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Green Power
Ontario Power Generation
to Increase Renewable Energy Use
One of the largest electric
utilities in North America will expand its use of renewable energy. Ontario
Power Generation has 125 MW of green energy and expects more of its customers
to want green
energy under deregulation.
http://www.ontariopowergeneration.com/media/News/Newsnov199.asp
Source: Alliance to
Save Energy 12/99.
Day Lighting Improves
School Performance
Student test scores improved
as much as 20 percent in math and 26 percent in reading as a result of
maximum exposure to daylight in their classrooms, according to a study
by Lisa Heschong of the
Heschong-Mahone Group conducted
for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
http://www.pge.com/pec/daylight/valid4.html
. Source: Pacific Gas and Electric via Alliance to Save Energy 12/99.
Greening the Government
through Federal Utility Partnership Working Group
The goal of the Federal
Utility Partnership Working Group is to establish partnerships and facilitate
communications between Federal agencies, utilities and energy service companies
in order to develop strategies to facilitate the implementation of cost-effective
energy efficiency and water conservation projects. Specifically,
the objectives of the Working Group are to Enhance existing or foster new
partnerships between Federal agencies and their servicing utilities to
identify, develop, and implement all cost-effective energy efficiency,
water conservation, and renewable projects at Federal sites; and identify
how utilities can work with Federal agencies and specific sites so the
mandated energy savings goals set forth in the Energy Policy Act of 1992
and Green of the Government Executive Order 13123 can be achieved - http://www.ase.org/takeaction/federal/index.htm;
The 1998 and 1999 Federal Utility Partnership Working Group meeting information
and schedules are highlighted at http://www.eren.doe.gov/femp/financing/fupwg.html
. Source: EREN Website 11/17/99.
UPVG Shifts Focus from
Technology to Marketing
The Utility PhotoVoltaic
Group (UPVG) has elected its second chairman in its eight-year history
and voted four new members to its board of directors. The group said the
change in leadership accompanies UPVG's shift in focus from solar power
technology to solar power marketing. "For solar electricity to make
a meaningful impact as a clean and renewable source of electric power,
we must make it a part of a profitable, practical business for the companies
that bring power to customers," said Jim Torpey, newly elected UPVG chairman
and director of technology ventures at GPU Service of Morristown, NJ.
Torpey replaces former electric utility executive Andrew Vesey as UPVG
chairman. "Members of the UPVG are leaders in a revolutionary shift in
the marketing of electric power," said Torpey. "In the competitive marketplace,
solar energy has benefits and values that customers will pay for, including
environmental stewardship, on-site reliability, independence, and the desire
for cutting edge technology." UPVG is non-profit organization made
up of more than 90 electric utilities and energy service providers from
the United States and six other countries dedicated to making solar electricity
a mainstream power choice. Contact: Julia Judd, UPVG, phone 202-857-0898,
website http://www.upvg.org/upvg.
Source: UPVG News Release via EIA - Renewable Energy Today 11/12/99.
Program Launched to
Accredit Utility Green Pricing Programs
The Center for Resource
Solutions (CRS) has announced the launch of a new program to accredit green
power programs offered by regulated utilities. CRS, a non-profit organization,
has administered the "Green-e" program to certify green power products
in California since the state deregulated its electric industry in early
1998. It later expanded the program to Pennsylvania when that state was
deregulated. But in states
that have not deregulated, more and more utilities are offering electricity
from renewable energy sources at a premium price, through so-called green
pricing programs. The new Green Pricing Accreditation Initiative will verify
the environmental performance of these programs and will recognize and
accredit those programs that meet stringent standards for consumer and
environmental protection. For more information, see the CRS press release
at: http://www.resource-solutions.org/press/gppr1.html
. Source: EREN Network News 11/17/99.
