Time Warner Goes Green
Time Warner Communications in cooperation with Commonwealth Energy Corporation will switch to "green" power, or energy generated from renewable and environmentally sound sources, for all of its Los Angeles division accounts. Commonwealth provides service to approximately 1,700 Time Warner accounts in southern California and several new accounts were added during the switch to green power to accompany Time Warner's dedication to earth-friendly electricity. "When business customers of this caliber choose Commonwealth's green power, it sends a positive message to other consumers," said Commonwealth CEO Fred Bloom. "As awareness increases about the environmental hazards of traditional electricity sources, more and more well-informed businesses and municipalities will opt for environmentally responsible power."  Commonwealth has over 80,000 customers in California where it operates as an energy service provider. The company also provides energy-efficient products and performance contracting services that are all Green-e certified.  Source: Commonwealth Release 11/16 via EIN - Renewable Energy Today 11/17/99.

Green Power for a Green L.A. -- A Very Successfull Program
The Department of Water and Power today announced that 20,000 customers had signed up for its Green Power for a Green L.A. program.  Reaching 20,000 customers is important because the DWP is approved to execute contracts to purchase new green power, including solar, wind and geothermal resources. "Reaching 20,000 customers is a considerable achievement for DWP. It marks the most successful green-power program among any utility in the nation. But this is only a first step. We hope to reach upwards of 200,000 customers in the next two to three years," said David Freeman, DWP general manager.  Customers who sign up for the program receive two compact fluorescent light bulbs initially and two more in six months. They also receive a home energy survey CD-ROM. The light bulbs and CDs are intended to lower customers' electricity usage.  Freeman said, "While the rate for new green power is 6 percent higher than conventional electricity sources, customers that put the light bulbs to work and reduce their energy usage will see little or no increase, and some will experience a reduction in their electricity bills. Customers pay a bill, not a rate."  Ralph Nader endorsed the Green Power for a Green L.A. program in July, Freeman added, because the program is aimed at new green sources, ties in with energy-efficiency efforts and is open to low-income and all classes of customers.  Freeman said he is hopeful that by building a market for green power, manufacturers of clean-energy services and products will want to relocate their facilities to Los Angeles, bringing needed jobs. He said that bringing on more green resources will reduce the need for conventional polluting power sources, will help clean the air and will lower the risk of global climate change.  The Green Power for a Green L.A. program is DWP's flagship environmental effort, which also includes a host of other related initiatives, including
the award-winning Cool Schools tree-planting program, the Solar Photovoltaic Program, the Electric Transportation Program and numerous energy-efficiency programs. Customers interested in signing up for the program or learning more about DWP environmental efforts can call 800/GREENLA, or they can click on to the Web site at www.GREENLA.com. Customers can also sign up by simply checking off the box on their DWP bill. Contact: Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles Walter Zeisl,
213/367-1342 213/367-3227. Source: Business Wire via EPRI Green Power News 11/19/99.

High Performance Schools Conference
The Energy Center of Wisconsin and the Alliance to Save Energy are teaming up to sponsor a High Performance Schools conference June 14-16, 2000 in Madison, WI. The conference will highlight energy-efficient schools that provide a healthy indoor environment, promote learning, and serve as a focus for community education.  The target audience includes: energy educators and curriculum developers (both K-12 and university), policymakers and program implementers, and national and state organizations dealing with school construction and retrofit issues. For more information, contact: Karen Anderson, Alliance to Save Energy, 202/530-2239; kanderson@ase.org ;  Dan York, Energy Center Wisconsin, 608/238-8276, dyork@ecw.org . Source: Alliance to Save Energy 12/99.

BPA Sponsored Distributed Resources, Renewables and the Environment Conference
On February 2 of 2000, the Bonneville Power Administration and a host of energy and environmental co-sponsors will present a one-day conference entitled "Distributed Resources, Renewables and the Environment." Its purpose is to examine the ongoing rush of transformational distributed energy resource products and technologies in a plus-and-minus context of environmental concerns. This conference stresses the importance of seeing new distributed dynamics in the context of three special and related public benefit energy enterprises: 1) Renewable resources-solar, wind, geothermal and biomass;  2)    Energy efficiency & demand management; 3) Environmental stewardship. The organizers believe that the diversity of distributed energy resources and related energy options represents an opportunity to couple meeting energy demand with net environmental benefit directly and indirectly. Direct benefit comes from deployment of cleaner & efficient generating hardware; indirect benefits range from coupling new     generating hardware with energy efficiency & demand-side measures to forestall (or even eliminate) new power line construction.
