Arizona
Photovoltaic Design and Installation Workshop
During the week of February 2-7, 1998, the Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office co-sponsored a Photovoltaic Design and Installation Workshop at the Phoenix Zoo with Solar Energy International. The workshop culminated in a two-day field installation of a photovoltaic water pumping system. Discussions are ongoing concerning a follow-up seminar at the Phoenix Zoo during 1998. The seminar follows the 1997 photovoltaic workshop for park officials that was held at Red Rock State Park. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council's Park Power Workshop in a Box Program provided assistance to the Energy Office in developing its workshop series. Participants have included a mixture of local and federal officials: Arizona State Parks, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Parks, Big Bend National Park, Arizona Department of Game Fish, Grand Canyon National Park, Prescott National Forest, and various other national parks and national forests.

Contact: Gloria Castro, (602) 280-1402

Colorado
Organizations to Receive Recycling Grants
The Governor's Office of Energy Conservation (OEC) has announced that 20 organizations throughout Colorado will receive a half million dollars in grants to encourage community and regional recycling. The Regional Recycling Partnerships program will provide both financial and technical assistance to enhance Colorado's recycling infrastructure and support a wide variety of waste minimization activities including composting and source reduction and marketing and buying recycled products.

OEC encourages the formation of regional recycling groups to exchange information, ideas, and programs with private, nonprofit, and government entities. This regional approach allows communities to overcome some of the more basic obstacles to recycling such as market access, participation, and education. Some regional efforts have already resulted in cooperation to establish education programs, materials marketing, and hands-on collection efforts.

The 20 funded projects range from upgrading the regional recycling center in Durango and conducting a public awareness campaign in Fairplay to designing a recycling program in Meeker and establishing a composting program in Yuma County. On two occasions, representatives and key decision makers from each region have gathered to discuss the future of solid waste minimization in Colorado and pressing issues concerning recycling today--education, public policy, markets, funding, and statewide recycling networks. Representatives will convene three more times in 1998.

OEC has been active in solid waste minimization activities for the past decade. From 1990 to 1994, OEC awarded $2 million in Community Recycling Assistance grants to implement recycling-related activities throughout the state.

Contact: Mark Betchey, (303) 620-4292, or 1-800-OEC-6662

Florida
Fuel Cells Driving Force of Electric Vehicles
Research is bringing electric-powered cars closer to being an everyday reality on U.S. highways. The driving force inside them--fuel cells. They promise up to 80 mpg and half the emissions in vehicles capable of the same speeds, performance, and off-the-line get-up-and-go as their gas-guzzling cousins. Electric-powered vehicles have an added benefit in their potential to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

A fuel cell works like a battery. It combines hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity without combustion. Its two electrodes wrap around an electrolyte. Oxygen passes over one of the electrodes, hydrogen over the other, generating electricity for the drive motor.

Fuel cells produce power as long as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied. Unlike batteries, they don't need recharging. It's direct conversion of fuel to electricity. Hydrogen and oxygen are the fuel sources. But hydrogen is very expensive, and because its storage system is heavy, it's not very portable for use in vehicles. So other fuels--natural gas, methanol, propane, gasoline, or any others containing hydrogen--can be used to create hydrogen.

The University of Florida, with assistance from the Florida Department of Community Affairs and the Florida Energy Office, has obtained one of three fuel cell buses made for the Department of Energy to work on the problem. After repairs and energy efficiency and emissions tests, it will tour the state. The bus will be used to increase citizen awareness of alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuels for transportation.

Contact: Dr. Vernon Roan, (561) 624-4111; fax, (561) 624-4117

Iowa
Comprehensive Energy Plan Update
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has published an update to the Iowa Comprehensive Energy Plan titled, "Iowa's Progress to an Energy Wise Future." As required by statute, the DNR, on a biennial basis, updates the Iowa Comprehensive Energy Plan to document the state's progress and future plans to meet its energy efficiency and renewable energy goals. The plan evaluates the state's current direction, observes milestones that measure success, and determines potential turns and changes that could affect the state's energy picture down the road. The link between the "Three E's," energy, economy, and environment, is examined in this plan to portray Iowa's progress. If you would like a copy of the plan, please contact Julie Tack.

