U.S. Department of Energy/AMES Laboratory
Lab Will Help Develop New Class of Hydrogen-Storage Materials
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Ames Laboratory is helping to develop magnesium-based alloys that could be used in rechargeable batteries for cellular phones, power tools, and cars. Under an $8.2 million project funded through the Advanced Technology Program of the National Institute of Standards, Ames Laboratory will be one of five entities collaborating in the development of a new generation of hydrogen-storage alloys that will be lighter, less expensive, and store more hydrogen than current materials. The other four entities are Ovonic Battery Co., Crucible Research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Colorado School of Mines. As part of the agreement, Ames Lab will receive $380,000 during the next two years to find the best method for processing the new alloys into high-quality, low-cost metal powders.

Project participants say the new hydrogen storage materials could be used in rechargeable batteries that would be environmentally safer than lead-acid batteries used in cars and the nickel-cadmium batteries in power tools, cellular phones, and electronics. The special alloy powders could also be used in fuel cells for electric cars. This possibility holds great promise because hydrogen is a clean, endless supply of energy that, when burned in an oxygen atmosphere, produces water rather than the carbon dioxide and other toxic emissions produced by gasoline-powered engines.

Iowa State University operates Ames Laboratory for U.S. Department of Energy. The Lab conducts research into various areas of national concern, including energy resources, high-speed computer design, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the synthesis and study of new materials.

Contact: Vitalij Pecharsky, (515) 294-8220

Alabama
Two New Programs Underway
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), Science, Technology, and Energy Division (STED) has launched two new programs, a revolving loan program for small local governments, and lease-purchase financing for schools and hospitals. Through partnerships with federal, state, and private companies, ADECA will provide local governments, schools, and hospitals with energy efficiency financing at below market rates. The Local Government Energy Loan Program requires simple two-page energy audit and loan application forms and a Letter of Credit. Eligible for the Local Government Energy Loan Program are cities and towns with populations of up to 20,000 and county governments with populations of 50,000 or less. The population served determines local government water systems' and waste water systems' eligibility. Buildings must have been constructed before 1978 and have an average payback period of seven years or less. Maximum amount of a loan is $50,000. The loans are administered through a public/private partnership with PowerSouth (a subsidiary of the Alabama Electric Cooperative) and the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

A state workshop for partners and utility representatives and four regional workshops for local government officials were held to explain the program and provide promotional materials and application forms. Local utilities and Rural Development area offices will help promote the program around the state and distribute application packages to interested officials.

Contact: Donna Robinson, (334) 242-5332

Alabama Savings Through Analyses and Retrofits (STAR) Program
The Alabama STAR Program established by ADECA-STED is a public/private joint venture with Regions Leasing to finance energy efficiency improvements for schools and hospitals. Financing will be handled through lease-purchase agreements between Regions and tax-exempt public or nonprofit schools and hospitals. The Alabama STAR Program provides low-cost leases with 30 percent funding from ADECA-STED's revolving fund and 70 percent funding from Regions for each standard lease-purchase arrangement. For hardship case leases, ADECA-STED provides 70 percent and Regions provides 30 percent. A maximum of $250,000 is available to qualifying institutions. Buildings must have been constructed by May 1, 1989, and the average payback period cannot exceed seven years (plus one year for construction).

Contact: Linda Cooper, (334) 242-5321

Arizona
Energy Awareness Media Campaign
Radio listeners and newspaper subscribers throughout Arizona are receiving energy tips through a media campaign sponsored by the Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office. Two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Arie Luyendyk and Family Circus creator Bil Keane have teamed up with the Energy Office in two separate 30-second radio Public Service Announcements. Each PSA offers an easy-to-do energy conservation tip for listeners. A preliminary survey of the Luyendyk spot shows that more than 1.5 million listeners have heard the message about saving money and energy by keeping their automobile tires properly inflated. The public awareness campaign also includes syndicated newspaper columnist James Dulley's "Sensible Home" feature. Newspapers in the towns of Casa Grande, Sierra Vista, Lake Havasu City, and Page carry the weekly column sponsored by the Energy Office. The combined circulation of the four publications is more than 35,000.

