Energy Conservation News articles from September 2000

Energy Conservation News archives from September 2000

OUTLOOK: PV Shipments Are Skyrocketing.
September 1, 2000... According to data on the solar industry released August 22nd, by the Energy Information Administration (EIA, National Energy Information Center, U.S. Department Of Energy, Washington DC 20585; Tel: 202/586-8800; Fax: 202/586-0727; E-Mail:...

Inefficient Vehicles Exploit Tax Loophole.
September 1, 2000... In late August, Friends of the Earth (FoE, 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20005; Tel: 202/783-7400; Fax: 202/783-0444; E- Mail: foe@foe.org) released a study that finds automakers are exploiting a gaping loophole in the federal tax law...

GOVERNMENT: Report Calls for Strides in Efficiency.
September 1, 2000... According to a California Energy Commission (CEC, 1516 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA 95814) staff report, Transportation Energy Systems, if Californians continue their love affair with the automobile, their annual gasoline use will rise to 19.9...

DOE Advances Ultra-Clean Energy.
September 1, 2000... During September, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson also announced the selection of seven new projects for the Vision 21 program, a departmental effort to develop a nearly pollution-free energy plant by 2015. Examples of the funded research...

ENERGY MANAGEMENT/FINANCING ABB Sees Opportunity in Software.
September 1, 2000... ABB (Affolternstrasse 44, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland; Tel: +41-1 317 7111; Fax: +41-1 317 7321; Website: http://www.abb.com) has just acquired Energy Interactive, Inc., a provider of information software and services to the U.S. energy market....

$300 Million Contract to TXU.
September 1, 2000... TXU Energy Services has signed a five-year, $300 million contract with John Deere (1 John Deere Place, Moline, IL 61265-8098; Tel: 309/765-8000; Fax: 309/765-5671; Website: http://www.deere.com) to provide gas, electric and risk management...

Residential: Partnership Funds Building Technologies.
September 1, 2000... The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Commerce recently awarded grants totaling nearly $1.1 million for six industry projects under the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing that promise new or improved...

Efficiency Data On the Web.
September 1, 2000... Nineteen new residential data tables have been placed on EIA's energy-efficiency web site. These residential sector data tables are the first in a series of data tables that will be produced as a result of the report, Measuring Energy...

Quicken to Offer ENERGYguide.
September 1, 2000... ENERGYguide intends to feature its energy comparison shopping and analysis tools on Intuit's Quicken.com website and within the next version of Quicken 2001, which was just released this month. ENERGYguide will help Quicken's 14 million...

COMMERCIAL: Fuel Cell Power Quality System.
September 1, 2000... Hundreds of utilities and their customers are currently pooling resources to fund power quality research. The ultimate goal of course is to reduce the costs of providing high quality power. EPRI PEAC, currently involved with numerous such...

Industrial: GPU Invests in Silicon Energy.
September 1, 2000... In late August, GPU, Inc. (300 Madison Ave., Morristown, NJ 07962- 1911; Tel: 973/455-8200; Fax: 973/455-8377; Website: http://www.gpu.com) announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Silicon Energy Corp. (1250 Marina...

Another Round of Cost-shares.
September 1, 2000... Once again, the US Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies is seeking plant-wide energy assessment proposals from industrial manufacturing plant sites that take a comprehensive, systems approach to increasing energy efficiency...

Improving Steam Systems.
September 1, 2000... According to OIT's Steam Challenge, (925 Plum St. SE, PO Box 43165 Olympia, WA 98504-3171; Tel: 800/862-2086; Fax: 360/956-2214; E- Mail: clearinghouse@ee.doe.gov; Website: http://www.oit.doe.gov/steam), there are major opportunities for steam...

IBM Manufacturing Process More Efficient.
September 1, 2000... On July 31, EPA reached an agreement with IBM (New Orchard Rd., Armonk, NY 10504; Tel: 914/499-1900; Fax: 914/765-7382; Toll-Free: 800/426-4968; Website: http://www.ibm.com) for its Essex Junction, VT, semiconductor chip plant that will produce...

