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Since the industrial revolution, many utilities have been powered by fossil fuels – e.g., coal, oil, and natural gas – that are burned to generate electricity. Spurred by growing concern over the environment (pollution, global climate change, etc.) and increased scarcity of fossil fuel, more attention is being focused on renewable energy options. As the name implies, renewable energy is generated from non-depleteable sources: the sun, the wind, water, etc. In contrast to the finite amount of fossil fuel available, the harnessing of these renewable power sources offers virtually limitless clean and non-polluting energy. Clean energy options are now more available to consumers and industries trying to preserve the environment. Local governments and their leaders are in the position to take advantage of renewable energy to save money, create jobs, promote sustainable growth, and reduce pollution. Read More
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A Guide to Renewable Energy for Rhode Island Residents
This site provides information on renewable energy sources in Rhode Island, including resouces on how to locate a supplier, where to find renewable energy certificates, and how to install renewable energy equipment. Background information on the benefits to using renewable energy sources is also available.
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Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
The Clean Power Campaign was founded in 1990 in Sacramento to promote increased electric system reliance on sustainable use of energy resources.
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Clean Energy Basics
Provides basic information on renewable energy technologies, including specific links for homeowners, small business owners, students, and teachers.
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Climate Change Calculator
The Climate Change Calculator allows users to input data to find out the tons of carbon dioxide emitted by individual households in a given year. The tool will calculate total emissions and the number of trees that would need to be planted to offset those emissions.
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Connecticut to Buy 20 Percent Green Power by 2010
Connecticut Governor John Rowland celebrated Earth Day on April 22nd by requiring that the state facilities draw on renewable energy for 20 percent of their electricity needs by 2010. The governor's executive order also requires state facilities to run on 50 percent green power by 2020 and 100 percent green power by 2050. The order will avoid the emissions of at least 420 million pounds of carbon dioxide by 2020.
A growing number of utilities are offering green power throughout the country. The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced on Earth Day that Alliant Energy is now offering Green-e certified renewable energy to its 500,000 customers in Iowa and Minnesota. In upstate New York, Rochester Gas and Electric Company (RG&E) and Select Energy began offering wind power to their customers last week. In Rhode Island, Narragansett Electric Company started offering green power to its customers in late March. In the Southeast, Georgia Power started selling green power in mid-March and Laurens Electric Cooperative, a rural electric cooperative in northern South Carolina, is now offering green power to its 46,000 customers.
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EIA Expects Summer Gasoline Prices to Average $1.94
The outlook for summer gasoline prices worsened last week, as DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected the average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline at about $1.94 this summer. That's 18 cents higher than the EIA projected a month ago, reflecting increased pressures on the oil market. The EIA expects average U.S. gasoline prices to peak at $2.03 in June. Spot prices for crude oil averaged about $36.70 per barrel in April, and the EIA expected them to average $36 to $37 per barrel for the rest of the year. See the May 11th edition of EIA's "Short-Term Energy Outlook".
Unfortunately, EIA's report is already looking a bit optimistic. According to Platts, June crude oil futures (the benchmark price for crude oil), hit $41.38 per barrel on May 14th.
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EIA's Annual Energy report
The Energy Information Agency of the US Department of Energy estimates that utility demand-side management programs, which
help customers reduce their electrical demand, achieved nearly
25 gigawatts of peak demand reductions in 2001. Although the number
represents a 9 percent increase above 2002 demand reductions, the
overall trend for demand reductions has been dropping since 1996, when
utilities achieved a peak demand reduction of nearly 30 gigawatts. See
the EIA's "Electric Power Annual 2001" at:
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epa_sum.html>.
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Emissions Reduction Partnership
Available through the EPA, this site provides information about the SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems, a voluntary program for reducing concentrations of SF6, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
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Energy Star
This site provides information about ENERGY STAR, a government/industry partnership that helps individuals and businesses use energy more efficiently, making it easy to save money while protecting the environment.
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Energy Trust of Oregon
The Energy Trust of Oregon strives to change how Oregonians produce
and use energy by investing in efficient technologies and renewable
energy resources. The organization also offers services and incentives
to Oregon businesses and homeowners that invest in energy-efficient
equipment and materials.
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Gridless Urban House project
The Gridless Urban House project, sponsored by the State Energy
Program of the Kansas Corporation Commission, educates citizens about alternative energy solutions that promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, and stunt the growth for energy demand. The Web site
features a slide show tour of a house that boasts the largest solar
electric array in Kansas.