Contact: Julie Tack, (515) 281-8665; Julie Tack

Rebuild Hancock County: A Success Story in the Heartland
In an effort to create a more productive and sustainable community, Hancock County has embarked on a multi-year program to improve energy and water efficiency in its public, industrial, institutional, and multifamily buildings. Rebuild Hancock County represents a diverse partnership of project specialists, lending institutions, government, private sector, nonprofit groups, energy service companies, community organizations, and local contractors. This partnership provides for broad-based support of the program, as each partner both impacts and is impacted by the program's development and success. Focusing on "making their community a better place," Rebuild Hancock County:

• Provides the local labor force and distributors with the opportunity to benefit from work created,
  
• Stimulates economic development by creating and retaining jobs, and
  
• Assists local industry in becoming more competitive in the global market.

The commitment exhibited in Hancock County will ensure a sustainable program with resulting benefits for years to come.

Contact: Shawn Mallen, (515) 762-3254

Kentucky
Division of Energy Now on the Web
The Kentucky Division of Energy has a home page on the Web. The Web site features SEP program information, energy tips and links to related sites. The address is http://www.nr.state.ky.us/nrepc/dnr/energy/dnrdoe.html

Contact: Greg Filburn, (800) 282-0868

Maryland
Biomass Project to Assess Burning Chicken Manure as Energy Source
Recent headlines regarding chicken farming and its effects on the environment have caused widespread concern. New federal funds are supporting the Maryland Energy Administration's (MEA) research on the potential of using chicken litter as fuel to heat and maintain more healthful chicken house environments. This process will reduce manure application to the soil and minimize or eradicate environmental disturbances. Such a program also may help to reduce problems such as Pfiesteria.

This biomass project supports construction of a small furnace to burn chicken litter composed of manure and any bedding material (usually wood chips). The heat provided through this process will maintain temperatures; this is important even during summer months for the chicks' early growth stages. Additionally, it will fuel improved ventilation processes and reduce ammonia levels. The healthier environment should increase productivity.

A further benefit of the project is the by-product of highly concentrated phosphorus fertilizer. Instead of spreading unprocessed manure directly on the ground, contributing to environmental problems, the processed phosphorus can be sold to areas needing it elsewhere. Because the concentrated product is lighter in bulk, it is easy to transport. The project's major advantage is that it reduces further application of raw manure to already overburdened soil and reduces runoff to fragile waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.

Initial testing of the prototype furnace is near completion. Successful test results will allow the furnace to be installed on a chicken farm in Virginia's Eastern Shore. If this operation is successful, a second furnace will be tried in Maryland incorporating improvements learned from the first Virginia model. Assessment also will be made of poultry productivity using paired trials of both broiler and roaster chickens from the same genetic stock.

Contact: Charles Miller, (410) 974-2190, or 1-800-72-ENERGY (723-6374)

New York
Industries of the Future Benefit from Flextech Assistance
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) Flexible Technical (FlexTech) Assistance program helps identify cost-effective energy efficiency measures that New York businesses, schools, and municipalities can implement to reduce energy costs or increase productivity. NYSERDA is particularly interested in working within the U.S. Department of Energy's Industries of the Future program, which includes chemical, refining, forest and paper products, steel, aluminum, metal casting, and glass/ceramics. Together, these industries account for 7 percent; of all energy consumed in manufacturing in the U.S.

One glass/ceramics company in New York State is Monofrax Refractories Division of the Carborundum Corporation located in Falconer (Chautauqua County). Monofrax produces glass furnace-refractory blocks used to line glass/ceramic manufacturing kilns. The company's productivity was limited by the need to regularly treat cooling water and remove solids from sawing and grinding operations. The FlexTech study identified settling and separation treatments that will reduce solid loading in the cooling water, increasing productivity and prolonging equipment life. In addition, Monofrax will realize $369,000 in savings as a result of reduced energy, water, chemical, and maintenance costs for its equipment. More important, the new process will allow Monofrax to increase its production rate of higher-quality products.

Summit Research Labs of Huguenot (Orange County) is a chemical company producing aluminum chlorohydrate, the key ingredient in antiperspirants. The company is expanding into a new market with its product, using it as a coagulant for municipal and industrial water supplies. A NYSERDA FlexTech study identified process changes that incorporate previously unavailable heat for the chemical reactor. This simple change will save $15,000 annually in energy costs while increasing production capacity by 30 percent and allowing the company to expand into the new market.