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For more information on
Green Power go to: http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/
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Renewable Energy Technologies
Photoelectric Power
Process Receives Patent
Borealis Technical Limited
announced that a patent has been secured for the process the company has
developed for manufacturing inexpensive photoelectric Power Chips. The
process, which was designed by the company's research and development specialists,
enables the Power Chips to be mass-produced with commonly available materials.
"This patent extends our intellectual property in this important field,"
said Borealis president Isaiah Cox. "The demand for inexpensive and efficient
power from renewable energy sources has never been greater, and Borealis
Power Chips are well-placed to meet that demand." The Power Chip
generates electricity with a solar cell consisting of two closely spaced
electrodes separated by a vacuum. The chips do not have to concentrate
light to work, instead they can generate electricity at ambient temperatures,
which is not typical of conventional solar power cells. However, when solar
energy warms the Power Chip, thermionic emission of electrons also contribute
to the power generated, adding to the efficiency of the device. At
the same time Borealis secured the patent for the manufacturing process,
a patent which covers the construction of thermionic Power Chips using
advanced doped diamond films to enhance the performance of thermionic power
generators and heat pumps was also received. Full text on both patents
can be found on the company website at http://www.borealis.com.
Contact: Chris Bourne, Borealis Technical Limited, phone 44-181-571-5216,
e-mail pr@borealis.com. Source
Business Wire: 11/11/99 via EIN - Renewable Energy Today 11/22/99.
Microorganisms to Help
Convert Rice Straw to Ethanol
DOE's National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) has signed two agreements with Arkenol Holdings,
of Mission Viejo, California, to develop microorganisms that will better
convert rice straw into ethanol. NREL holds the patent on a genetically
engineered bacterium, Zymomonas mobilis, that
can ferment both glucose
and xylose into ethanol. Xylose is a sugar found in woody plants that is
usually resistant to fermentation. Arkenol will license the use of the
bacterium and will work cooperatively with NREL to develop improved strains
of the bacterium. The company intends to use the
technology in an ethanol
facility planned for Sacramento, California. For more information, see
the NREL press release at: http://www.nrel.gov/hot-stuff/press/5799bugs.html
. Source: EREN Network News 11/17/99.
New Booklet Provides
Renewable Energy Overview
Renewable energy sources
can provide reliable electricity while reducing environmental concerns.
But many Americans don't understand how renewable resources can be harnessed
to provide them with a clean, never-ending source of energy. A new 32-page
booklet from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provides
an overview of the opportunities and challenges surrounding the greater
use of renewable energy in the United States. "Choices for a Brighter
Future: Perspectives on Renewable
Energy" looks at the use
of renewable energy in eight regions of the nation, plus Alaska and Hawaii,
because each area has its own energy needs, electrical system constraints,
policy issues, and environmental concerns. For more information, see the
NREL press release at:
http://www.nrel.gov/hot-stuff/press/5699brighter.html
. Source: EREN Network News 11/17/99.
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For more information on
Renewable Resources go to: http://www.eren.doe.gov/power/
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Legislative
DOE Efficiency Programs Get Last-Minute $56 Million Budget Boost
Clinton Administration negotiators emerged on Monday from often contentious
negotiations over the Interior Appropriations bill with an additional $56
million for the U.S. Department of Energy's energy-efficiency programs
- a 9 percent increase over last year's expenditure on energy-efficiency
research, development, and deployment. For a complete overview of
the fiscal year 2000 budget for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy go to:
http://www.ase.org/takeaction/budget/fy00budget.htm
. Source: Alliance
to Save Energy 12/99.
Mark-Up 'Mucks Up'
Already Bad Restructuring Bill
The House Subcommittee on
Energy and Power marked up "The Electricity Competition and Reliability
Act" (H.R. 2944), which is opposed by energy efficiency and environmental
advocates for its
lack of provisions to address
the energy-efficiency and environmental impacts of utility restructuring.
During markup, however, several amendments were added that will almost
certainly broaden opposition to the bill. http://www.ase.org/takeaction/restructure/index.htm.
