Energy Conservation News articles from July 2002

Energy Conservation News archives from July 2002

OUTLOOK: 2002 Shaping Up to Be Second Warmest Year.
July 1, 2002... In a development that puts further intense scrutiny on efficiency initiatives, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has announced that with 6 mo under our belt, 2002 is shaping up to be the second warmest year on record globally. The NCDC...

Game Strategies Minimize Costs.
July 1, 2002... On February 13, 2002, New Jersey completed perhaps the most strikingly successful market process to replace government agency allocation since electricity restructuring began in the United States. The auction was the first ever application of...

House Approves More Money for Efficiency.
July 1, 2002... This month, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee approved an 8% increase in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s energy efficiency funding for Fiscal Year 2003. According to Subcommittee figures, the administration had requested an...

GOVERNMENT: First CO2 Emissions Decline Since 1991.
July 1, 2002... U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined by 1.1% in 2001, decreasing from 1,558 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCe) in 2000 to 1,540 MMTCe in 2001, according to preliminary estimates released by the Energy Information...

ENERGY MANAGEMENT/FINANCING LIPA Selects Powerweb.
July 1, 2002... The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA, 333 Earle Ovington Blvd., Suite 403, Uniondale, NY 11553; Tel: 516/222-7700, Fax: 516/222- 9137; Website: www.lipower.org) has entered into a contract with Powerweb Technologies (415 E Baltimore Pike, No....

SchlumbergerSema Signs Austin Energy.
July 1, 2002... SchlumbergerSema (153 E. 53rd St., 57th Fl., New York, NY 10022- 4624; Tel: 212/350-9400, Fax: 212/350-9457; Website: www.slb.com), a business unit of Schlumberger, Ltd., has signed a Real-Time Energy Management (RTEMS) contract with Austin...

RESIDENTIAL: Condo Project to Showcase Efficiency.
July 1, 2002... A $40 million energy-efficient housing development is underway in New York City at 1400 5th Avenue. The 225,000-ft2 development includes 30,000 ft2 of retail space and is expected to be the largest in the United States. Construction is...

COMMERCIAL: New User Facility Available at ORNL.
July 1, 2002... A facility to test distributed generation energy for building applications has been designated as the 20th national user facility at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ORNL's Cooling, Heating, and Power Integration...

ASHRAE Proposes Rating Method.
July 1, 2002... A method to rate the energy efficiency of building designs that exceed the minimum requirements of Standard 90.1-2001 has been proposed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)....

Commercial Sector Energy Efficiency Potential Report.
July 1, 2002... The final version of the most comprehensive study ever of California's commercial sector energy-efficiency potential has been released. The report, "Commercial Sector Energy Efficiency Potential Report," is available on the www.CALMAC.org...

Chain Stores Discover Advantages of Cool Roofs.
July 1, 2002... National retail chains operating in California, such as Wal-Mart, Sears, Target, and Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, are increasingly employing "cool roofs" to reduce air conditioning loads. A "cool roof" (see www.coolroofs.info) can reduce...

Energy Savings for Data Centers.
July 1, 2002... High-tech information companies like data centers can cut their energy bills in half and protect computers and other electronic equipment from crashing by utilizing new power technologies, the Center for Energy and Climate Solution (CECS) is...

INDUSTRIAL: Probe Aids Search for Efficient Engines.
July 1, 2002... In work supported by the Army Research Office, physicists at the University of Arkansas report creating an optical probe that combustion scientists can use to measure many different aspects of combustion's components simultaneously. Rajendra...

Alameda P&T Switches to Biodiesel.
July 1, 2002... Alameda Power & Telecom (www.alamedapt.com) has made another investment in green power with the conversion of its four auxiliary emergency power generators from the use of conventional petroleum diesel fuel to the use of cleaner-burning B20...

Alcoa to Develop Energy-Efficient Co-Generation Power.
July 1, 2002... AlintaGas, Ltd. (Alinta, AlintaGas, Ltd., The Quadrant, 1 William St., Perth, WA 6000; Tel: 9486 3015, Fax: 9486 3019; Website: www.alintagas.com.au) has announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Alcoa World Alumina Australia (Alcoa) to...