Contact: Mark Watson, (518) 862-1090, ext. 3314; Mark Watson

Ohio
Ohio Company Receives NICE³ Grant
Governor George V. Voinovich announced that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., recently received a $400,000 federal grant to demonstrate technology that will enhance the metal machining manufacturing process, making it more energy efficient. The company, which has production facilities in Cleveland and Middletown, employs a total of 170 people in Ohio. The company received the grant for its project titled, "Demonstration of Multiple Tool Cryogenic Metal Machining Technology" through the National Industrial Competitiveness through Energy, Environment and Economics (NICE³) program. The proposal was sponsored and submitted by the Ohio Department of Development's Office of Energy Efficiency.

Air Products and Chemicals developed this project in partnership with the Edison Material Technology Center (EMTEC) in Dayton and Wright State University. The company will use the grant in conjunction with industrial partners from Ohio and other states to demonstrate the use of cryogenic material, such as liquid nitrogen, in machining operations. Metal machining is a $150 billion a year manufacturing process that affects all companies using metal components in products or manufacturing processes. The current process uses synthetic-oil-based cutting fluids for cooling. Cryogenic Metal Machining is a promising new technology that uses liquid nitrogen. Because nitrogen is an abundant atmospheric constituent, and the quantities used are small, there is no unfavorable environmental or health impact or coolant disposal costs, and chips are readily recycled. This novel approach to metal machining is laboratory-developed but has not been commercially demonstrated. The partners in the proposal will demonstrate a single tool version under industrial conditions in the near future. However, the major market for the technology is difficult multiple-tool, turret applications comprising 70 percent of the market.

The NICE³ program is designed to demonstrate new technologies that promote energy efficiency, clean production and economic competitiveness in industry. The program is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Since the program's inception in 1991, nine Ohio companies have received funding.

Contact: Amy Strauss or Gail Crawley, (614) 466-2609

Puerto Rico
Energy Affairs Administration Completes Several Projects
The Energy Affairs Administration (EAA) concluded a project of residential relamping in the municipality of Culebra. 2,400 compact fluorescent lamps replaced incandescent bulbs in 498 houses to study the rendition of compact fluorescent lamps in a typical household situation in Puerto Rico. Compact fluorescent bulbs of 22 and 17 watts are being used. Estimated savings before the relamping were 259,207 kWh or $22,126 yearly. Real savings will be measured as this year's electricity bills are compared with last year's bills. The EAA granted this project, which was developed by the Universidad Politecnica and the Frente Unido Ambiental, an environmental association.

The EAA also completed the installation of a photovoltaic system in "Isla de Mona" and a "Solar Assisted Air Conditioning and Dehumidification System" in Cabo Rojo municipality. Mona Island is a natural reserve at the west of Puerto Rico, and the photovoltaic system will provide electricity for Natural Resource Department personnel who work there. The Solar Assisted System of Cabo Rojo incorporates dehumidification and absorption methods specially developed for typical regions. A new solar collector, manufactured in Puerto Rico, was developed for this project.

A 1998 Calendar-Poster was prepared with the artwork of the twelve winners of our "Energy Drawing Contest for 6^th Grade Students." This poster contest was part of the educational activities for 1997. Activities for this year include a "Kite Contest" with the theme, "Energy Efficiency and Recycling," in conjunction with the Solid Waste Management Authority, April 26; an "Energy Recipe Contest," with the International School of Tourism, March 19, and the NEED project, concluding in May.

The Energy Affairs Administration is part of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources in Puerto Rico.

Contact: Lilly Martinez, (787) 723-3636

CONSERVATION UPDATE is a free monthly publication prepared by the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet, Division of Energy, with funding from the United States Department of Energy, to facilitate the transfer of current State Energy Program (SEP) and technical information among the states and territories. Please submit short articles that describe successful programs, solicit ideas, share reports, studies or evaluations, or announce new publications, personnel changes, office address changes, conferences, seminars and workshops. Submittals are due by the seventh of each month. Please send submittals, address corrections, or name changes to: CONSERVATION UPDATE, Division of Energy, 663 Teton Trail, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, phone (502) 564-7192, facsimile (502) 564-7484, email: landry@nrepc.nr.state.ky.us. Past issues are available upon request. For more information, contact Karen W. Landry, Editor, or John M. Stapleton, Director.

Visit the Division's Web site at www.nr.state.ky.us/nrepc/dnr/energy/dnrdoe.html

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