California
Energy-Water Connection Goes On Line: The California Energy Commission has added a home page on the Internet for energy-conscious water professionals. Called the Energy-Water Connection, it is part of Access Energy, the Energy Commission's Internet site. The Energy-Water Connection offers information on energy management for municipal and wastewater facilities, including sections on energy efficiency opportunities, how to create an energy management program, and incentives to encourage employees to generate cost-saving ideas. The Energy-Water Connection also features three databases which can be searched online. Users can look up publications, fact sheets or trade journal articles on variable speed drives, aeration improvements or other subjects on water or wastewater energy management. A calendar lists energy-related workshops, seminars and major trade association conferences, while a networking database allows users to locate contacts in the water or wastewater industry with experience with specific energy efficiency improvements. Links to other water-related Web sites make it a great place for on-line water professionals to begin their quest for information. The Energy-Water Connection was created to provide a single information source for the variety of resources that were previously scattered and difficult to locate. For those not yet on the Internet, information is also available by calling the Energy-Water Connection Hotline at (916) 654-4070.

Contact: Bruce Ceniceros, (916) 653-1590 or E-Mail address: effserv@energy.ca.gov

Florida
Energy Resource Directory: The University of Florida's Energy Extension Service (FEES) has perfected a database called the Energy Resource Directory (ERD). The ERD is a database which contains retrievable bibliographic information about energy-related educational media items such as fact sheets, CD-ROM entries, displays, videos, slide-tape sets, and newsletters. All information that is available from the FEES and the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) is in the ERD database. Its easy-to-use, colorful screens and detailed classification and search system allow the user to locate specific information quickly. The information contained in the database includes the subject matter, when it was produced, where it is located, and how it can be obtained. The ERD requires a 386/486 based PC with 2 MB RAM and 3.5 MB of hard disk space. It is a stand-alone software package with an automatic install program.

Contact: Dr. Michael K. West, (904) 392-5886

Hawaii
UH-Hilo to Slash Energy Consumption: A performance contracting project spearheaded by the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism's Energy Division will allow the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH-Hilo) to cut its annual energy bill by $500,000 and trim its annual energy consumption by 1.4 million kilowatt hours, saving taxpayers approximately $5 million over the next ten years while maintaining the comfort of the staff and students. Johnson Controls of Hawaii was selected through an open competition which sought qualified proposals. Under this contract, Johnson Controls will finance, design, install, and maintain a turnkey energy efficiency project that includes campus-wide lighting retrofits, air conditioning modifications, an energy management system, and cogeneration for the main campus. The future savings from the retrofit will be used to pay for the project. The project allows businesses and government agencies to implement various energy-saving measures with no up-front capital costs. Energy devices and technologies can be installed at a time convenient to the facility with little disruption to day-to-day operations. The contractor bears the risk for equipment performance and there is a strong incentive for ongoing preventive maintenance.

Contact: Elizabeth Raman, (808) 587-3806

Island Architecture Seminar: A non-credit evening seminar for home builders and design professionals was offered in Hilo on October 4. The instructor, Virginia Macdonald, AIA, specializes in residential and small office designs that minimize energy consumption by incorporating low-cost natural ventilation and daylighting techniques. The seminar was co-sponsored by the Hawaii Energy Extension Service and the University of Hawaii at Hilo's College of Continuing Education and Community Service. The Hawaii Energy Extension Service is a program of the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism's Energy Division.

Contact: Andrea Beck, 808/933-4558

Energy Workshop and Curricula for Teachers: As part of the Hawaii District public school system's Teacher Institute Day, held on October 16, the Hawaii Energy Extension Service (HEES) offered a 50-minute workshop, Conservation Creativity, demonstrating songs, chants, and activities which may be used in the classroom to teach energy conservation. The activities all incorporated snack foods as learning tools to make the lessons more memorable. For instance, in the Pretzel Power exercise, students model the fuel efficiency of different vehicles and learn the benefits of carpooling and mass transit. Pretzels are a metaphor for gasoline; the students eat them while taking a specified number of walking steps to learn the concept of miles per gallon. In addition to the workshop, HEES distributed approximately 6,700 curriculum guides, reference booklets, and other items at its informational exhibit. The Energy Division of the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism also participated at the Teacher Institute Day program on October 17 in Honolulu. The Division distributed over 5,500 energy-related information and activity booklets and 2,400 energy promotional items to educators in the Honolulu and Windward public school districts. The booklets distributed were designed to teach students in grades K through 6 about energy principles, renewable energy resources, efficiency, and recycling. Approximately 2,000 teachers, counselors, and librarians from the two districts attended the day-long program.

