Companies Join to Develop "Green" Energy
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) recently joined with 11 major U.S. businesses in an effort to develop corporate markets for 1,000 megawatts (MW) of environmentally sound "green" energy capacity over the next decade. The partnership, known as the Green Power Market Development Group (GPMDG), includes such corporate members as DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Interface, Johnson and Johnson, Pintey Bowes and Kinko's, Inc.  "In a time of major energy and environmental challenges, we are excited to see some of America's companies making a major commitment to green power," said Department of Energy (DOE) secretary Bill Richardson. "We're beginning to see a trend in corporate America's willingness to participate in competitive electric markets, in order to make a significant down payment on our environmental future."  The group will examine various "green energy options and purchase opportunities" in order to identify "cost-competitive" strategies that will accelerate the development of mature green power markets. Ultimately, GPMDG hopes to support the development of green power markets over a ten-year period. "We have a corporate goal of 10 percent of our energy supply from renewable sources at competitive prices," said DuPont vice president for safety, health and environment Paul Tebo. "We're excited about participating in this group because we hope it will help us to meet that commitment."  In the short-term, GPMDG hopes to identify its first sources of cost-competitive green power by the end of the year. The power will be produced using renewable resources or "clean power technologies" at the national, regional or local level. "We see the development of renewable energy markets and emerging technologies as essential to address environmental and energy issues," said GM vice president for environmental health and safety and chief environment officer Dennis Minano. "Our participation in this partnership enables us to continue our dialogue with diverse groups committed to developing sound solutions."  Contact: Adlai Amor, WRI, phone 202-729-7736, e-mail aamor@wri.org  ; Katherine O'Dea, BSR, phone 415-537-0890 extension 142.  Source:  Business Wire 8/7/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 8/9/2000.

Kinko's Intends to Meet 50 Percent Electrical Load in New York With Wind Power
In related news, Kinko's has announced its intentions to meet 50 percent of its electrical demand in the state of New York using wind power. Kinko's will buy roughly 4.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity from the 11.5-megawatt Madison Windpower Project, now under construction in central New York State. PG&E Corporation is building the facility with partial funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. See the PG&E Corporation press release at:
http://www.pgecorp.com/news/releases/000803r1.html   .  Source: EREN Network News 8/9/2000.

Australia Adopts Online Green Power Trading
The project will enable all users to easily and cheaply buy and sell green power over the Internet.  For more information see Web site at:  http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-31-03.html  .  Source: Environment News Service 7/31/2000 via Energy News Briefs 7/31-8/4/2000.

Board Approves DWP and Enron Green Program
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) recently announced that its contract with Enron Power Marketing, Inc. has been approved by the LADWP board of water and power commissioners.  LADWP said the project is designed to allow more than 55,000 commercial, residential, and industrial customers to purchase renewable energy in place of fossil fuel power when it is available.  The utility said residential customers that sign up for the program will receive two free compact lightbulbs, an energy efficiency survey and other environmental services. LADWP noted that the incentives should offset the extra three dollars a month that consumers are expected to pay for the green power.  "We are excited to bring new clean renewable wind power to the city under this contract," said DWP strategic planning director Angelina Galiteva. "Our Green Power program is also bringing solar energy to the city. Our plan is to provide other sources of clean renewable energy such as geothermal and biomass."   Contact: Walter Zeisl, DWP, phone 213-367-1342, Web site at:  http://www.greenla.com  .  Source:  DWP Release 8/3/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 8/8/2000.
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For more information on Green Power go to:  http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/   or   http://www.thegreenpowergroup.org/
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CIGS Cells to Make Solar Power Competitive
A Swedish research team from Uppsala University recently announced that developments in their research have led them to believe that solar power will be available at a competitive price within the next 10 years.  Using a module of cells of indium copper gallium selenium (CIGS) similar to one developed four years ago by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the team achieved a 16.6 percent electricity conversion rate. The NREL team managed to achieve a 17.7 percent  efficiency.  "The difference is that while the NREL team used one cell we had a module of nine interconnected cells. This is like a cutout of a larger area which is how this sort of power will be produced," said Uppsala team leader Lars Stolt.  Stolt said that he expects solar technology to produce electricity for about .3 Swedish crowns (3.2 cents) per kilowatt hour within the next ten years. The researchers said the biggest challenge facing them is the development of "a co-evaporation technique for depositing the solar
cell layers."   "The issue is to scale up this process for the production environment," said Stolt. "It must be applicable for the production of thin-film solar cells on an industrial scale."  Contact: Uppsala, phone +64-0-18-471-00-00; NREL, phone 303-275-3000, Web site at:  http://www.nrel.gov .  Source:  Reuters 8/4/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 8/8/2000.