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Hybrid Vehicles in King County
King County, Washington will lead a new national initiative to help state
and local governments purchase low-emissions, energy-efficient fleet
vehicles. Through U.S. Communities, a national cooperative purchasing
alliance, local and state agencies will pool their purchasing power to
obtain fuel-saving hybrid vehicles. By piggybacking on the King County
solicitation, governments can obtain favorable contract arrangements for
hybrid vehicles and promote a voluntary approach to limiting pollution and
reducing greenhouse gases from their fleets. The program is sponsored by U.S. Communities, the National Association of Counties, and the Center for a New American Dream.
King County and the project sponsors will develop the national solicitation
for hybrid vehicles over the next few months. The organizations also will
identify the agencies most likely to purchase significant volumes of hybrid
vehicles and the exact vehicle types wanted. State, county, city, school
and regional government entities will be able to join the solicitation once
it is complete. The solicitation will be available for bidding in late 2003
or early 2004.
For information about climate change issues for state and local public
officials, visit http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/visitorcenter/publicofficials/ on the EPA
Global Warming Site. The site covers topics such as the climate system,
state greenhouse gas emissions, impacts of climate change, and innovative voluntary actions at the state and local levels that can reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions while saving money.
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Interwest Energy Alliance
Interwest Energy Alliance
<http://www.interwestenergy.org/>
The Interwest Energy Alliance is a newly developed trade association
consisting of members from both industry and environmental
organizations that support state-level public policies to harness the
West's renewable energy and energy efficiency resources. The Alliance
particularly focuses on promoting market-based Renewable Portfolio
Standard policies. Its Web site also features information on the
benefits of renewable energy use in the West.
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Ireland Wind Project
In Ireland, the first wind power project in the Irish Sea is expected to begin construction this summer, featuring the new 3.6-megawatt wind turbines from GE Wind Energy, the largest wind turbines currently available. GE Wind Energy unveiled the new turbine in December 2002, shortly after installing the first prototype on land in Spain. The company will operate the new 25-megawatt Irish facility as a demonstration site for the first two years, after which Ireland's Airtricity will hold an option to purchase the facility.
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Maryland Wind Power
A group of six county agencies in Montgomery County, Maryland, along with 11 local municipalities and nearby Prince George's County, have agreed to purchase five percent of their electricity from wind power. Montgomery County executives announced the wind power purchase last week, and claimed it as the largest U.S. purchase of wind energy by a local government, the largest retail purchase of wind power in Maryland, and the fifth largest retail purchase of wind power in the country. The group is buying more than 38 million kilowatt-hours of wind power per year for two years from Community Energy, Inc. (CEI), which generates the wind power at the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center in West Virginia.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA's Mission is to describe and predict changes in the Earth's environment, and conserve and wisely manage the Nation's coastal and marine resources. NOAA's strategy consists of seven interrelated Strategic Goals for environmental assessment, prediction and stewardship, which are presented as theme pages on their Web site.
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National Renewable Energy Laboratories
NREL is a Department of Energy Laboratory devoted to researching and developing renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
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Navajo Utility Installs 63 Solar and Wind Power Systems
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) has installed 63 renewable energy systems at remote homes throughout the Navajo Nation. SunWize Technologies announced last month that it supplied 880-watt solar photovoltaic power stations for the systems, which also incorporate Southwest Windpower wind turbines and a battery bank. See the SunWize Technologies press release (PDF 99 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.
NTUA is an enterprise of the Navajo Nation, providing power to homes throughout the 25,000-square-mile Navajo reservation, which includes northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. Despite its extensive power grid, the NTUA estimates that 18,000 homes in the Navajo Nation lack an electrical power connection. See the NTUA Web site.
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New Reports Note Challenges and Opportunities for Renewables
Renewable energy is moving into the mainstream, according to a report issued in May by the Worldwatch Institute. The study notes that on a global scale, solar power generation has more than tripled in the past five years, and wind power has nearly quadrupled. The report concludes that five key policy elements help contribute to the growth in renewable energy: opening access to the power market, providing financial incentives, disseminating education and information, allowing public participation, and establishing clear industry standards and siting regulations.
Meanwhile, a report issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA) last week in Bonn claims that renewable energy still has a long way to go. The report notes that the fast-growing wind and solar energy sectors do not compensate for the slower growth in the "mature" renewable energy sources: hydropower, conventional biomass energy, and geothermal energy.