Contact: Andrea Beck, (808) 933-4558 or Dean Masai (808) 587-3804

Iowa
West Branch School Program and Energy Leadership Awards: The West Branch Middle School curriculum includes a unique science education program called Partners in Environmental Science, Investing in Our Future. Students learn through hands-on experiments how to use technology to be a positive, active influence on the environment. They also learn more about the research process as they compile data during their experiments. The experiments, organized by Hector Ibarra, a science teacher at West Branch, center on energy use in lighting, water efficiency, and energy efficiency of household appliances. Partners in Environmental Science combines the educational efforts of students, teachers, parents and businesses in the community to expand interest in implementation of the research recommendations. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources presented the West Branch Middle School with one of six Iowa Energy Leadership awards on October 18 at the 1995 Iowa Energy Leadership Awards Ceremony. The other recipients were: Five Seasons Transportation and Parking in Cedar Rapids; Hamilton County Conservation Board; Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Co.; Mid-Iowa Community Action, Inc. in Marshall-town; and Schafer Systems in Adair. The October 1995 Iowa Energy Bulletin describes the energy efficiency and renewable energy innovations and achievements of these award winners. For additional information about the West Branch Middle School Program, contact Hector Ibarra at 319/643-5324.

Contact: Patti Cale, (515) 281-8665

Kentucky
Energy at Environmental Conference: The 20th Annual Governor's Conference on the Environment, held October 26-27, 1995 in Lexington, Kentucky, featured several themes reflecting the importance of energy issues as they relate to efforts to improve our environment. In addition to having an exhibit staffed by the Kentucky Division of Energy (KDOE) for the duration of the conference as part of an Environmental Expo, energy conservation technologies were the focus of one session at the Environmental Technologies Forum that preceded the conference. In addition, students from Notre Dame Academy in Park Hills, Kentucky were among one of only six schools statewide that were selected to highlight environmental or energy activities at their school as part of the Student Environmental Showcase. The Notre Dame students, in an interview with Kentucky Educational Television, discussed their Students Weatherization/Audit Training (SWAT Jr.) project. Under this program, the students form teams that perform energy audits on their school's campus and then produce a report recommending no-cost, low-cost operational and maintenance changes as well as improvements that require larger capital expenditures.

Contact: Greg Guess, (502) 564-7192

North Carolina
Large Poultry Farm Converting Wastes to Energy and Fertilizer: The North Carolina Energy Division, continuing what has been a long tradition in helping farmers enhance environmentally friendly operations, is in the process of assisting a poultry farm convert what has been a liability for chicken farmers into a revenue producing asset. With assistance from the Southeast Regional Biomass Energy Program, Rondelli Inc. and energy officials are converting a mesophilic digestion system into a thermophilic system for an 80,000 caged-layer operation. The new equipment will allow Rondelli to process a greater volume of waste at the farm. The pathogen-free manure will be used as fertilizer or as an additive for compost. Methane released during the process will be used to generate electricity.

