What's New at Sustainable MN - April 2002
John Bailey
Here is the listing of what has been added to the Sustainable Minnesota
web site since March 21, 2002. Find direct links to all numbered items
below via the "What's New" page at http://www.me3.org/whatsnew.html or
follow the links to the various issue pages shown below.
Issues getting updates this month included: JustEnergy, Newsletter, MN
Legislative Watch, biomass, climate change, distributed generation,
electric restructuring, energy efficiency, environmental costs, ethanol
and biofuels, fuel cells, hydro power, mercury pollution, nuclear
energy, solar energy, transmission lines, wind energy, energy calendar,
and energy news.
Help expand ME3's electronic network. Take a moment right now and tell
someone about ME3 and this e-mail list. It's easy, just tell them to
sign-up by visiting http://www.me3.org/activist.html
On with the update.
jb.
WHAT'S NEW AT SUSTAINABLE MINNESOTA
http://www.me3.org/whatsnew.html
April 2002
NEW ME3 PROJECT ANNOUNCED!!
JustEnergy: Protecting People and the Environment
JustEnergy is ME3's new consumer campaign focused on education and
consumer protest. The education component focuses on raising local
public awareness of the social and environmental consequences of
hydroelectric power, specifically the hydroelectric dams of Manitoba
Hydro and its devastating impacts on people and the environment. The
consumer protest component allows Xcel Energy consumers to protest their
involuntary involvement in the environmental and human rights atrocities
occurring in Northern Manitoba.
Visit JustEnergy: http://www.justenergy.org/
And find some easy things that you can do today to send a message to
Xcel Energy and Manitoba Hydro to clean up their act.
--------------------------------------------
Special Link:
Not Your Father's Energy Policy - by ME3 Executive Director, Michael
Noble, Star Tribune, April 21, 2002
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/2237394.html
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Sustainable Minnesota Newsletter Archive
http://www.me3.org/newsletters/
1. Sustainable Minnesota Newsletter - Winter 2002 - this issue featured
stories on:
Grassroots Energy Initiatives: Minnesota Communities Securing Their
Energy Future
Playing with Fire 2002: ME3 Updates Report on Climate Change in MN
JustEnergy: ME3 Launches a New Campaign
Hennepin County Looks at Distributed Generation Options
What's Happening at the State Legislature?
Mercury Reduction Update
DM&E Coal Train Project Gets Key Approval from Federal Regulators
Minnesota Energy Legislative Watch:
http://www.me3.org/leg/legwatch02
3 new laws added:
1. Modification to residential energy code-making process - MN Laws
2002 Chapter 317
2. State agencies required to use clean fuels, and other issues - MN
Laws 2002 Chapter 312
3. Authorizing State Government to Negotiate Guaranteed Energy Savings
Contracts - MN Laws 2002 Chapter 260
Added the following to the Biomass page
http://www.me3.org/issues/biomass/
1. Minnesota Biobased Fuels, Power, and Products State Fact Sheet -
DOE's Biomass Research and Development Initiative, December 2001
2. Cost and Benefits of Manure Digestion Systems - by the Agricultural
Utilization Research Insititute
3. Introduction to Bioenergy - Environmental Media Services
Added the following to the Climate Change page
http://www.me3.org/issues/climate/
1. Climate Change and Midwest Power Plants - Clean Air Task Force,
February 2002
2. Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Generation
Owners in the U.S. - 2000 - by the CERES, the Natural Resources Defense
Council and Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, March 2002
This study ranks the biggest polluters in the U.S. power industry. The
study uses government data to reveal that a mere handful of companies
account for more than half of the power industry's air pollution,
including greenhouse gas emissions, smog, and acid rain. The news for
Minnesotans is not good. Based on carbon dioxide emissions rates, three
companies serving Minnesota customers rank among the worst polluters in
the industry: Alliant Energy (Interstate Power) had the 3rd highest
emissions rate, Allete (Minnesota Power) had the 4th highest, and Great
River Energy, which serves 29 member cooperatives in Minnesota and
Wisconsin, ranked 6th in emissions rate. In the rankings for total
annual tons of air emissions, one Minnesota utility stood out in a
negative way: Xcel Energy was the 4th worst utility in the country in
tons of CO2 emitted and in tons of NOx emitted, and the 6th worst
utility in tons of SO2 emitted.