Source:
Alliance to Save Energy 12/99.
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For more information on
legislative activities go to: http://www.kannerandassoc.com/fedenergybills.html
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Marketing & Market Research
Stay
on Top of The Market by Using the Web!
Each
year, Web Digest for Marketers (WDFM), selects companies that are successfully
maximizing use of the Internet. Abstracts of a few selected companies
are provided bellow. A complete listing of the best companies of
1999 can be found at: http://www.wdfm.com/bestof4.html#SMARTUSEOFTHENET
INTERNET
WebCriteria,
http://www.webcriteria.com
. This newcomer caught our eye with some serious site performance
benchmarking. As anyone who has compiled competitive analysis reports for
websites knows, it's a tedious process. That's why the free industry benchmark
reports available from WebCriteria are so valuable. Each report offers
analysis of load time, freshness, composition and ease of navigation for
the top 10 sites in 12 different industry groups -- computers, e-commerce
apparel, e-commerce brokerage, e-commerce gifts, education US, entertainment,
games, health care, hospitality, portals/hubs, software and travel.
COMPETITIVE
RESEARCH
Bannerstake,
http://www.bannerstake.com
. The Internet is a big place, especially when you are trying to
protect a brand name or trademark. That's why we are especially impressed
with Bannerstake. Bannerstake is a free online advertising monitoring tool
that marketers can use
to
find out if their competitors have purchased specific brand names as keywords
on leading search engines. Bannerstake works like this -- You enter a brand
name, Bannerstake queries
the
top search engines, and then Bannerstake delivers to you a page that shows
the online banners resulting from that search.
VIRAL
MARKETING
Recommend-It.Com,
http://www.recommendit.com
.
If word of mouth is the best form of advertising, email is the second best.
Recommend-It is a free service that helps you help your site visitors tell
their friends about your site. To use the service, you add a special button
and "spread the word" functionality to your site to encourage visitors
to tell others about your home on the Web.
DIRECT
MARKETING
MyProspects.com,
http://www.myprospects.com
. Every direct marketing effort starts with a list. MyProspects is
a slick service that allows customers to create very specific lists from
well-known databases. The site enables fine-tuned customization through
a series of point-and-click options, the prices are competitive, and your
list can be downloaded as soon as it is created. What more can we say?
http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/emaa/index.html
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For more information on
marketing and market research go to: http://www.researchinfo.com/
or http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/emaa/index.html
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Funding News
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION
RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM
The SBIR program was created
by the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (P.L.
97-219) and reauthorized
until the year 2000 by the Small Business Research and Development
Enhancement Act of 1992
(P.L. 102-564). The purposes of P.L. 102-564 were to: expand and
improve the SBIR program,
increase private sector commercialization of technology developed
through Federal R&D,
increase small business participation in Federal R&D, and improve the
Federal Government's dissemination
of information about the SBIR program. Federal agencies with extramural
R&D budgets over $100 million were required to establish an SBIR program
using a set-aside of a stated percentage of that budget. The percentage
grew from an initial 0.2% in Fiscal Year (FY) 1983 to the maximum of 2.5%
in FY 1997. Funding for the DOE SBIR program totaled nearly $600 million
over the first fifteen years. The program's budget for FY 2000 is expected
to be about $80 million, based on a set-aside of 2.5%. These funds are
used to support an annual competition for Phase I awards of up to $100,000
each for about 6 months to explore the feasibility of innovative concepts.
Phase II is the principal research or R&D effort, and the awards are
up to $750,000 over a two-year period. The FY 2000 SBIR solicitation will
be issued November 29, 1999, and will close February 29, 2000. For information
concerning SBIR contact: SBIR Program Office at (301) 903-1414;
http://www.zyn.com/sbir/
Source: SBIR Website
11/17/99.
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For more information on
funding solicitations go to: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
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This news item comes to you as a service of Western's Renewable Resources Program.
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