TRANSPORTATION: Report Concludes ZEV Costs Are Higher.
September 1, 2000... The recently released California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board Staff Report, 2000 Zero Emission Vehicle Program Biennial Review has drawn commentary from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (1401 H Street, NW, Suite...

Truck APU Could Cut Fuel Costs.
September 1, 2000... At a time when fuel costs are skyrocketing again, a new Freightliner, LLC (4747 N. Channel, Portland, OR 97217; Tel: 503/735-8000; Fax: 503/735-8921; Website: http://www.freightliner.com) concept for auxiliary power units on trucks is...

UTILITIES/POWER GENERATION Gasification Milestone Heralds Breakthrough.
September 1, 2000... Future Energy Resources Corporation (Atlanta, GA) has achieved a major milestone in commercializing the SilvaGas process, its biomass gasification technology, by successfully operating its commercial scale demonstration plant in Burlington, VT...

Capturing Coal Mine Methane.
September 1, 2000... Methane, the chief constituent of natural gas, is a potent greenhouse gas, and millions of cubic feet of it escape daily from active coal mines. Now, three projects selected the U.S. Department of Energy propose new ways to capture the gas and...

APPLIANCES: Lowering Cost of Hot Water.
September 1, 2000... In Brazil, Sunpower Engenharia (Travessa R 400, Cidade Universitria, IPEN/CIETEC S. Paulo, SP, Brazil 05508-900 55; Tel: (0)11 212 8466; Fax: 212 7093; E-Mail: sunpower@cietec.ipen.br www.sunpower.com.br) is working on the development of a...

Aluminum-Power Cell Reduces Costs.
September 1, 2000... According to recent testing by Aluminum-Power, Inc. (87 Scollard St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R-1G4; Tel 416/929-3262; Fax: 416/928-0015; Website: http://www.aluminum-power.com), a member of Eontech Group, Inc., their aluminum-air battery...

Network Chip Halves Power Requirements.
September 1, 2000... At the recently concluded Intel Developer Forum Conference, Lucent Technologies' (600 Mountain Ave., Murray Hill, NJ 07974; Tel: 908/582-8500; Fax: 908/508-2576; Toll- Free: 888/458-2368; Website: http://www.lucent.com) Microelectronics Group...

HVAC: Heat Pumps in Cold Climates.
September 1, 2000... The new CADDET report, Commercial/Institutional Heat Pumps in Cold Climates, presents an in-depth study of the motivation for, and practical experiences with, the use of heat pump systems in large commercial and institutional buildings. The...

INDUSTRY NEWS: More Microturbines Are Being Ordered.
September 1, 2000... Capstone Turbine Corporation (6430 Independence Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91367; Tel: 818/716-2929; Fax: 818/716-9910; Website: http://www.capstoneturbine.com) has announced quite a few microturbine orders lately. For example, Cinergy Corp. (139...

Delphi Awarded Conservation Prize.
September 1, 2000... The large U.S. based autoparts maker, Delphi Automotive Systems (5725 Delphi Dr., Troy, MI 48098; Tel: 248/813-2000; Fax: 248/813- 2523; Website: http://www.delphiauto.com), was awarded first prize in the "Electricity Conservation Awards"...

RESOURCES: How-to Guide to Remodeling.
September 1, 2000... ENERGYguide (Newton, MA) and ImproveNet (http://www.ImproveNet.com) are jointly offering a virtual how-to guide to planning energy efficiency remodeling that helps consumers lower energy costs. ENERGYguide is a Web resource for helping...

Numerous New Books and Guides.
September 1, 2000... Over the last couple of reporting periods, ECN has received numerous new energy efficiency related books, analytical papers, and guides. Following is a brief run-down of some of the more significant items. The Energy Information Administration...

CALENDAR.
September 1, 2000... October 23-25, 2000, ALTENER 2000 Conference and Exhibition: Renewable Energy for Europe, Toulouse, France. Contact: WIP, Sylvensteinstrasse 2, 81369 Munich, Germany; Tel.: +49-89-720- 1235; Fax: +49-89-720-1291; E-mail: wip@wip-munich.de;...