In this Edition:

 

• Welcome to New Coalition Member
• First Colorado Legislative Briefing in 2002 Series Set for 22 February
• Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies Launched
• Arizona Legislators Launch Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus
• Coalition Members Meet With Congressman Mark Udall
• Comprehensive Renewable Energy Legislation Introduced in Colorado Legislature
• President Bush Addresses Energy Policy in State of Union Address
• Update on Federal Energy Legislation
• Interior Department Agencies to Receive Additional Renewables Funding
• Annual Energy Outlook Examines Impact of Renewables and Efficiency
• Front Range TechBiz Focuses on “Alternative Energies”
• Xcel Energy Awards Contracts for Renewable Energy Research
• Stapleton Visitor Center Opens
• Company Issues White Paper on Technology-based Transmission Solutions
• Top German Banker Challenges U.S. to Take Lead in Clean Energy Policies
• NREL Seminar to Focus on Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reduction
• Information Now Available Online for April Wind/Distributed Generation Conference

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WELCOME TO NEW COALITION MEMBER

 

Delta-Montrose Electric Association

www.dmea.com

Montrose

 

Delta-Montrose Electric Association is a national leader in marketing fuel cells, GeoExchange systems, and other emerging energy technologies.  DMEA’s Montrose building was the site of the world’s first propane fuel cell installed outside a laboratory.  It now facilitates research into improving the economics of fuel cells through the integration of GeoExchange technology for optimal heat recovery for hot water production and space conditioning.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) has contracted DMEA for a pioneering fuel cell/GeoExchange demonstration project in California.  Extensive media coverage of DMEA includes coverage in "Business Week" and Scientific American’s “Fuel Cell Industry Report.”

 

 

FIRST LEGISLATIVE BRIEFING OF YEAR SCHEDULED FOR 22 FEBRUARY

—Topics to Include Bio-lubricants and Potential of Carbon Emission Trading

 

The Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies is pleased to announce the first in its 2002 briefing series for the Colorado Legislature’s Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus.  This briefing will take place on Friday, 22 February at 7:30 a.m. in the State Capital’s Legislative Services Building Room A and feature coalition members Agro Management Group and NatSource.

 

Agro Management Group of Colorado Springs will speak about its environmentally benign oilseed-based motor oil, which provides dramatic reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants and volatile organic compounds.  The company has recently finished a three-year bench and field trial with the United States Postal Service and will discuss this and

 

NatSource, a leading over-the-counter broker of energy products with an office in Boulder, will discuss its programs that help companies deal with and take advantage of uncertainty in the energy field.  In particular, the company will show the benefits of pollutant emissions credit trading and demonstrate how a vigorous market in carbon dioxide can benefit the U.S. economy and the environment alike.

 

 

ARIZONA COALITION FOR NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHED

—New Coalition Modeled on Colorado Coalition

 

On 11 January, 16 Arizona companies and non-profit organizations joined together to launch the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies.  Modeled on the Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies, the new Arizona coalition will seek to promote awareness of its members’ new energy technologies to policymakers, business leaders, the academic community, the media and other opinion leaders throughout Arizona.

 

The group’s honorary advisory board includes former U.S. Representatives Matt Salmon (R-Scottsdale) and Karan English (D-Flagstaff), who demonstrated strong support for clean new energy technologies through their work in Congress.  The coalition’s Arizona representative is Michael Neary, executive director of the Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association. 

 

The first event of the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies will be a briefing by several of its business members at the state capitol in Phoenix during the legislature’s 2002 session.  It will be conducted under the auspices of the Arizona Legislature’s new Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators formed in mid-January (see next story).

 

For more information on the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies, contact Craig Cox or Michael Neary.

 

Members of the Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies (including three new members since the coalition’s launch):

 

A-C-E Builders, Inc. (Kingman), Air Engineering A/C and Heating (Scottsdale), BP Solar Corporation (Scottsdale), Bergey WindPower, CH2M Hill (Tempe), Community of Civano (Tucson), Deluge, Inc. (Phoenix), Enron Wind Corp., ETA Engineering Inc. (Tempe), First Solar (Scottsdale), Global Solar Energy, Inc. (Tucson), Kinko’s (locations throughout Arizona), NativeSUN (Kykotsmovi), Natural Lighting Company, Inc. (Phoenix), SolarFarms, Inc. (Phoenix), Southwest Windpower (Flagstaff), Universal Entech, LLC (Phoenix), URS Corporation (Phoenix, Tucson), Versar, Inc. (Tempe).

