UtilityGuide.com Provides Renewable Offering
Berkeley, CA-based UtilityGuide.com, an Internet-based site that assists consumers in shopping for energy, telecommunications and Internet services, recently announced that it has signed an agreement with Go-Green, Inc., a provider of renewable energy to California consumers. Through the agreement, UtilityGuide.com visitors can now sign up for Go-Green's Ecosave, a program allowing California consumers to sign up for 100 percent renewable energy.  "Our site is an online marketplace that helps consumers learn about electricity competition and comparison shop for electricity services that best meet their needs," said UtilityGuide.com president and CEO Adam Diamant. Go-Green, owned by Preferred Energy Services, Inc., (PES), offers residential consumers renewable energy from such sources as wind, biomass, and geothermal sources.  Contact: UtilityGuide.com, Web site http://www.utilityguide.com   ;  Mara Privitt, Go-Green.com, phone 408-224-5717 extension 44. Source: Utilityguide.com Release 6/8/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 6/13/2000.

Oak Ridge Laboratory Signs Up For TVA Green Power
DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has announced plans to purchase a portion of its power from the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) "Green Power Switch" program. Oak Ridge will purchase 675,000 kilowatt-hours per year of electricity generated from renewable energy sources, including wind, biomass, and solar energy. The purchase makes Oak Ridge one of the first industrial participants in TVA's green power program. See the story and the Oak Ridge press release on EREN's Green Power Network at: http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/tva_0600.shtml  .  Source: EREN Network News 6/14/2000

Four "Top Ten" Lists of Utility Programs That Offer Green Power
The Green Power Network has garnered some attention by publishing four "top ten" lists of utility programs that offer green power -- often referred to as "green pricing" programs.  The top-ranking utility programs in each category made impressive achievements: signing up 31,000 customers, signing up 4.7 percent of all customers, developing 16 megawatts of new wind energy, and charging a premium of only 0.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. See the top ten lists on EREN's Green Power Network at:
http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/topten.shtml  .  Source: EREN Network News 6/14/2000
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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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Report Calls for Renewables in "Distributed Grid"
A recent study conducted by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) found that power outages caused by extreme summer temperatures could be avoided if power companies elect to use new command and control software that
predicts future energy demand. In addition, the report suggested that power companies construct a "distributed power grid" that utilizes wind turbines, solar panels and other nontraditional generation sources and storage devices.  "There is potential for major financial disruptions in this country because we are putting stresses on our infrastructures they were never designed to handle," said SNL critical infrastructure protection program's Margie Tatro. "Major summertime power outages point to the need for a new way of thinking about the power grid as a system."  The report, titled "Accommodating Uncertainty in Planning and Operations," is part of a DOE program intended to examine different ways to improve the reliability of the nation's electricity grid in accordance with the deregulation of the electric industry. The paper compared the relative uncertainties in both the regulated and restructured business environments and recommended new software tools to manage increasing degrees of uncertainty.  SNL said the electric industry should implement software that includes mathematical models which will help power plant operators predict future energy demands. "The software tools power companies use to monitor and control the electric grid were not designed for the level of complexity and the number of transactions the system is experiencing today," said SNL official Abbas Akhil. "They are not adequate for predicting and averting major outages of the future."   Contact: John German, SNL, phone 505-844-5199, e-mail  jdgerma@sandi.gov  , Web site  http://www.doe.gov  .   Source: SNL Release 5/23/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 6/15/2000.

LADWP, Nation's Largest Municipal Utility, Invests $6 Million in Solar During First Year of Effort
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the largest municipal utility in the nation, announced today that it has awarded AstroPower, Inc., a $6 million contract to supply solar electric power modules.  This contract is the largest single award for solar power since utility deregulation was introduced in the U.S. seven years ago. The contract represents only the first phase of an ambitious four-year, $38 million program to provide clean solar power to LADWP customers. "This marks a new chapter in our quest to make solar power widely available in the City of Los Angeles," said Angelina Galiteva, LADWP director of strategic planning. "We hope that other energy companies throughout America take our lead and give the people what they want: electricity that is clean, safe and reliable." For more information see Web at http://www.greenla.com/news/pr/2000/061500.htm
Source: AstroPower Release via EPRI Green Power News 6/15/2000.

SeaWest to Build New Wind Plant in Oregon
SeaWest WindPower, Inc. announced last week that it plans to build a 24.6 megawatt wind power plant in Gilliam County, Oregon. The plant is intended to provide power to the Bonneville Power Administration and should be completed by the end of 2001. See the SeaWest press release at:  http://www.seawestwindpower.com/news/index.html  .  Source: EREN Network News 6/14/2000