California Lacks Windpower Infrastructure
Californians are being asked to conserve energy as the result of a recent heat wave. Wind power generating companies have said they have the electricity to spare but have no way to deliver it since transmission line construction has not kept up with the growth of wind energy centers in the state.  "We have turbines on our site right now that we could use but we can't because there isn't any way to deliver the electricity," said Oak Creek Energy president Hal Romanowitz. Oak Creek generates about five percent of the power produced in the Tehachapi, CA area.  In California, wind power accounts for about 1.5 percent of the electricity used -- enough to power a city the size of San Francisco, said the California Energy Commission (CEC).  People are being asked to keep thermostats no lower than 78 degrees, reduce the use of appliances in the afternoon, and close doors and vents in unoccupied rooms. Industry officials said wind power has a disadvantage to natural gas -- it can't be transmitted through a pipeline, which means that wind installations are built far away creating a "transmission bottleneck."  The electricity produced at the large Tehachapi site is sold to Southern California Edison under long contracts that can range from 20 to 30 years. The current contract expires in 2001, and the terms under which it may be renewed could determine how the wind industry develops.  .  Source:  Bakersfield California 8/2/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 8/8/2000.
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For more information on Renewable Resources go to:  http://www.eren.doe.gov/repis/
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Green Schools West Opens in Los Angeles
The Green Schools program of the Alliance to Save Energy will focus on three school districts to improve the energy efficiency of the districts' schools and to increase awareness of the importance of energy efficiency.  For more information see Web site at:
http://www.ase.org/e-FFICIENCY/archives/documents/greenschoolswest.htm   .  Source: e-Efficiency News 7/8/2000 via Energy News Briefs 7/31-8/4/2000.
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For more information on Educational Resources go to: http://www.thegateway.org
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Gore Unveils 10-Year Energy Plan
Vice President Al Gore recently unveiled a 10-year, $125 billion energy plan with a strong emphasis on pollution reduction and clean energy.  The energy plan intends to reduce dependence on imported oil and boost green technology through tax breaks and other financial incentives for businesses and individuals.  A major component of the plan calls for $46 billion in tax incentives to encourage the use of environmentally friendly products, including tax credits for energy-efficient vehicles, energy-efficient building equipment, and for energy-efficient homes.  The plan also includes an expansion to 20 percent of an existing 10 percent business investment tax credit for solar energy systems. For more information visit  http://www.eenews.net  .  Source:  Million Solar Roofs News 7/21/2000.

Republican Platform Endorses Wind Energy Production Credit
The Republican Party's national platform for the year 2000, recently adopted at the party's convention, endorses the wind energy production tax credit (PTC).  The platform's section on energy issues includes support for a proposal to "expand the tax credit for renewable energy sources to include wind and open-loop biomass facilities and electricity produced from steel cogeneration."  Currently, only wind and "closed-loop" biomass energy projects (which require planting of new crops or trees so as to avoid any net generation of greenhouse gases) are eligible for the PTC.  Source: AWEA Wind Energy Weekly 8/4/2000.
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For more information on legislative activities go to: http://www.kannerandassoc.com/fedenergybills.html
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Renewable Energy Reports and Statistics on Energy Information Administration Web Site
EIA, a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, provides policy-independent data, forecasts, and analyses to promote sound policy making, efficient markets, and public understanding regarding energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment.  It was created by Congress in 1977. EIA's mission is to develop energy data and analyses that help enhance the understanding of energy issues on the part of business, government, and the general public. EIA has legal authority to survey energy companies and individuals in the United States. In order to ensure EIA's objectivity about issues that often have great national importance, Congress mandated that EIA's information be developed independently of the policy objectives of the Department of Energy and other parts of government. EIA's information includes data and analyses for the past, the present, and the future. Using over 80 of its own statistical surveys as a base of information, EIA regularly reports data about the supply, consumption, distribution, and price of energy in the United States. The statistics cover petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, and various forms of renewable energy (solar, wood, wind, etc.). EIA collects data from 120,000 respondents, including oil companies, electric power companies, power marketers, as well as scientifically selected samples of all industries, commercial buildings, and residences in the United States. EIA provides listserves to those customers who indicate that they would like to receive specific data or notifications of data availability through this automated e-mail system.  You can find out more about EIA by clicking on the various topics to the left of this page. For more detailed information about EIA, you can view our Annual Report to Congress at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/pdf/other.docs/017398.pdf  .  Also, see more than 1600 renewable energy related reports at:
http://www.nrel.gov/reasn/. 