 

 

ARIZONA LEGISLATORS LAUNCH RENEWABLES AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY CAUCUS

—Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Grows Rapidly in First Few Weeks

 

Four Arizona state legislators launched the Arizona Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus on 15 January.  State Senators Scott Bundgaard (R-Glendale) and Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe), along with Representatives Randy Graf (R-Green Valley) and Debra Norris (D-Sells) invited their colleagues to join this caucus to learn more about new developments in renewable and efficient energy technologies.

 

Representatives Laura Knaperek (R-Tempe) and Tom O’Halleran (R-Sedona) were the first legislators to join this new caucus, and have since been joined by Senator Ed Cirillo (R-Sun City West) and Representatives Mark Anderson (R-Mesa), Meg Burton Cahill (D-Tempe), Eddie Farnsworth (R-Gilbert), Karen Johnson (R-Mesa), Russell Pearce (R-Mesa), Gary Pierce (R-Mesa) and Ed Poelstra (R-Tucson).

 

This new caucus will provide information to its members and to other interested legislators on clean renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies through briefings, visits and other methods.  The new Arizona Coalition for New Energy Technologies will help support the activities of the legislature’s Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus.

 

For more information on the Arizona Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus, contact Craig Cox or Michael Neary.

 

 

COALITION MEMBERS MEET WITH CONGRESSMAN MARK UDALL

 

Members of the Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies met with Congressman Mark Udall in his Westminster office on 7 January.  In a productive 90-minute meeting, coalition members received an update on Congressman Udall’s activities on behalf of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies in the U.S. Congress.  Congressman Udall, a strong advocate of clean energy technologies and co-chair of the U.S. House Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus, said he would continue his advocacy in the new session of Congress and explored potential areas of cooperation with the coalition and its members.

 

 

COLORADO LEGISLATORS INTRODUCE COMPREHENSIVE RENEWABLE ENERGY BILL

—“Colorado Renewable Energy Act” Introduced by Rep. Plant and Sen. Phillips

 

State Representative Tom Plant (D-Nederland) and State Senator Terry Phillips (D-Louisville) have introduced comprehensive new legislation that would create a state renewable portfolio standard (5% in 2003, increasing one percent per year to 12% in 2012 and beyond), along with a system benefit charge and net metering provisions.

 

This legislation, HB 1202, has been referred to the State House Committees on Transportation & Energy and Information & Technology.  The bill is scheduled to be heard before the House Transportation and Energy Committee on 7 February.

 

If enacted, Colorado would join 12 other states (Arizona, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin) in having a minimum renewable energy standard.  In addition, 19 states have a system benefit charge and 34 states have net metering policies.

 

For a copy of HB 1202, visit:

http://www.leg.state.co.us/2002a/inetcbill.nsf/fsbillcont/
0ED59514393B84BC87256B17004E697B?Open&file=1202_01.pdf.

 

Other legislation dealing with energy efficiency and renewable energy policies is expected to be introduced in the legislature within the next few weeks and updates will be provided in future Updates.

 

 

BUSH ADDRESSES ENERGY POLICY IN STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

 

In his State of the Union message Tuesday night, President George W. Bush re-emphasized his support for passage of energy legislation in the Senate this year.  In his remarks, the president said “good jobs…depend on reliable and affordable energy.  This Congress must act to encourage conservation, promote technology, build infrastructure, and it must act to increase energy production at home so America is less dependent on foreign oil.”

 

 

UPDATE ON FEDERAL ENERGY LEGISLATION

 

Energy Policy Act of 2002

 

The United States Senate is poised to consider the Energy Policy Act of 2002 (S. 1766) in late February.  Details on this bill, which includes a number of clean-energy provisions, including a 10-percent national Renewable Portfolio Standard, were included in the coalition Update of 20 December 2001.  A comprehensive analysis of this legislation and its impacts of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies is available from the Renewable Energy Policy Project at http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/binaries/repp_epact_full.doc.

 

 

Federal Farm Bill

 

As detailed in the coalition Update of 16 November 2001, the U.S. Senate’s farm bill has a number of new provisions designed to enhance rural development through agricultural-based new energy technologies.  This legislation includes new funded programs to support rural wind power, biomass energy, hydrogen fuel cell, and energy efficiency development and implementation.

 

According to the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center, this legislation (S. 1731) is due to be considered by the full Senate next week.

