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May 2006 | Home · Event Calendar · Getting Here · Contact Us | ||||
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Upcoming EventsLunch & Learn: Effective Daylighting Nuclear Power Workshop Specifying Green View a complete calendar of upcoming events. News BitsGas Platform Powered by Renewables. The world's first gas platform powered solely by two wind turbines and a pair of solar panels began pumping gas in April. Owned by Shell and Exxon Mobil unit Esso, the unmanned platform is located in the UK's southern North Sea and is expected to produce about 3 million cubic feet a day of natural gas for the next 15 years. - More Info - Dust to Dust Lifetime Value of Vehicles. A study conducted by CNW Marketing Research listed the Toyota Scion xB to be the least energy expensive vehicle at $0.48 cents per mile. Energy cost per mile was measured based on energy used to plan, build, sell, drive and dispose of a vehicle from initial concept to scrappage, simply called "Dust to Dust." This includes plant to dealer fuel costs, employee driving distances, electricity usage per pound of material used in each vehicle and hundreds of other variables. The Mercedes Maybach was the most energy expensive vehicle at $11.58 per mile. - More Info - Showcasing History and Technology. In its 33rd annual showcase, the San Diego Historical Society is presenting a home that combines history and state-of-the-future energy technology. This year's showcase home dates back to the early 1920s and was originally part of Rancho San Dieguito. It was also owned by actor Danny Kaye at some point. Current owners recently completed a meticulous restoration that included the installation of a 10- kW solar power system. The house will be open for tours from April 30 to May 29. - More Info - Borrego Springs Zero Energy Home Clarum Homes hosted a preview event of its Borrego Springs Zero Energy Demonstration Project on April 25. It included a tour of the four demonstration homes that are constructed with sustainable building products, generate their own electricity with photovoltaic systems, and reduce energy consumption by up to 90% with other energy efficient features. The homes will be measured for energy performance over the next 12 months with project data to be shared through the project's website. - More info - Tech TipThermostatic Expansion Valves (TXV's or TEVs) provide improved performance over a wider range of operating conditions, extend compressor life, and reduce energy use and costs. Recent field studies show 75% of central residential and light commercial air conditioning systems may be improperly charged. HVAC service technicians are not frequently called to inspect such systems, and when they arrive on a service call, they do not always verify an over- or under-charge condition of the cooling refrigerant. According to the EPA, improper refrigerant charge often lowers air conditioner efficiencies by 5% to 20%. Put into perspective, a TXV valve installed on new equipment helps ensure operating efficiencies in line with what they paid for. A TXV meters refrigerant flow to the evaporator coil (located inside for a split-system, or contained in an outside unit for a packaged system). Standard factory-installed refrigeration control consists of a fixed size orifice metering device, whereas a TXV automatically adjusts to changing cooling conditions. You can determine if your unit contains a TXV by looking for a brass valve device connected to the evaporator coil coming from the condenser. Replacing a factory-installed metering device on a packaged unit with a TXV is not recommended as it might void the warranty. A TXV adds about $40 to $70 to the cost of a new factory unit, or $100 to $200 if installed later by an HVAC contractor. It is not uncommon for an undercharged system to realize $60 to $80 per cooling season in cost savings.
Quotables“The bottom line is that the power produced by small wind farms is worth more to the system than power from large centralized wind plants, by at least 5%, and perhaps 10%. The conventional thinking in the wind industry is that large projects gain substantial economies of scale. With electricity prices lower in North America than in Europe, perhaps wind needs these economies of scale to compete with other generation sources. ... So why do large projects dominate the North American market? The answer can be found in artificial economies of scale resulting from nearsighted government polices” -- Glen Estill, President & Founder, Sky Generation
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| Status on Renewable Energy ProductionRenewable Portfolio Standards ( RPS) or "targets" to get a percentage of power from renewable sources have now been adopted by 23 states. With the first RPS adopted by Iowa in 1983, it bears asking what kind of growth the various renewable energy sources have experienced and how much of our total electricity production comes from renewable energy. Conference "Bets" on RenewablesA conference on renewable energy feels out of place in Las Vegas. After all, it seems like every casino uses enough electricity to power a small planet. The Luxor pyramid "sky beam" alone uses about 300,000 watts. With all its excesses on display, Las Vegas served to remind attendees at "PowerGen Renewable Energy & Fuels" last April of our enormous appetite for energy. Energy News Briefs
Renewable Energy Production (cont.)Leading the nation with the most aggressive renewable portfolio standard is California with a goal of going 20% renewable by 2010, followed closely by New York with 24% by 2013 and Nevada with 20% by 2015. And although states have gotten more aggressive with their targets, energy production from renewable sources has declined in the United States over the past two decades.