L.A. Landfill Evaluating MicroTurbine
The Los Angeles County Sanitation District (LACSD) is working on a project to turn waste gas into energy at the Puente Hills landfill near Los Angeles, the second largest landfill in the world. Methane from the landfill is used to power a 30-kilowatt Capstone MicroTurbine, manufactured by the Woodland Hills, CA-based Capstone Turbine Corporation. The MicroTurbine recently completed 1,300 hours of continuous operation, while exhibiting impressive performance and emissions characteristics.  Testing has shown that the MicroTurbine emits nitrogen oxide at a rate of 1.3 parts per million (ppm). LACSD engineer Ed Wheless noted that other waste-to-energy systems used in landfills have trouble bettering the 30 ppm emission rate achieved by simply flaring the gas. He said the MicroTurbine "approaches the level of fuel cells."  Capstone president and CEO Ake Almgren said the MicroTurbine being used at Puente Hills is performing much better than expected, and noted that landfill gas -- because it is relatively unrefined -- is "a more challenging fuel source than natural gas or propane."  Capstone's microturbine power systems have been commercially available since 1998.  Contact: Capstone Turbine Corporation, Web site  http://www.capstoneturbine.com  .  Source: Business Wire 6/9/2000 via EIN Renewable Energy Today 6/14/2000.
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For more information on Renewable Resources go to:  http://www.eren.doe.gov/repis/
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For more information on Educational Resources go to: http://www.thegateway.org
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Senate EPW Hearing on Ethanol
Yesterday the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property and Nuclear Safety, chaired by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), held a hearing on the environmental benefits and impacts of ethanol under the Clean Air Act.  The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the use of ethanol in the RFG program as a replacement for MTBE.  The hearing was attended by committee members Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kit Bond (R-MO), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Bob Graham (D-FL) and George Voinovich (R-OH).  Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) also attended the hearing and presented statements in support of ethanol and its positive impact on the environment.  While Senator Inhofe may have originally envisioned this hearing to be a showcase of ethanol’s environmental problems, it became yet another forum for several diverse interests to denounce the use of MTBE and promote ethanol as a safe alternative.  There were clearly attacks on maintaining the oxygen requirement from the oil and environmental groups, but also general agreement that ethanol use will grow substantially as MTBE is eliminated.  The following is a brief summary of the hearing statements.  If you would like copies of any of the testimony, please contact the RFA office.  The statements of Jack Huggins, who testified on behalf of Williams Bio-Energy and RFA, and Dr. Mike Graboski, who testified for the National Corn Growers Association, will be posted on the RFA website at  http://www.ethanolrfa.org  .  Source: RFA Press Release 6/15/2000.

Biomass R&D Bill Awaits President's Signature
Supporters of S. 935 are anxiously awaiting President Clinton's signature on a bill, which would allow the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to oversee a six-year, $49-million research and development (R&D) effort to allow biomass to become a competitive energy source with fossil fuels.  Already passed in the House and Senate, the bill also seeks an additional $14 million, which would go towards building a corn-based ethanol research plant. Biomass is a sustainable energy source that emits near zero greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, bio-based products, including ethanol derived from corn, can be used as transportation fuels, which, supporters of the bill contend could decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil.  Source:  The Energy Report 6/12/2000 via EIS Renewable Energy Today 6/15/2000.
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For more information on legislative activities go to: http://www.kannerandassoc.com/fedenergybills.html
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A Status Report on the Design and Implementation of State RPS and System Benefits Charges
Kevin Porter, NREL and Ryan Wiser, LBNL, have written a paper providing an update on state efforts with renewable portfolio standards and system benefit charges.  For more information see:  http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/emaa/kp_awea2000_rpt.pdf

U.S. Green Marketing Activities
Green power marketing refers to selling green power in the competitive marketplace, in which multiple suppliers and service offerings exist. Electricity markets are now open to competition in California, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. A number of other states, such as Montana, Illinois, Delaware, Arizona, and Michigan, are phasing in competition, allowing some customers to choose their electricity supplier. Several green power marketers, offering green products and services to residential, commercial, and wholesale customers, are active in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and green power products have also been introduced in Illinois, Maine, and New York. Below you will find information and news about green power marketers, customers, products, product certification, pilot programs, regulatory issues, and reactions from environmental and public interest groups on the evolution of the new green power markets. For more information see Web site at: http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/marketing.shtml
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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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WRAP
The Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) has 4 open RFPs:  Development of Base Year Emissions Inventory (due 6/26/00), Alternatives to Agricultural Burning (due 6/26/00), Emissions Inventory for Class I Areas (due 7/7/00), and an Emissions Inventory Survey (due 7/7/00).  For more info, go to:   http://www.wrapair.org/  .   Source: Seattle Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Energy Solicitations (Issue 74) 6/12/2000

Environmental Education and Communication
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks a contractor to perform technical and advisory services for environmental education and communication within USAID activities.  The contractor will contribute directly to the development of natural resource, urbanization, energy, environmental policy, and global climate change programs.  USAID anticipates one award.  Solicitation expected to open on or about 6/23/00, close approx. 7/24/00.  For more info, contact Suzanne Partridge (202) 712-1606.  Refer to Sol# M/OP-00-1134.  (CBD 6/1/00).  Source: Seattle Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Energy Solicitations (Issue 74) 6/12/2000

Environmental Loan Fund
The Environmental Support Center's Environmental Loan Fund (ELF) was established to stabilize, increase, and diversify the long-term funding base of regional, state, and local environmental organizations.  Low-interest loans are made for membership development, mission-related enterprises, special events, workplace solicitations, donor development, and direct mail campaigns.  Most loans range between $10K and $50K and are usually for a two-year period.  3 application due dates:  6/15/00, 9/15/00 and 1/15/01.  For more info, contact the Center at (202) 966-9834 or go to:  http://www.envsc.org/es06000.htm   .  (Foundation Center RFP Bulletin 5/19/00)  Source: Seattle Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Energy Solicitations (Issue 74) 6/12/2000
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For more information on funding solicitations go to: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
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