 

 

BLM AND USGS TO RECEIVE INCREASED RENEWABLE ENERGY FUNDING IN FY 2003

 

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has announced that two Interior Department agencies -- the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) -- will receive increased renewable energy funding in the President's FY 2003 budget proposal.  The preview of a small part of the department's budget proposal, which will be released in full by the White House and the secretary on Feb. 4, came during a tour of a wind energy site on BLM land outside Palm Springs, Calif. Norton and Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles took the tour as part of the Bush Administration's efforts to expand solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy on public lands.

 

[from Jack Stone e-mail and Department of Interior press release]

 

 

FUTURE U.S. ENERGY USE DEPENDS ON EFFICIENCY, RENEWABLES

—Annual EIA Report Looks at Impact of Renewables and Efficiency on Demand

 

U.S. energy demand is expected to increase 32 percent from 2000 to 2020, according to DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA), but the forecast could change with faster or slower penetration of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.  That conclusion is part of the EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2002, released in late December.

 

Energy efficiency is measured at the national level by "energy intensity," that is, the amount of energy used per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP).  The EIA reference case -- often referred to as the "business as usual" case -- already projects a steady decline in energy intensity of 1.5 percent per year through 2020 due to energy efficiency technologies.  But a more rapid development and market penetration of these technologies could lower the U.S. energy demand in 2020 by 6 percent compared to the EIA reference case.

 

The EIA report also examined the effect of extending the production tax credit, which expired at the end of 2001, to the end of 2006.  The report also assumed the tax credit eligibility would be expanded – it currently applies only to wind power and biomass facilities that draw on dedicated energy crops, but the EIA assumed it would be expanded to include all biomass and landfill gas facilities.  That change would boost the production of electricity from renewable energy by nearly 50 percent by 2020 -- increasing from the reference case projection of 15,000 megawatts to a total of about 22,000 megawatts.

 

[from EIA press release summarized in EREN Network News of 9 January 2002]

 

 

FRONT RANGE TECHBIZ LOOKS AT “ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES”

—Special Section Focuses on New Technologies, Policies

 

Front Range TechBiz, the “Journal of Colorado’s Innovation Economy, published a special section on “Alternative Energies” in its 24 December issue.  It included an article by Colorado Senate President Stan Matsunaka (D-Loveland) outlining some of his energy policy plans for the 2002 legislative session.  An article by Craig Cox describes Colorado’s leadership role in clean new energy technologies and takes a brief look at state and federal energy policies.

 

 

NREL, COMMUNITY POWER CORP. AWARDED XCEL ENERGY CONTRACTS FOR RENEWABLE RESEARCH

 

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been selected to perform three research projects, worth $2.8 million, as part of a program to advance renewable energy that is funded by Xcel Energy.

 

The awards are part of NREL's ongoing effort to seek out new and needed areas of research and development and extend the lab's reach through partnerships with companies, universities and other organizations.

 

One project is to develop a filter that can remove potential pollutants from systems that produce energy from biomass.  NREL will manage that $639,000 contract, with coalition member Community Power Corp. of Littleton and MagStar Technologies of Hopkins, Minn., working as subcontractors.

 

A second project is for $935,000 in NREL research on a solid state Titania solar cell.

 

A third project, in which the Colorado School of Mines is prime contractor and NREL is the subcontractor, is to develop new electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.  That contract totals $1.1 million.

 

"Xcel Energy is excited about the potential for these research projects to result in significant leaps forward in our understanding of new renewable energy technologies," said John Lupo, manager for Xcel's Renewable Development Fund.

 

A 1994 Minnesota state law established the Renewable Development Fund, which seeks to benefit research and development of renewable energy through payments from utilities with nuclear power facilities in that state.

 

"Our national lab is pleased to have this opportunity to work with Xcel, the Colorado School of Mines and innovative research and development companies in these important endeavors," said Stan Bull, NREL associate director.

 

[from NREL press release of 3 January]

 

 

STAPLETON VISITOR CENTER OPENS

 

Melissa Knott of coalition member Forest City Stapleton reports that the Stapleton Visitor Center opened to the public on 12 January.  She notes that the visitor center is a 5,000-square foot multi-use building with a clear span, steel framed design with energy efficient materials that include special window glazing, insulated building panels and carpeting made of recycled materials.

 

Currently located at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Syracuse Street, Melissa adds that the building can be "deconstructed" and moved to a new location for future re-use. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and interested parties can call 303-355-9600.