Contact: Jim Arwood, (602) 280-1402, or email at Jim Arwood

California
Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Policy Advisory Council Formed
The California Energy Commission's Research and Development and Demonstration (RD&D) Committee has created a Policy Advisory Council as part of the Commission's PIER Program. The Policy Advisory Council will recommend methods for reaching the PIER program's goals and objectives to the RD&D Committee. Council members include environmentalists, industry participants, electricity suppliers, and university representatives. The Council's first meeting will be on June 9, 1998 at the Commission in Sacramento. Topics to be discussed include the status of the PIER Program, current and future program planning, and program evaluation. To ensure that public interest energy research continues during California's transition to a competitive electric industry, the California Energy Commission will provide approximately $62 million a year from 1998 to 2001. These funds will be made available for research projects with a strong potential to increase the reliability, cost-effectiveness, and environmental cleanliness of the state's electricity industry. For more PIER information, visit the Commission's Web site at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/research/PIER.

Contact: Claudia Chandler, (916) 654-4989

California Schools to Receive More Safe, Clean-Powered Buses
The California Energy Commission is ordering 49 buses fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG) for use by California schools. These buses could be on the road as early as this fall. The buses are part of phase four of the state's $100 million Safe School Bus Clean Fuel Efficiency Demonstration Program. Local educational agencies in Northern California will receive 27 of the buses; their counterparts in Southern California will receive 22. The all-CNG school bus purchase is the first for the program. In the first three phases, a combination of diesel, methanol, and CNG-powered buses were purchased. Phase four also marks the first time that local educational agencies have contributed voluntary matching funds of $610,000 to help defray the $6.6 million price tag for the buses. For more information visit: Katz Safe School Bus Clean Fuel Efficiency Demonstration Program from The California Energy Commission.

Iowa
Comparative Risk Project Moves Forward
In 1996, Iowa Department of Natural Resource's Energy Bureau embarked on its Comparative Risk Project. The project, which is jointly funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, has several goals:

• identify and rank risks in the areas of ecosystem health, quality of life, and public health;
  
• assess and analyze how energy choices and usage might affect these priority environmental issues;
  
• educate the public about the links between the environment, the economy and energy choices; and
  
• make recommendations on how the assessment can be used as a planning tool to formulate cost-effective policies and programs for reducing environmental risks.

The Department, in partnership with the Center of Energy and Environmental Education of the University of Northern Iowa, kicked off the project with 10 town meetings which involved communities selected to represent the state's population and geographic diversity. Common concerns expressed at those meetings centered on the following:

• water quality issues;
  
• changes in agricultural practices;
  
• consumerism/consumption in relation to waste reduction; and
  
• disposal of toxins and regulations.

Four technical committees were formed: Human Health, Quality of Life, and Ecological and Energy Choices. A Public Advisory Committee was also formed to oversee the project and complete the ranking. Three of those committees have now completed their work, and the Energy Choices report is nearing completion. Once the Energy Choices report is completed, the Public Advisory Committee will meet this summer to do a final overall ranking. Once that ranking is completed, a final report will be prepared. That report is expected to be a valuable policy document for legislators and other public officials.

The Iowa Project was recognized last year when it was selected as the winner of the ECOS Magazine Editor's Choice Award coordinated by the Council of State Governments. Only five award winners were selected nationally.

Contact: John Torbert, (515) 281-4262, or email John Torbert

Kentucky
Kentucky Begins a Rebuild America Project
The U.S. Department of Energy announced its first Kentucky Rebuild America grant in May of 1998 as a special project within the Kentucky State Energy Program. The goal of the Rebuild America program is to spur the energy-efficient retrofit of commercial, institutional, and multifamily residential buildings.

