Community News

DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory Redesigns EERE Program Web Site

DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has launched a redesigned Web site for its Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Program. In addition to highlighting the ORNL's latest EERE research activities, the new site allows easier navigation with a search capability.

The Web site features major enhancements to each of its five main sections: Buildings, Industry, Transportation, Distributed Energy and Renewables. It also includes information about crosscutting topics such as international collaborations, the State Partnerships Program and ORNL User Facilities. See the redesigned site for yourself at www.ornl.gov/sci/eere.

EPA and 52 Freight Shippers/Carriers Launch SmartWay Transport Partnership

Last month, EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt joined 52 freight shippers and carriers from around the nation to promote the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a major voluntary program to increase the energy efficiency and energy security of the U.S., while significantly reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The announcement was made at the American Trucking Association's Annual Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.

Two years ago, President Bush challenged every sector of the American economy to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the U.S. economy by 18 percent by 2012. EPA estimates the SmartWay Transport Partnership can achieve nearly 10 percent of Bush's goal. In addition, the adoption of SmartWay Transport's best practices in combination with the new regulations for reduction of sulfur in diesel fuel will have an immediate and large impact on meeting the nation's air quality standards.

The SmartWay Transport Partnership also furthers the purposes and objectives of the Climate VISION program, launched one year ago to assist industry in adopting improved practices, processes and energy technologies that are cost-effective, cleaner, more efficient and more capable of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.

SmartWay Transport partners can achieve fuel efficiency in a variety of ways, including automatic tire-inflation systems, the use of low-viscosity lubricants, reducing truck idling time, and improving routing and scheduling. SmartWay Transport fuel savings will result in reductions of at least 33 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxides.

Leavitt welcomed 37 new SmartWay Transport partners and expressed appreciation for the efforts of the 15 charter partners who worked closely with the Agency for more than a year to lay the groundwork and develop the goals for the partnership. Charter partners are Canon USA, Coca-Cola Enterprises, CSX Transportation, FedEx Express, H-E-B, IKEA North America, Interface, Nike, Norm Thompson Outfitters, Roadway Express, Schneider National, Swift Transportation, The Home Depot, UPS and Yellow Transportation.

EPA Proposes New Specifications/Test Procedure for AC/DC Power Supplies

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released new proposed energy efficiency specifications and a test procedure for AC/DC power supplies, commonly known as external "power packs." The EPA intends to create strong market incentives for more energy-efficient power supplies through the DOE/EPA Energy Star program.

External power supplies convert AC power from a wall outlet into lower voltage DC power for use in cordless tools and telephones, cell phones and many other consumer and office products. In the U.S., the total amount of electricity that flows through external and internal power supplies is more than 207 billion kwh/year (worth about $17 billion/year), or about six percent of the national electric bill. More efficient designs could save an estimated 15 to 20 percent of that energy, according to the EPA. The draft specification is available for review and comment via the ENERGY STAR website at www.energystar.gov/powersupplies.

DOE's EIA Issues Statistics on Use of Alternative Fuels and Vehicles

The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently issued its newest compilation of statistics on the use of alternative fuels and alternative-fuel vehicles. The alternative fuels used in 2002 were equivalent to nearly 170 billion gallons of gasoline, and the estimated alternative-fuel use for this year will be equal to more than 177 billion gallons of gasoline, according to the EIA.

Although, according to EIA estimates, approximately 4.5 million vehicles on U.S. roads in 2002 were capable of being fueled with alternative fuels (primarily E85, an ethanol-rich mixture of ethanol and gasoline), less than 500,000 were actually fueled with something other than gasoline blends or diesel fuel. The EIA projects that more than 547,000 U.S. vehicles will be fueled with alternative fuels this year.

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