As of December 2005, renewable energy contributed 8.8% to total electricity production compared to 8.9% two decades ago. Contributing to the decline is a reduction in biomass and hydropower, the latter of which saw a decrease of 8.6% from 1995 to 2005 due to cost, regulations and site availability. But both are still the leading renewable energy sources in the United States. Biomass accounts for 46% of renewable energy production while hydropower accounts for 45%; both combined contribute about 8% to the nation’s total electricity production. Making up for the decline in biomass and hydropower is the rise in solar and wind power, which experienced the most growth over the past 20 years. Wind power grew from less than 0.01% of total renewable energy production in 1985 to 2.8% in 2005. According to the American Wind Energy Association, wind generating capacity is now at 9,149 MW or enough to power 2.3 million homes. Solar electric or photovoltaic ( PV) installations, on the other hand, have become increasingly popular due to tax credits, incentives and their small-scale installation adaptability. In 2005, PV installations reached approximately 120 MW, growing over 20% compared to 2004. Also showing growth is geothermal energy, the third largest source of renewable energy, making up 5.8% of renewable energy production and contributing about half a percent to total electricity production. On a local level, SDG&E aims to supply 20% of the region’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010. So far, the utility has more than 12% renewables under contract. As of February 2006, a total of 9% of SDG&E’s power mix is from “eligible” renewable energy sources: 4% biomass and waste, 3% wind, 1% geothermal, less than 1% solar, and less than 1% small hydroelectric. The remainder of the utility’s power comes from the following non-renewable energy sources: 54% natural gas, 17% nuclear, 13% coal, and 7% large hydroelectric power, which California doesn’t classify as renewable. Although renewable energy continues to play a small part in total electricity production, consumers, manufacturers and politicians are taking notice of its potential, for it represents a growing supply of non fossil-fuel based power production that is better for the environment. Renewables also help guard against the continued rise of electricity and gas rates, foster local job development and, in many cases, can be installed on-site. Although it still has a long way to go, renewable energy is seen as a critical component for a secure energy future. - TOP - Conference (cont.)Sponsored by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), PowerGen featured a broad range of workshops covering everything from national energy policies to the latest updates on ethanol technologies, plus exhibits from many of the major players in the renewable energy market. Of special interest to those of us from SDREO were discussions about renewable portfolio standards, renewable energy credits (RECs), carbon trading, and new technologies for wind, wave, hydrogen and solar. PowerGen turned out to be a great opportunity to access a broad spectrum of opinions and viewpoints. Several of the panel discussions featured utility executives, environmentalists, manufacturers and politicians side-by-side -- each having a unique angle on the same subject. Sometimes they agreed, often there were sharp differences of opinion on costs, policies and technologies. PowerGen certainly showed that the path to renewability is not straightforward. For example, a workshop on REC Market Development detailed next year's pending roll-out of WREGIS (Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System) and how it will issue and track RECs for 11 western states and two Canadian provinces. The workshop also explored the challenges in REC trading and valuation due to Interstate disparities in renewable portfolio standards and penalties. Even among the panelists, who were all generally supportive of RECs as a good approach to "monetizing" renewables, there were major disagreements over how successful they would be at ultimately modifying utility and consumer power purchasing behavior. Several presentations were valuable in explaining some of the more obscure ramifications of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 -- especially with respect to ethanol, biodiesel and transportation fuel policies and initiatives. This conference is highly recommended for anyone interested in renewable energy. Those interested in making plans for next year's event can visit the PowerGen Renewable Energy 2007 website. - TOP - Energy Briefs (cont.)California Partners With Wyoming. California and Wyoming are jointly pursuing federal approval and funding for FutureGen, a DOE initiative to build the world's first integrated sequestration and hydrogen production research power plant. The $1 billion project intends to create the world's first zero-emissions fossil fuel plant by using the technology Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC). Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to create a joint task force of experts from both states to help Wyoming get approval for the project. The task force will also explore opportunities to develop Wyoming's renewable resources such as wind power. DWR Awarded More Than $70 Million. An independent arbitration panel awarded the California Department of Water Resources more than $70 million in damages from Sempra Generation. The panel ruled that Sempra had acted in bad faith and breached multiple operational aspects of its long-term energy contract with the Department. The 10-year agreement with Sempra is one of the largest in DWR’s portfolio of long-term energy contracts that it entered into in May 2001 as a result of the electricity crisis. Once-Through Cooling Process Discouraged. On April 18, the State Lands Commission approved a resolution that discourages California power plants from using seawater to cool electric generating systems, a process called once-through cooling. Existing power plants seeking lease extensions and permits to upgrade their facilities may be required to install alternative, environmentally superior cooling technology. The Commission has jurisdiction over tidelands where 12 of the state's 22 coastal power plants operate, including the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station at the northern end of Camp Pendleton and the Encina Power Station in Carlsbad. Palomar Energy Center Opens. A ceremony unveiling the first power plant to be built in the county since 1960 was held on April 19. Built in a ravine to minimize noise and lower its profile, the Palomar Energy Center generates about 550 MW of energy or enough to power about 360,000 homes. Present at the ceremony were California Public Utilities Commission ( CPUC) President Michael Peevey, Sempra Energy Chairman and CEO Donald E. Felsinger, and SDG&E Chairman and CEO Edwin A. Guiles. Investing in San Onofre Station. SDG&E opted to invest $142 million to replace old equipment in the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station where it has a 20% ownership stake; SDG&E receives a comparable share of its output, or about 430 megawatts. The utility's hopes of an agreement to simply purchase power from the plant instead of investing were dashed when an arbitrator ruled that if SDG&E failed to invest in the new equipment, it would forfeit its entire stake. The other option was to build a new power plant, which was also considered and rejected. SDG&E filed its plan to invest with the CPUC whose approval is required before it can raise and allocate the funds. - TOP -
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Four-State Transmission Line. The governors of California, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming last month signed an agreement to pursue a $3.3-billion project called the 
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