From samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith Sat Aug  7 18:20:04 EDT 1993
Article: 15314 of sci.energy
Newsgroups: sci.energy
Subject: Wind Energy Weekly 55 1/3
From: howard.smith@spacebbs.com (Howard Smith)
Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith
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Date: Wed, 28 Jul 93 20:15:00 -0700
Organization: Space BBS - 15 nodes - v.32bis - (415-323-4193)
Lines: 98

This message was from TGRAY@IGC.APC.ORG to HOWARD SMITH
originally in conference EMAIL
and was forwarded to you by HOWARD SMITH
                    ----------------------------------------
[The following is the electronic edition of _Wind Energy Weekly_,
Vol. 12, #555, 7.12.93, published by the American Wind Energy
Association.  For more information on the Association, contact
AWEA, 777 North Capitol Street, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20002,
USA, phone (202) 408-8988, FAX (202) 408-8536, email
3304640@mcimail.com]


UCS OUTLINES STEPS TO
FOSTER RENEWABLES

     The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a leading
environmental organization, recently published a major study,
Powering the Midwest: Renewable Electricity for the Economy and the
Environment, which concluded that wind energy is among the
renewable energy technologies holding great promise for the region.
This is one of a series of articles reprinting excerpts from the
report, by permission of UCS.

Fostering Independent Renewable Generation

     Although utilities must be a focal point of renewable energy
development, many of the most impressive advances in the field have
been made by independent developers, particularly those in
California.

     In the Midwest, however, independent power producers often
have a difficult time breaking the lock-hold that investor-owned
utilities have on power generation in some states.  Encouraging an
independent power industry in the Midwest can only benefit
consumers in the long run by creating greater competition--and it
should also benefit renewable energy by bringing more innovative
risk-takers into the business.

     The primary goal of regulators should be to remove utility
ownership as a factor in determining the viability of a renewable
energy project.  This can be done in several ways [italics added]:

o    Reduce transactional costs by creating standard contracts and
     allowing "bundling" of bids for several renewable projects.

     Many renewable energy projects are quite small--often less
     than 10 MW in size--so that costs such as legal fees and
     lengthy regulatory hearings can be a substantial part of the
     total project cost.  Requiring utilities to offer simplified,
     standard contracts for small renewable projects--including
     residential and commercial PV and wind installations--would
     help reduce these costs.  Allowing renewable energy developers
     to bundle several projects into a single bid would also be
     effective.

o    Remove unnecessary contract requirements that tend to make
     renewable energy projects more costly and risky.

     Utilities should not impose requirements on independent
     developers that they themselves would not face in constructing
     their own power plants.  Thus, utilities should avoid
     limitations on contract duration that make project financing
     more difficult, and they should not insist on terms allowing
     contracts to be reopened or suspended should the utility no
     longer want the power.  When utilities and independent power
     producers are bound only by short-term contracts, it becomes
     far more difficult for the independent producer to raise
     capital, and the payments they receive are generally very low-
     -much lower than the cost of new power plants that the
     utilities may be planning to build.

o    Modify payment structures to ease the financing of capital-
     intensive, low-operating-cost projects.

     For the typical solar and wind project, contracts should be
     designed to provide higher payments at the beginning and lower
     payments at the end.  So long as the net present value of the
     contract over its duration is equal to or less than the
     utility's long-run cost of providing power, the contract will
     meet the least-cost test.

Utility-Internal Reforms

     Aside from the other problems hindering renewable energy
development, the very organizational structure of utilities can be
an important barrier.  Usually there is no single department in a
utility charged with identifying renewable energy opportunities.
Rather, the division of utilities into marketing, generation,
transmission, and legal departments often hinders innovative
thinking on questions such as the value of distributed generation.

     Utilities interested in pursuing renewable energy more
aggressively can make this process much easier by taking several
concrete steps:

(Continued to next message)
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 þ QMPro 1.02 41-1019 þ If it wasn't for C, we'd be using BASI, PASAL and OBOL.


From samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith Sat Aug  7 18:20:12 EDT 1993
Article: 15315 of sci.energy
Newsgroups: sci.energy
Subject: Wind Energy Weekly 55 2/3
From: howard.smith@spacebbs.com (Howard Smith)
Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <6.1627.1017.0NAE4251@spacebbs.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 93 20:15:00 -0700
Organization: Space BBS - 15 nodes - v.32bis - (415-323-4193)
Lines: 100

(Continued from previous message)


o    Create a vice-president-level division charged with developing
     alternative energy sources.

     This division would act as an advocate and source of funding
     for alternative energy research and development and would also
     act to ensure that renewable resources are fairly considered
     in resource planning.

o    Create interdepartmental working groups to evaluate potential
     opportunities for renewable energy development, such as stand-
     alone dispersed generation and PV systems for grid support.

o    Explore partnerships with other groups, such as farmers and
     paper and pulp manufacturers, to develop renewable resources
     on a cost-shared, profit-shared basis.

     Unlike fossil fuels, renewable resources demand a close
     relationship between the utility and the communities supplying
     them.  Biomass energy farms, for example, will not be
     developed unless the utility assures farmers that there will
     be a long-term market for the product, and unless the farmers
     assure the utility they will not abandon production.

[Copies of Powering the Midwest are available for $15 members, $20
non-members from AWEA.  For more information or to order by
VISA/Master Card, please call (202) 408-8988; FAX (202) 408-8536.]


UK GROUP SEES MAJOR
WIND RUSH LOOMING

     Renewable energy developers will far outrun British government
expectations by proposing to install 1,100 MW of windpower over the
next two years, the environmental group Friends of the Earth (FOE-
UK) announced June 25.

     In a news release posted on the EcoNet electronic network,
FOE-UK said its projections are based on a survey by mail conducted
in May to which 33 developers responded.  It added, "Equivalent to
a 500-MW 'normal' power station, [the wind energy generated by
these projects] would supply the electricity needs of about half a
million people without the long-term environmental impacts of
traditional electricity generation--global warming, acid rain, and
nuclear waste."

     The group also said it has calculated that if all of the
projects were built, and all qualified for the price guarantees to
be provided by the government under the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation
(NFFO) program, they would generate some 230 million pounds' (US $350
million) worth of electricity annually, costing the average British
household 5 pence (US 8 cents) per week.

     As it released the survey results, FOE-UK called on the
government to "speed up the announcement and setting of a new NFFO
order for renewable energy projects.

     "While the [g]overnment has provided market support for new
renewable energy projects in 1990 and 1991, there have been no
further orders since.  As a result, the future of the fledgling
renewables industry has been effectively 'on hold' for 19 months to
date."

     The group said it expects the government to issue a new NFFO
order during the current session of Parliament, but that the order
is likely to cover only about 130 MW to 150 MW of new wind
projects, "or less than 15 percent of those uncovered by the . . .
survey."  The survey, FOE-UK added, "revealed that none of the
developers would be able to take their projects forward without a
1993 NFFO."

     Fiona Weightman, FOE-UK Renewable Energy Campaigner, urged the
government to "end [the] 'boom-bust' cycle in the renewable energy
industry . . . [by providing] . . . a clear framework for future
developments which reflects the potential . . . and its minimal
impact on consumer bills.  The current uncertainty and lack of
governmental ambition in renewables serves only to undermine the
industry and prolong environmental damage."

     FOE-UK also noted that a report issued June 22 by the
government's Energy Technology Support Unit said attitudes toward
windpower among residents near a Cornwall windfarm changed for the
better after the facility was installed:  "Only two percent of the
sample remained disapproving of windpower after the local windfarm
was built."  The report added that "many of the worries local
residents had about the wind turbines before the structures were
built have proved unfounded after they were up and functioning."

     For further information contact Fiona Weightman, Renewable
Energy Campaigner, FOE-UK, phone 011-44-71-566-1672, or Simon
Roberts, Senior Energy Campaigner, phone 011-44-71-490-0224.

     [ed. note: The full text of the FOE-UK news release is
available electronically to members of the Wind Information Network

(Continued to next message)
---
 þ QMPro 1.02 41-1019 þ If it wasn't for C, we'd be using BASI, PASAL and OBOL.


From samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith Sat Aug  7 18:20:18 EDT 1993
Article: 15316 of sci.energy
Newsgroups: sci.energy
Subject: Wind Energy Weekly 55 3/3
From: howard.smith@spacebbs.com (Howard Smith)
Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <6.1628.1017.0NAE4252@spacebbs.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 93 20:15:00 -0700
Organization: Space BBS - 15 nodes - v.32bis - (415-323-4193)
Lines: 55

(Continued from previous message)

(WIN) on EcoNet.  For information on joining WIN, contact Craig
Culp in the AWEA Washington Office.]


BONNEVILLE ANNOUNCES
15% BOOST IN RATES

     The Bonneville Power Administration announced July 3 that it
will raise electric rates by 15.5 percent on October 1.

     The federal power agency, which serves 170 utilities and large
industrial companies in the Northwest, has been experiencing
financial problems due to a drought that has reduced hydropower
production.  Bonneville's power sales have also been slow because
of a lagging regional economy.

     The rate increase, from 2.3 cents/kWh to 2.68 cents/kWh for
customer utilities, still leaves Bonneville's rates quite low, but
nevertheless presents a serious problem for some consumers in the
region, notably the aluminum industry.  Several aluminum companies
announced production cutbacks early this year because of power
shortages (see "Northwest Aluminum Producers Cut Output as Hydro
Dwindles," Wind Energy Weekly #531, January 25, 1993, p. 3).

     Northwest power planners have made cheap hydro the centerpiece
of their plans for many years, but the recent drought has
highlighted the need to develop a more diverse power system.
Abundant wind and geothermal resources in the region remain
undeveloped.


HYDROGEN ASSOCIATION
ANNOUNCES NEW BBS

     The American Hydrogen Association, which supports development
of a national energy system fueled by hydrogen, has announced the
opening of a new electronic bulletin board system (BBS) for
exchanging information.

     The Association's BBS is reachable at (415) 494-3116 with
settings of N-8-1.  For further information, contact the
Association at 210 South Siesta Lane, Suite 101, Tempe, AZ 85281,
USA, phone (602) 921-0433.


PUBLIC CITIZEN SHEDS
LIGHT ON 'NUCLEAR LEMONS'


úÿ
(continued next message)
---
 þ QMPro 1.02 41-1019 þ If it wasn't for C, we'd be using BASI, PASAL and OBOL.


From samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith Sat Aug  7 18:20:31 EDT 1993
Article: 15336 of sci.energy
Newsgroups: sci.energy
Subject: Wind Energy Weekly 555
From: howard.smith@spacebbs.com (Howard Smith)
Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!pacbell.com!barrnet.net!iserver.spacebbs.com!spacebbs!howard.smith
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <6.1629.1017.0NAE4254@spacebbs.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 93 20:29:00 -0700
Organization: Space BBS - 15 nodes - v.32bis - (415-323-4193)
Lines: 24

This message was from TGRAY@IGC.APC.ORG to HOWARD SMITH
originally in conference EMAIL
and was forwarded to you by HOWARD SMITH
                    ----------------------------------------
úÿ(Continued from last message)
     The environmental group Public Citizen announced an update on
the nation's poorest-performing nuclear power plants June 22.
Entitled "Nuclear Lemons: An Assessment of America's Worst Nuclear
Reactors," the report, now in its fourth edition, examines all
nuclear plants on the basis of several criteria and lists the 50
worst.

     "Nuclear Lemons," scheduled for release July 8, will be priced
at $40.  A data supplement will also be published that provides a
complete breakdown of the statistics used to derive the report.
The supplement is $40, or both documents may be purchased for a
combined price of $60.

     Discounts are available for activists and citizens' groups.
Send orders to Public Citizen, Publications Department - EcoNet,
2000 P Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA.  Add $1.50 per item
for first class postage (fourth class is free).
---
 þ QMPro 1.02 41-1019 þ Recursive (r‹-k–r-s‹v) adj.  See "recursive."