For more information on the conference go to: www.newsdata.com/edonline/groundhog .  Source: Cyrus Noe E-Mail dated 11/24/99.
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For more information on Green Power go to: http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/
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U.S. LOSING GROUND IN RENEWABLE
Renewable energy technology firms in the United States are losing ground to overseas companies, according to the authors of Renewable Energy Policy Project's (REPP) latest issue brief, "Renewable Energy Policy Outside the United States."  Authors Curtis Moore and Jack Ihle contend that "U.S. policymakers have chosen to reject strategies designed to commercialize renewable energy in favor of continued reliance on fossil fuels, especially oil." Moore and Ihle also assert that "Europeans have now seized the lead in deploying [renewable energy technologies]" and Japan has "systematically laid the groundwork for a possible wide scale deployment of  renewable energy." The report assesses governmental policies and market-driven incentives in Germany, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Japan. Evaluated are guaranteed electricity purchases, green labeling, consumer financing, tax incentives to suppliers, competitive bidding, and other measures. The report suggests that renewable energy technologies may soon join the long list of innovations pioneered in America, but developed into competitive industries elsewhere. The full text of "Renewable Energy Policy Outside the United States" is available on the Web at http://www.repp.org. Source: AWEA Wind Energy Weekly 11/19/99.

Fuel Cell Conference to be Held in San Diego
As one of the first conferences of its kind, "The Business Case for Fuel Cells," presented by the Center for Business Intelligence (CBI), is designed to the meet the needs of energy service providers in light of the recent advancements in fuel cell commercialization.  The conference will present the inevitable obstacles that may arise from such commercialization, including the cost, possible revenue erosion from lost customers and interconnection to the grid.  Fuel cell developers, however, are on the verge of commercializing, mass producing and marketing them in the next one to five years.  At the conference there will be many opportunities to hear from professionals in the development of the technology, testing and application, commercialization, funding and installation.  These professionals will speak on topics meant to inform energy companies on how fuel cells can be beneficial through emerging opportunities for applications for remote or critical power needs and distributorship, testing maintenance, installation and service.  Additionally, four case studies will be presented by ConEdison, GPU International, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Bonneville Power Administration that will provide up-to-date information.  A  pre-conference workshop entitled "A Primer on Fuel Cell Fundamentals, Applications and Technology" will present challenges for implementation and its future in a competitive marketplace. Contact: Kim Hunter, Center for Business Intelligence, phone 781-939-2438, e-mail cbireg@cbinet.com.
Source: CBI Release 11/8 via EIN - Renewable Energy Today.
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For more information on Renewable Resources go to: http://www.eren.doe.gov/power/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wind Energy Production Tax Credit Extended
The U.S. federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC) will be extended for 2 1/2 years under the agreement reached this week between Congressional and Administration negotiators on the federal budget.  The credit will be effective retroactively to June 30, 1999, the date when it expired.  "Two years ago, AWEA set a course to obtain extension of the PTC," said AWEA legislative director Jaime Steve.  "While we have had to tack a bit here and there, we stayed the course with confidence and determination, and have reached our destination."  The extension will allow the domestic wind industry to continue growing and producing new jobs, particularly in the Midwest, often called the Saudi Arabia of wind power.  During the 1990s, wind has been the fastest-growing energy technology in the world, with an annual growth rate of 22.6%.  "Gaining the PTC extension was made possible by leadership from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), both of whom sponsored legislation calling for a five-year extension," said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher.  "Energy Secretary Bill Richardson--a strong proponent of wind energy developmentand Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, along with Sens. Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.), Bill Roth (R-Del.), Connie Mack (R-Fla.), Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) were also crucial players."  In the House of Representatives, key support came from Reps. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), Tom Ewing (R-Ill.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.), Mark Foley (R-Pa.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Bob Matsui (R-Calif.), and Karen Thurman (D-Fla.).  "Particular thanks go to the entire team responsible for this victory," Steve said, "including AWEA member companies and legislative committee members Enron Wind Corp.; FPL Energy, Inc.; Central & South West Services; NEG Micon, USA; Vestas, USA; Southwest Wind Power; Northern Alternative Energy; NRG Systems; Global Energy Concepts, Inc.; San Gorgonio Farms, Inc.; Arcadia Windpower; Kamzin Technologies; M&N Windpower; enXco; Springhouse Energy Systems; Energy Unlimited, Inc.; Wintec, Ltd.; Springtyme, LLC; Atlantic Orient Corp.; W.A. Vachon & Assoc.; The Wind Turbine Co.; the Kotzebue (Alaska) Electric Assoc.; the Kern Wind Energy Association; the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association; members of the AWEA Board of Directors; and all who ever wrote a letter or made a phone call to their member of Congress.  "This winning effort has spanned the tenure of three AWEA presidents: current president Robert Gates (Enron Wind Corp.) and preceding presidents Karen Conover (Global Energy Concepts, Inc.) and Brian O'Sullivan (CEO of the former Cannon Energy Corp.).  Each made a significant contribution to this victory."  For further information, contact Jaime Steve or Melissa Santoro at (202) 383-2500.  Source: AWEA Wind Energy Weekly 11/19/99.
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For more information on legislative activities go to: http://www.kannerandassoc.com/fedenergybills.html
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UCI Study Evaluates Wind Energy
A recent study published by researchers at the University of California-Irvine (UCI) has found that wind energy is an important natural resource for reducing air pollution in California. The study, titled "Policy Options for Promoting Wind Energy," said that while the wind turbines that are currently used statewide are helping to curtail the problem, more should be done.  In one county, there are 4,600 wind turbines which produce 650 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to offset more than a million pounds of pollutants while providing electricity to half a million people. Across the state there are more than 13,000 wind turbines which generate almost 3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, enough to power San Francisco, while ridding the air of millions of tons of pollutants.  Study author Peter Navarro, an associate professor at UCI's Graduate School of Management, said California's wind energy capacity has remained stagnant since 1991. However, because of the environmental benefits of wind utilization, Navarro is pushing for a new focus on the issue.  One option the study proposes is for the state to instigate a large-scale loan program offering both lower interest rates and longer debt maturities. According to Navarro, "such a program can be implemented at very minimal costs to taxpayers while providing a huge boost to the capital-intensive wind industry."  A second option calls for a commitment by the governor and state legislature to buy at least 10 percent of state government's power from renewable energy sources by 2002. The study says that "this 'buy green' policy is perhaps the most important single action that the governor and legislature can take at this time to boost renewable energy demand."  The third option would ask for a re-establishing of the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC). The study notes that the "loss of the PTC has the single largest negative effect on the economic cost of wind power." Contact: Peter Navarro, UCI, phone 619-850-6751, e-mail pnavarro@uci.edu . The complete text of the UC-Irvine study is available on the Web at http://gsm.uci.edu/~navarro .  Source: AWEA Wind Energy Weekly 11/19/99
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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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Energy Efficiency, Fossil Funds Gain
The energy and water appropriations bill signed in September by President Clinton includes $362.2 million for solar and renewable energy programs, down $3.7 million from the FY-99 appropriation (IE/FL, 4 Oct, 6).  Last week, DOE did picked up $65 million more for energy conservation and fossil energy programs in FY-2000 as negotiators for the Clinton administration and Congress agreed to split their differences over the department's share of the Interior and related agencies appropriations bill.  The increase means more money this fiscal year for research, development and demonstrations in DOE's energy efficiency programs for the industrial, transportation, building and utility sectors.  It also will help  DOE's Fossil Energy division support pollution-reduction projects for the U.S. paper and pulp industry.  Last Thursday the House approved a $390-billion budget package that includes the Interior appropriations.  As of last Friday, the Senate had not voted on the budget package yet.  Last week's compromise brought to $745.2 million the FY-2000 appropriation for DOE's Energy Efficiency Program, nearly 8% more than the $692 million those programs received in FY-99, according to figures from the House appropriations Committee. The administration requested $837 million for energy efficiency, the panel said.  Source: Inside Energy 11/22/99.
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For more information on funding solicitations go to: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
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