Research Institute for Small & Emerging Business, Inc
Founded in 1976, the Research Institute for Small & Emerging Business, Inc. (RISEbusiness) is based in Washington, D.C. By providing corporations, policymakers, and business or trade associations serving the small and emerging business sector with substantive and insightful (market, policy, and field) research on issues impacting the formation and growth of small and emerging businesses, they inform and enhance decisionmaking pertaining to this important sector of the economy.   Their Web site, http://www.riseb.org/  ,  provides two excellent resources for small business to take advantage.  To access choose the "Other Information" button once logged onto the site.
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For more information on marketing and market research go to:  http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/emaa/index.html
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DOE Provides Funding for Geothermal Plants
Department of Energy (DOE) secretary Bill Richardson recently announced the formation of 21 partnerships between DOE and private industry. Richardson said the projects are intended to support the development and use of geothermal energy in California, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. Under the contracts DOE and private industry will share project funding over a three- to five-year period.  "Today's projects move us one step closer toward our goal of providing 10 percent of the electricity needs of the western states with geothermal resources by 2020," said Richardson. "Clean, reliable and renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy can become a significant contributor to the energy mix in the west, at a time when parts of the region are experiencing power shortages."  DOE said it will provide 21 companies with a total of $3.5 million to expand their geothermal activities in the first year of the contract.  DOE is also promoting research and development in small-scale geothermal plants, enhanced geothermal technology and geothermal resource exploration. In January, Richardson launched a program called GeoPowering the West. This program was intended to help western states fulfill 10 percent of their energy needs with geothermal power by 2020, supply seven million homes with geothermal heat by 2010 and double the number of western states with geothermal facilities by 2006.  DOE said that it hopes that a rise in the production and use of geothermal energy will help relieve the overwhelming demand for electricity in the West which routinely causes numerous blackouts. Contact: Guillermo Meneses, DOE, phone 202-586-5806. Source:  DOE News Release 8/9/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 8/11/2000.

NYSERDA Issues Wind Energy Solicitation
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) recently announced the availability of $300,000 for a wind prospecting program intended to locate suitable sites for wind generation in the state. The agency said it plans to cost-share up to half of the cost of proposals to a maximum level of $100,000.  NYSERDA said selected projects "will result in the market's capability to expedite wind project development by identifying viable  generating sites from the perspective of available wind resource, electrical interconnection, and community and environmental acceptability."  The agency is seeking proposals that provide "a plan or methodology" that will result in "documented wind characterization, [and] site description." In addition, the site assessments should also provide detailed information on land lease agreements with affected landowners and plans for electrical interconnection. NYSERDA noted that "existing wind resource mapping data for New York state will be included with the solicitation documents." The agency said wind atlas of the state is currently being developed and will be available at the end of September. The atlas will be "a high-resolution wind resource map of New York state in grid form, on a scale approaching one to two kilometers."  The agency said proposals are due by October 27.  Contact: John Saintcross, NYSERDA, phone 518-862-1090 extension 3384, e-mail jsl@nyserda.org .  Source:  Wind Energy Weekly 8/9/2000.

DOE Awards $40 Million for Advanced Microturbines
DOE announced last week the award of $40 million to six industrial partners for research, development, and testing of "next generation" microturbines. Microturbines generate power from a variety of fuels, including natural gas, and can also provide heating and cooling. They are one of many technologies that can be located at or near an electrical customer's site, providing support for the electrical grid -- a concept known as distributed generation. See the DOE press release at:
http://home.doe.gov/news/releases00/julpr/pr00201.htm  .  Source: EREN Network News 8/2/2000.
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For more information on funding solicitations go to: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
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