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Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative
The Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative (OWPI) is a joint project between
the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University (OSU) to
initiate and strengthen opportunities for long-term economic benefits
from wind power in the state. OWPI is funded by the Oklahoma
Department of Commerce and the University Center for Energy Research
at OSU. The OWPI Web site includes information for state policymakers
and stakeholders, as well as information on Oklahoma's wind resource.
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Pennsylvania Windmap
Pennsylvania Windmap
The PA Windmap Web site provides a complete guide to wind energy
resources in Pennsylvania. It features an interactive map program that
visitors can use to create printable wind maps. PA Windmap is
sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
and Conservation Consultants, Inc, a regional nonprofit organization
based in Pittsburgh.
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Pew Center on Global Climate Change
The objective of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change is to educate the public and key policy makers about the causes and potential consequences of climate change, and to encourage the domestic and international community to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
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Planet Energy - The Renewable Energy Trail
Planet Energy is a site designed to teach children about renewable energy technologies. Developed by the United Kindgom Department of Trade and Industy, the site provides information and resources for two separate audiences: children and their teachers.
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The Global Climate Coalition
The Global Climate Coalition is an organization of trade associations established in 1989 to coordinate business participation in the international policy debate on the issue of global climate change and global warming.
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U.K. Seeks 6,000 Megawatts of Offshore Wind Power
The United Kingdom opened three large offshore areas to wind power developers on July 14th, creating the potential to add as much as 6,000 megawatts of new offshore wind power. The U.K. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has asked the Crown Estate, which manages the U.K. sovereign lands, to invite developers to bid on leases within the three areas, all located off the shores of England. A previous request limited each offshore wind project to 30 turbines, but has resulted in 17 projects that would total 1,500 megawatts in capacity, if they are all developed. DTI has not set a size limit in the latest round and claims that some developers are interested in projects as large as 1,000 megawatts. Once developers arrange for their offshore lease, they will still need to develop detailed project proposals, conduct environmental impact statements, and apply for approval from the U.K. government.
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U.S. Wind Industry to Grow 25 Percent in 2003
The installed capacity of wind generators in the United States is
expected to grow by about 25 percent in 2003, according to the
American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The industry group expects
from 1,100 to 1,400 megawatts of new wind turbines to be installed
this year, a lower number than the 1,500 to 1,800 megawatts projected
by the association back in January. AWEA says financing difficulties
that are plaguing the entire electrical generating market are also
creating roadblocks for some wind energy projects.
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Utah Wind
The Utah Wind Web site, developed by the Utah Energy Office, features wind information for Utah residents and companies. The site includes a resource map, landowner information, workshop information, and information on its program to loan out anemometers (devices to measure wind speeds), a service sponsored by DOE's Wind Powering America Initiative.
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Voluntary Pollution Prevention at a Profit
EPA’s methane site offers information about voluntary programs to reduce emissions of methane while saving money.
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World Governments Commit to Increase Renewable Energy Use
The International Conference for Renewable Energies, or "renewables 2004" for short, ended last week with a declaration by 154 governments that renewable energy should supply an increasing portion of the world's energy needs. The conference, held in Bonn, Germany, was the largest ever meeting of government and private sector leaders on renewable energy, including more than 3,000 participants.
The conference produced an international action program that contains 165 individual commitments by governments, international agencies, and private groups to promote the use of renewable energy. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) contributed four commitments: advancing the technologies necessary to build integrated biorefineries that will produce power, heat, fuels, and products from biomass; reducing the cost of geothermal power to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2010; reducing the cost of solar photovoltaic power to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2020; and reducing the unsubsidized cost of onshore and offshore wind power in areas with good wind resources to 3 cents and 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, respectively, by 2012. The United States also committed to establishing a production tax credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour for certain renewable energy power plants.
In addition, the World Bank committed to increase its renewable energy and energy efficiency lending by at least 20 percent annually over the next five years; China pledged to increase its use of wind, solar, biomass, and small hydropower generation to 60,000 megawatts (about 10 percent of its generating capacity) by 2010; and Germany announced plans to increase its use of renewable energy to 20 percent of its energy supply by 2020. Germany will also provide 500 million Euros (about $616 million) in low-interest loans over the next five years for renewable energy projects in developing countries.
A document called "Policy Recommendations for Renewable Energy" also came out of the conference.
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 | Tools |
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Climate Change Calculator
The Climate Change Calculator allows users to input data to find out the tons of carbon dioxide emitted by individual households in a given year. The tool will calculate total emissions and the number of trees that would need to be planted to offset those emissions.