 

 

WHITE PAPER ISSUED ON TRANSMISSION SOLUTIONS

—Technology Solutions and Regulatory Reforms Urged for Power Grid

 

In a recent white paper entitled “Making Power Markets Work,” American Superconductor Corporation of Westborough, Mass., addresses the crisis in power transmission issues and presents timely, technology-based solutions and policy recommendations.  As authors John Howe and Jeff Nestel-Patt point out, “power transmission issues are proving to be the chief obstacle to the emergence of a robustly competitive marketplace in electricity that would drive lower consumer prices and improve reliability. Unfortunately, much of the current debate surrounding transmission focuses on institutional and governance issues. Hidden from view is the very real problem of serious physical constraints and bottlenecks in the current transmission system.”

 

Today's political and social environment makes it difficult or impossible to solve these problems with conventional approaches. ``Making Power Markets Works'' explains how new technology-based solutions and supportive regulatory reforms can expand the capacity and flexibility of today's power grid, promoting better reliability and more effective competition without environmental impact.

 

This paper is available for free download at American Superconductor’s website at http://www.amsuper.com/press/2002/MakingPowerMarketsWork.pdf.

 

 

“U.S. INDUSTRY CAN'T IGNORE AN ENERGY-CONSCIOUS WORLD”

—Leading German Banker Challenges U.S. to Take International Lead

 

Norbert Walter, chief economist of Deutsche Bank Group, writes in the 11 January 2002 issue of Christian Science Monitor that Americans typically pay little attention to the environmental impacts of their energy use, noting that “politics is primarily responsible for the U.S.'s pronounced appetite for energy.”  Walter points out that “[c]heap energy has traditionally been an objective of U.S. policy, and the environment has taken a back seat.

 

However, in the medium term, Walter says that Americans are likely to pay more attention to environmental issues, claiming that “U.S. industry will be compelled sooner or later to use energy more efficiently in both production processes and products.”  He points out that “U.S. manufacturers realize that investments to reduce energy consumption pay off relatively quickly, especially since energy prices are scarcely likely to decline in the medium to long term. For that reason, some American companies are already much more farsighted on environmental protection and energy policy than are the politicians and some old-fashioned vested interests in industry.”

 

In conclusion, Walter asks, “isn't it about time Washington also changed policies to encourage greater energy savings and took up the challenge to become an international leader on environmental issues?”

 

From article in Christian Science Monitor, 11 January 2002

 

 

Upcoming Events:

 

 

BROWN-BAG SEMINAR ON VOLUNTARY POLICIES TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES

—Washington event to be Simulcast at Golden Videoconference

 

As part of its ongoing Energy Analysis Seminar Series, NREL invites interested persons to attend a Brown Bag Seminar (in Washington, D.C.) and Golden videoconference on Voluntary Policies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases:  A Preliminary Review of the Evidence by Eric W. Welch.  Eric Welch is an assistant professor in the Graduate Program in Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  The brown-bag videoconference will take place at 10:00 a.m. (Mountain Time) at NREL’s Golden offices.

 

For more information on this event, contact NREL’s Wanda Addison.  To RSVP for the Golden videoconference, e-mail Trinity Maestas or call 303-384-7439.

 

 

2002 WIND AND DISTRIBUTED ENERGY WORKSHOP

—"Colorado Wind and Distributed Energy:  Renewables for Rural Prosperity" Information Now Available On-line

 

On 8-9 April, the Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) will present a major wind and distributed generation workshop, "Colorado Wind and Distributed Energy:  Renewables for Rural Prosperity," at the Denver Renaissance Hotel on 8-9 April (see Update of 20 December 2001).

 

In addition, a special pre-conference “Colorado Sustainable Living Roundup” at Stapleton’s Urban Farm on Sunday, 7 April will provide hands-on chances to see many of the conference’s featured technologies in action.

 

Information on this conference is now available on-line at OEMC’s website at http://www.state.co.us/oemc.

 

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This newsletter is circulated to members of the Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies and other interested parties.  Please let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the distribution list.

 

Additional member-only updates are provided to coalition members as events warrant.  If your business or non-profit organization is interested in coalition membership, I would be happy to provide information upon request.

 

The Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies is preparing to launch a web site in the near future and looks forward to providing links to other appropriate web sites.

 

Please continue to keep in touch on any matters related to energy issues and let me know if I can provide any help or information to you.

 

Craig Cox

Executive Director

Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies

303-679-9331

coxcraig@att.net

 

The Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies brings together businesses and non-profit groups to encourage environmentally responsible economic growth through the efficient use of Colorado’s abundant and clean sources of energy.