TRANSPORTATION: MPG Gains with Drive-By-Wire.
July 1, 2002... No mechanical linkage will connect the accelerator pedal on a 2004 Ford Explorer to the engine's throttle. But when the driver steps on the pedal, the Explorer's engine will instantly respond as an electronic "drive-by-wire" system provides...

Conferences Highlighted Cooling Technologies.
July 1, 2002... Engineers are close to perfecting automotive air conditioning systems that use carbon dioxide instead of synthetic refrigerants thought to damage the atmospheric ozone layer and contribute to global warming. Carbon dioxide also is playing a...

UTILITIES/POWER GENERATION Materials Reducing Wind Generating Cost.
July 1, 2002... PYRAmatrix Structures, Inc. (Salt Lake City; www.pyramtrix.com) has received a SBIR Phase 1 award from the Department of Energy for the development of much taller, lighter weight, and lower cost Wind turbine towers to generate electricity using...

Combustor Technologies Cut Coal Power Costs.
July 1, 2002... Reducing pollution from the nation's existing coal-fired power plants may be getting cheaper and less complex. Two new, high-tech coal combustor improvements introduced recently at a Department of Energy technology conference offer the...

Turbine-Generator for Pulp and Paper Industry.
July 1, 2002... Siemens Power Generation (PG) Industrial Applications Division will build the world's largest turbine-generator with a backpressure turbine in the pulp and paper industry. The 150-MW turbine-generator will be for the Wisaforest pulp mill...

Improved Gas-Powered Reciprocating Engine.
July 1, 2002... Wrtsil North America (www.wartsila.com), a subsidiary of Helsinki, Finland-based Wrtsil Corp., is building an improved PeakingPlus, a pre-engineered and pre-packaged gas-fired power plant. Arkansas River Power Authority (ARPA), a Colorado-based...

Habitat Houses Demo Efficiency.
July 1, 2002... An effort to construct up to 20 Habitat for Humanity houses with state-of-the-art energy-efficient building technologies is being undertaken in Lenoir City's Harmony Heights subdivision. The technologies will be tested through the Buildings...

LIGHTING: Technique Reduces Ballast Energy.
July 1, 2002... Lighting makes up 20% of electricity use in the United States. Greater use of fluorescent lighting would reduce energy use. Now a newly patented device from the Center for Power Electronic Systems (CPES; www.cpes.vt.edu) at Virginia Tech has...

Strategy Yields Lower kWh Rate.
July 1, 2002... Life Time Fitness, Inc., an operator of athletic, sports, and fitness centers in six states, is leveraging Electric City Corp.'s (www.elccorp.com) unique EnergySaver technology for twofold savings on its electrical bills. After realizing an...

INDUSTRY NEWS: EPRI Facility Targets Testing.
July 1, 2002... EPRI PEAC has dedicated a facility for testing and evaluating newly developed energy technologies. Located in Knoxville, EPRI PEAC's Power Quality and Distributed Resources Test Center (PQ and DR Center) was designed to provide a controlled...

Anaerobic Digesters Provide "Free" Fuel.
July 1, 2002... Environmental Power Corp. (One Cate St., Portsmouth, NH 03801; Website: www.environmentalpower.com) is planning to build anaerobic digester systems at six different farms in the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. The systems, which will provide a...

RESOURCES: Steam System Scoping Tool.
July 1, 2002... DOE's BestPractices Steam program has released an updated version of its Steam System Scoping Tool. Version 1.0d assists steam operation and management personnel in assessing steam system operations against identified best practices. This new...

CALENDAR.
July 1, 2002... August 18-23, 2002. ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Pacific Grove, CA. Contact: Rebecca Lunetta, ACEEE; Fax: 302/292-3965; Email: rlunetta@erols.com October 22, 2002. Pumps & Systems Expo, Ft. Washington, PA. Contact:...