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EIA Expects Summer Gasoline Prices to Average $1.94
The outlook for summer gasoline prices worsened last week, as DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected the average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline at about $1.94 this summer. That's 18 cents higher than the EIA projected a month ago, reflecting increased pressures on the oil market. The EIA expects average U.S. gasoline prices to peak at $2.03 in June. Spot prices for crude oil averaged about $36.70 per barrel in April, and the EIA expected them to average $36 to $37 per barrel for the rest of the year. See the May 11th edition of EIA's "Short-Term Energy Outlook".
Unfortunately, EIA's report is already looking a bit optimistic. According to Platts, June crude oil futures (the benchmark price for crude oil), hit $41.38 per barrel on May 14th.
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Emissions Calculator
The emissions calculator tabulates a user's aggregate monthly emissions of seven air pollutants (in pounds) from electricity and natural gas consumption, airplane trips, and vehicle miles traveled (auto or sport utility vehicle/truck) and compares them with average national emissions. Emissions profiles may be saved and updated monthly to track performance. The site also offers suggestions on reducing emissions.
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Energy Design Tools
This website contains software developed by the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. All the software can be downloaded for free, and the site encourages sharing these tools with others. Available software includes: Climate Consultant, which graphically displays climate data in dozens of ways; Solar 5.7, which displays 3-D plots of hourly energy performance for the whole building or for any of 16 different components; and Energy Economics Primer, which aids in evaluating building energy decisions using Life-Cycle Cost Analysis, Net Benefit/Savings-To Investment Ratio, Internal Rate of Return, Discounted Payback; among others.
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Energy Star Quiz
The Energy Star Quiz provides information to help consumers quickly and easily identify lighting products, appliances, home office equipment, home theater/consumer electronics, and a range of other products that save energy, money, and help to protect the environment.
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Green Power Calculator
As certain states restructure their electricity markets, an increasing number of customers are able to choose their electricity providers. Realizing that some consumers want to reduce the pollution caused by generating their electricity, a growing number of service providers have begun offering "green power" products. The Green Power Calculator helps estimate the pollution prevention benefits of buying green power in your state.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA's Mission is to describe and predict changes in the Earth's environment, and conserve and wisely manage the Nation's coastal and marine resources. NOAA's strategy consists of seven interrelated Strategic Goals for environmental assessment, prediction and stewardship, which are presented as theme pages on their Web site.
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Solar Environmental Benefits Calculator
Using solar energy instead of fossil fuels to meet some of our energy needs can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The emissions savings depend on many factors, including where you live, the type of solar technology used, and the amount of energy provided by these technologies. The Solar Environmental Benefits Calculator helps estimate the emissions benefits of using photovoltaics, solar water heaters and solar heated swimming pools.
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The Municipal Solid Waste Factbook
The MSW Factbook is an electronic reference manual containing over 250 screens of information about household waste management practices. It contains information about the federal MSW program as well as profiles of individual state programs, and comparisons of practices in major developed nations. Tables, charts and maps display useful facts and figures about source reduction, recycling, land disposal and combustion of MSW.
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World Governments Commit to Increase Renewable Energy Use
The International Conference for Renewable Energies, or "renewables 2004" for short, ended last week with a declaration by 154 governments that renewable energy should supply an increasing portion of the world's energy needs. The conference, held in Bonn, Germany, was the largest ever meeting of government and private sector leaders on renewable energy, including more than 3,000 participants.
The conference produced an international action program that contains 165 individual commitments by governments, international agencies, and private groups to promote the use of renewable energy. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) contributed four commitments: advancing the technologies necessary to build integrated biorefineries that will produce power, heat, fuels, and products from biomass; reducing the cost of geothermal power to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2010; reducing the cost of solar photovoltaic power to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2020; and reducing the unsubsidized cost of onshore and offshore wind power in areas with good wind resources to 3 cents and 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, respectively, by 2012. The United States also committed to establishing a production tax credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour for certain renewable energy power plants.
In addition, the World Bank committed to increase its renewable energy and energy efficiency lending by at least 20 percent annually over the next five years; China pledged to increase its use of wind, solar, biomass, and small hydropower generation to 60,000 megawatts (about 10 percent of its generating capacity) by 2010; and Germany announced plans to increase its use of renewable energy to 20 percent of its energy supply by 2020. Germany will also provide 500 million Euros (about $616 million) in low-interest loans over the next five years for renewable energy projects in developing countries.
A document called "Policy Recommendations for Renewable Energy" also came out of the conference.
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