp. (7- 1, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-01, Japan; Tel: +81-3-3454-1111) will begin as early as the end of...

Saving Energy with GaAs
July 1, 1998... IBM (New Orchard Rd., Armonk, NY 10504; Tel: 914/765-1900) has commenced production of ICs incorporating germanium which is expected to further reduce prices, and improve performance, of devices such as cell phones. The components market into...

HVAC: Project Has Quick Payback
July 1, 1998... Electrotek Concepts (2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 323, Arlington, VA 22201; Tel: 703/351-4492) has won the Association of Energy Engineers' 1998 International Energy Project of the Year Award for the design and use of an energy efficiency...

GeoExchange Grows 22% in 1997
July 1, 1998... GeoExchange appears to have passed a critical juncture in its search for marketplace acceptance and may be on the verge of achieving the type of sustained growth needed to fulfill its promise. The number of GeoExchange units installed in 1997...

LIGHTING: Ballast May Start CFL Revolution
July 1, 1998... According to the International Assoc. for Energy Efficient Lighting (Sveavagen 98, 4 tr, S-113 50 Stockholm; Tel: +46 8 673 11 30), a new power-supply circuit from the small French electronics firm HBI marks the birth of a new generation of CFLs...

Mitsubishi Develops Advanced Technologies
July 1, 1998... Mitsubishi Electric (2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan; Tel: +81-3-3218-2111) has developed MELSAVE, an advanced lighting system that reduces power consumption by about 50% in comparison to conventional lighting. Using a sensor that...

Europe Introduces Dimmable Ballasts
July 1, 1998... SLS Industries, Inc. (Hanover, MD) (OTC Bulletin Board: SLSI) has selected Oxford Industries, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA) to market and distribute SLS's first line of UNIDIM high-intensity discharge (HID) ballasts throughout the European Common...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Onsite Acquires Lighting Technology
July 1, 1998... Onsite Energy Corp. (701 Palomar Airport Rd., Suite 200, Carlsbad, CA 92009; Tel: 760/931-2400) has entered into an agreement to acquire Lighting Technology Services, Inc. (LTS), a Santa Ana, California based lighting services company. LTS will...

Renewables Studied in California
July 1, 1998... Regional Economic Research (RER, San Diego, CA) has been awarded a $900,000 contract by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to provide technical assistance in the administration of its renewable technology program. The program was established...

RESOURCES: Studies Provide Important Results
July 1, 1998... This month, ECN brings to readers' attention three new studies, each focusing on an important energy conservation issue. The first study, titled "Observed Energy Savings From Appliance Efficiency Standards" (by Alan K. Meier and first published...

CALENDAR
July 1, 1998... August 17-18, 1998, Fundamentals of Cogeneration & On-site Generation, World Trade Center, Boston, MA. Contact: Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), 4025 Pleasantdale Rd., Suite 420, Atlanta, GA 30340; Tel: 770/925-9633, Fax: 770/381-9865....