Contact: Eric Soderberg, (919) 733-1897

Oregon
Oregon Energy Suppliers and Energy Offices Work Together for Efficiency: No matter what fuel they're selling or what conservation programs they're offering, all major energy suppliers and energy offices in the state joined forces to promote energy efficiency in October, national Energy Awareness Month. Northwest Natural Gas provided free water-and energy-saving showerhead kits to more than 133,000 of its residential water heating customers. Total estimated annual savings exceed 1.3 million therms. The company's new At Home magazine goes beyond promotion of high-efficiency natural gas furnaces and appliances by encouraging consumers to use appliances more efficiently and to weatherize their homes. Oregon Oil Heat Commission provides a $300 cash incentive for property owners to conserve fuel by purchasing a new high-efficiency oil furnace. The commission also offers free classes for homeowners encouraging yearly tune-ups, weatherization and furnace efficiency improvements, and provides training for the oil heating industry on improving efficiency of heating systems. Pacific Power's Energy FinAnswer program has saved 125 million kilowatt-hours since 1990—enough to power 12,500 homes. The program helps building owners and architects incorporate energy-efficient technologies into commercial and industrial structures. Energy FinAnswer has earned awards from the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Oregon, the city of Portland and the American Institute of Architects. Portland General Electric (PGE) works with property owners and contractors to build Earth Smart homes and commercial facilities that are resource-efficient and have healthy indoor air. Earth Smart buildings incorporate recycled and earth-friendly materials and have energy-efficient heating systems, appliance and building shells. PGE's quarterly Power Smart awards program honors commercial and industrial customers that have achieved substantial energy savings or have used a novel approach to achieving energy efficiency. PGE salutes the winning businesses in television public service announcements. The City of Portland Energy Office's City Energy Challenge identified and completed energy-saving projects at city facilities that will save $636,000 this year alone. The city's Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow program is helping Portland businesses save $3.5 million annually in energy, water, waste and transportation costs. The city also has weatherized 12,000 apartments and 1,780 low-income homes.

Contact: Suzanne Dillard, (503) 373-7565

Fleets at the Crossroads: Alternative Fuels and Vehicle Efficiency: A one-day fleet managers conference focused on alternative fuels/efficiency options will be held during the Portland Auto Show at the Oregon Convention Center on February 2, 1996. Cost for the conference is $95. Topics will include alternative fuel vehicle fleet requirements and incentives, present plans and future options for the automobile industry, fleet case studies on efficiency and alternative fuels, today's technology from domestic and import transportation manufacturers, R&D efforts, and other actions in future transportation technology. Speakers include Tom Sneva, former Indy race car driver, Amory Lovins, Hypercar Research Director at Rocky Mountain Institute, and many more. A variety of alternative fuel vehicles will be on display. For more information, please contact the City of Portland Energy Office at (503) 823-7222 or the Oregon Department of Energy at 503/378-4040.

City to Save up to $850,000 on Electric Bills and Buy Wind Power for City Facilities: A creative power purchase contract between the City of Portland and Portland General Electric (PGE) will save the city about $175,000 in the first year and as much as $850,000 over the next five years. PGE has agreed to purchase or generate approximately 11,250,000 kilowatt-hours of wind generated electricity during the term of the five-year agreement. Enough wind power is generated to run City Hall , Multnomah Arts Center and ten fire stations. This innovative arrangement the first of its kind in the nation was suggested to the city by PGE as a way to accomplish two city energy goals: reduce city government energy bills and promote renewable energy resources. Under a new experimental pricing schedule, annual power purchases of about $2 million will be tied to the wholesale cost of electricity. The savings will appear on the bills of industrial-type facilities such as wastewater treatment plants at Columbia Boulevard and Tryon Creek, water pump stations at Washington Park, and the city's flagship office facility, the Portland Building. PGE also agreed that it will purchase or generate wind power in an amount equal to five percent of the energy purchased under the new tariff. The city's renewable wind purchase will be over 2,250,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, an amount equal the output of about 2.5 wind turbines.

Contact: Mike Lindberg, (503) 823-4145

South Carolina
Energy Office Receives Funds for Heavy-duty AFV Program: On September 29, the South Carolina Energy Office received notification of an award of $147,340 for an alternative-fueled heavy-duty vehicle project, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy. The South Carolina Energy Office, York Technical College, the South Carolina Department of Education, and York County Natural Gas Authority teamed up to apply for funding from U.S. DOE to fund a demonstration of the feasibility of operating three school buses on compressed natural gas (CNG). The funding will be used to pay for the premium for converting the buses to operate on CNG, and for training. Data collected on the CNG buses will be shared with all interested parties. Natural gas is one of the clean fuels designated by both the Clean Air Act and the Energy Policy Act. According to a study by Public Service of Colorado, natural gas as a vehicular fuel will reduce reactive hydrocarbons by 72%, carbon monoxide by 97%, nitrogen oxides by 39%, and carbon dioxide by 24%. Similar results have been published in a 1990 EPA report titled Analysis of the Effect of Compressed Natural Gas as a Vehicular Fuel. These studies are based on converted vehicles. Even better results can be realized for dedicated natural gas vehicles.

Contact: Reneé Sharpe, (803) 737-8030

SearchWebmaster

U.S. Department of Energy