In Kentucky, the program's initial focus will be in four selected communities: the urban area of Louisville/Jefferson County and the rural communities of Berea, Hindman, and Jenkins, Kentucky. The Kentucky Division of Energy will serve as the state representative for the program. The total federal grant amount is $100,000 over a two-year period.

Contact: Geoffrey Young, (502) 564-7192

HERS Special Project Grant
The U.S. Department of Energy has notified the Kentucky Division of Energy (KDOE) that it has been awarded $15,000 (reduced from the $50,000 originally requested) under the SEP Special Projects Solicitation.

Under the two-year project, KDOE will plan, develop, and implement a Kentucky Home Energy Rating System (KyHERS). KDOE will establish the basic framework for a voluntary statewide HERS program and will serve as the HERS provider for an accredited program. KDOE will evaluate HERS issues and other states' programs, solicit the active participation of stakeholders, work with stakeholders to implement a program, and evaluate the results of these activities. KDOE will aggressively pursue a direct linkage between the KyHERS program and the evaluation, implementation, and enforcement of the Kentucky Building Code. Officials from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction have already endorsed this concept.

Contact: Greg Guess, (502) 564-7192

Maryland
Geothermal Heating & Cooling: Impressive Technology for Maryland Schools
Choptank Elementary School in Cambridge, Maryland, is the state's premier example of geothermal heat pump heating and cooling technology. In place since July 1997, the school's staff and students have experienced comfortable temperatures in both summer's heat and the coldest days of mid-winter.

The closed-loop, geothermal heat pump system is the first to be used in Maryland's public school system for heating and cooling. Projections are that the system's lifecycle cost will give a simple payback of two years compared to traditional HVAC systems. Dorchester County personnel also expect the system to save, over the next 20 years, an impressive $400,000 in energy and reduced maintenance expenses. Because of the energy consumption projections, three new Maryland schools scheduled for construction also will incorporate the technology.

The new system is an especially big hit with the teaching staff as they have the ability to control temperatures in each individual classroom. Maintenance staff appreciate not having boilers and chillers to care for and that the equipment requires much less space than conventional systems. Another positive feature is that Dorchester County high school physics students will receive real data from the school's energy consumption to analyze. With this information they can determine the system's energy and environmental benefits. The system covers a gross floor area of almost 46,000 square feet.

Choptank Elementary School received special funding from Governor Parris Glendening's Office, Delmarva Power & Light, and the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium. The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) provided technical assistance and also contributed $50,000 in U.S. DOE grant money for the construction of an information kiosk. This kiosk will show visitors how the geothermal system was designed and installed, as well as how it operates using real-time monitoring of the system's data.

For more information, call David Cronin at the Maryland Energy Administration, 1-800-72-ENERGY, or e-mail David Cronin. For on-site information, you may contact Brian Donnelly of ICS Group, Inc., (301) 847-3791; e-mail is Brian Donnelly

Contact: Suzanne Sullivan, (410) 974-3751

Nebraska
Home Weatherization Pros Coming to Nebraska In August
An estimated 400 home weatherization professionals are expected to attend a regional training conference in Omaha August 24-27. The attendees from 12 states--an area encompassing Montana to Louisiana and North Dakota to New Mexico--will be attending up to 50 different sessions where work skills can be honed and new techniques and theories learned. The federally funded weatherization program makes free energy saving improvements in the homes of needy Americans, especially the elderly. In 1997, the Energy Office made weatherization improvements in 1,255 homes in Nebraska.

The regional office of the U.S. Department of Energy selected Omaha as the conference site. An eight-member regional planning committee that will select topics and trainers for workshops at the event will aid the Energy Office. A professional conference planner will round out the events planning team. The Energy Office, the conference host, is also responsible for providing logistics and on-site support for the event. From Nebraska Energy Quarterly, Spring 1998

Contact: Pete Davis, (402) 471-2867

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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