The State Department announced in early October that the U.S. government will host an international renewable energy conference in Washington, D.C., from March 4th through March 6th, 2008. The Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) 2008 will be the third global ministerial-level conference on renewable energy, following similar events in Beijing, China, in 2005 and in Bonn, Germany, in 2004. WIREC 2008 will be an international platform for government, private sector, and non-governmental leaders to jointly address the goal of advancing renewable energy.  See the WIREC 2008 and the Trade Show at WIREC Web sites.

Meanwhile, the 2007 Energy Efficiency Global Forum & Exposition is coming to our nation's capital next month. Called "EE Global" for short, the inaugural forum and exposition will showcase the potential for energy efficiency to create a sustainable energy future for our world. The forum will include four plenary sessions and 36 concurrent executive dialogue sessions, while the expo will be held in a 40,000-square-foot exhibit hall. The event runs from November 11th through the 14th, and on November 11th, the exhibition floor will be open to the public for a $10 admission fee, with children under 12 admitted for free. This "public day" will also feature six seminars on energy efficiency, including a show for kids and a discussion of the District of Columbia's plan to reduce its carbon emissions. See the EE Global Web site.


DOE and EPA Tackle Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

DOE announced last week that it has selected three projects for the large-scale demonstration of geologic carbon dioxide sequestration.  Subject to congressional appropriations, DOE plans to invest $197 million in the projects over the next decade, while the total cost of the projects is expected to be $318 million. See DOE press release.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to develop regulations for carbon dioxide sequestration. The EPA rules will be designed to ensure there is a consistent and effective permit system under the Safe Drinking Water Act for commercial-scale geologic sequestration programs.  See EPA press release.


Oct. 16, 2007


C TRADE, Philippines/PADCO Wins 4 year/$4 million USAID Grant to develop waste-to-energy solutions in the Philippines.


Oct. 15, 2007

Storing Solar Power Efficiently

Thermal-power plants that store heat for cloudy days could solve some of the problems with solar power. 
By Peter Fairley on MIT Technology Review

Nuclear Energy Revs Up

NRG Energy kicks off an expected rush of nuclear-reactor applications.
By Peter Fairley on MIT Technology Review


Oct. 10, 2007

Solar Decathalon Nears End of Assembly Phase, Prepares to Open 

The assembly of 20 solar homes on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is quickly approaching completion, as the 2007 Solar Decathlon prepares to open to the public on Friday. The Solar Decathlon is an international event in which DOE challenges university teams to design and build homes that run entirely on solar energy. The teams ship their partially constructed homes to the National Mall, assemble them, and then compete in ten contests, including architecture, engineering, market viability, communications, comfort, appliances, water heating, lighting, power generation, and the ability to get around in small electric cars that are powered by the houses. See the Solar Decathlon's "Contests and Scoring" page.


DOE Kicks off Change a Light, Change the World Campaign

October 3rd marked the start of the 2007 Change a Light, Change the World campaign. DOE kicked off the event at Wasatch Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Utah, where students and the community were encouraged to change at least one light bulb in their house to an ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) kicked off a 20-day, 10-city national bus tour. The Change a Light, Change the World campaign encourages all U.S. residents to take simple steps to help conserve energy and pledge to change at least one bulb in their home to a CFL. More than 500,000 people have already taken the online pledge to use CFLs. See the DOE and EPA press releases.


Sept. 24, 2007

On October 3, Arizonans will join the nation in an effort to reduce energy usage by switching at least one standard light bulb in their home to a compact fluorescent light (CFL).  October 3 is the Energy Star Change a Light, Change the World day.

Energy Star estimates that if every Arizona household  changed one 75-watt bulb to a 20-watt CFL, the result would be nearly $9.8 million in annual energy savings.  Nearly 20% of our nation's residential electricity goes toward lighting; it's one of the easiest areas for all of us to save.

In the next week you'll learn about special offers from your energy provider, home improvement stores, and even supermarkets that will drop prices in some CFL products to less that a dollar per light.

Find more energy saving tips in the Energy Office section of the Commerce website:
http://www.azcommerce.com/Home


Sept. 17, 2007

Caliornia Utility Presses for New Electricity Link with Arizona

[Tucson Citizen web site, Sept. 11] Phoenix - A major California utility trying to shore up its sources of electricity isn't given up its fight to build a new major transmission line despite Arizona regulators' attempt to short-circuit the project. The 230-mile high-voltage line would make it easier for Southern California Edison, a utility serving most of Southern California, to import electricity available from natural gas-fueled "merchant" generating plants in Arizona.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/62581.php


Sept. 12, 2007

EUEC Early Bird Registration and Abstract Deadline Extended to Sept. 30

Register for EUEC 2008 - Register for one of the top technical and networking conferences in the U.S. at a reduced rate of $595 for the month of September.