3. The Emerging International Greenhouse Gas Market - prepared for the
Pew Center on Global Climate Change, March 2002
4. National Snow and Ice Data Center - tracks ice shelf movement and
climate issues at the poles. You can find information on the recent
collapse of the Rhode Island-sized ice shelf in Antarctica.
Added the following to the Distributed Generation page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/dg/
1. Distributed Energy Resources Guide - by the California Energy
Commission
2. Distributed Power Coalition of America (DPCA)
3. Distributed-Generation.com - by Resource Dynamics Corporation
Added the following to the Electric Utility Restructuring (Non-MN) Page:
http://www.me3.org/projects/dereg/nonmn.html
1. Failing Grades: How The Senate Energy Bill Fails To Secure A New
Energy Future - U.S. PIRG, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra
Club and Defenders of Wildlife, March 2002
2. Enron Information Center - by Public Citizen
3. Bush Administration's Energy Policy Statements - a collection of
speeches, reports, press releases, etc.
Added the following to the Energy Efficiency page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/efficiency/
1. New Automotive Technologies - NPR's Science Friday, March 15, 2002
2. Baubuilder Service Green Building Materials
3. Association for the Conservation of Energy
Added the following to the Environmental Costs of Energy page:
http://www.me3.org/projects/costs/
1. Environmental Externalities Values Updated to 3rd Quarter 2001 -
Minnesota PUC, February 2002
Added the following to the Ethanol and Biofuels page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/ethanol/
1. Final Report Regarding Gopher State Ethanol - Submitted by Clayton
Robinson, Jr., Saint Paul City Attorney and Eric D. Larson, Assistant
City Attorney, February 7, 2001
2. Dakota Ethanol LLC
3. Broin & Associates Inc.
4. Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc.
Added the following to the Fuel Cells page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/fuelcells/
1. MTI Micro Fuel Cells
2. Palcan Fuel Cells Ltd.
3. Fuel Cells Are Getting Hotter: The technology is advancing, but huge
roadblocks remain - Business Week, April 15, 2002
4. Cleaner Energy, Greener Profits: Fuel Cells and Profitable
Distributed Power Resources - Rocky Mountain Institute, 2002
Added the following to the Hydro Power page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/hydro/
1. Indian Chief from Canada says Xcel Energy Importing Tainted
Electricity - April 15, 2002
2. Proxy Vote on Energy Sourcing Policy, Renewable Energy and
Indigenous Rights - for Xcel Energy Shareholder Meeting, April 18, 2002
Shareholder proposal No. 2 asks Xcel Energy to increase future power
supplies from renewable sources that do not have undue adverse impacts
upon indigenous peoples. In 2001 this proposal received the support of
22 million shares, or 9.4% of the vote.
3. Hawaii Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Fact Sheet
4. The Wave Power Group - University of Edinburgh, Scotland
5. European Wave Energy Research Network
6. Wave Power Research - NTNU, Norway
7. CADDET's Section on Ocean Energy
8. Australian Renewable Energy Web Site on Tidal Energy
9. Tidal Electric Inc.
10. Q&A on Wind and Wave Power - BBC, November 2001
11. NREL's Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
Added the following to the Mercury Pollution and Energy page:
http://www.me3.org/projects/mercury/
1. Mercury Technologies of Minnesota, Inc.
Added the following to the Nuclear Energy page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/nuclear/
1. NRC Licensing Board to Hold Hearings in April in Utah on Private
Fuel Storage Proposal - NRC Release, March 26, 2002
2. Yucca Mountain Bought and Sold - Public Citizen, April 2002
3. Nuclear Waste - PBS Online NewsHour, March 29, 2002
4. Reno Gazette-Journal's Archive of Yucca Mountain News Coverage -
ongoing
5. Site Recommendation Comment Summary Document - U.S. Department of
Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, February 2002
6. Supplemental Site Recommendation Comment Summary Document - U.S.
Department of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management,
February 2002
7. Yucca Mountain Site Suitability Evaluation - U.S. Department of
Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, February 2002
8. Yucca Mountain Science & Engineering Report, Rev. 1 - U.S.
Department of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management,
February 2002
9. Final Report - Waste Package Materials Performance Peer Review Panel
- U.S. Department of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste
Management, March 2002
Added the following to the Solar Energy page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/solar/
1. Key Centre for Photovoltaic Engineering - New South Wales
2. Solmomma
3. MySolar.com
4. PV Energy Systems, Inc
Added the following to the Transmission Line page:
http://www.me3.org/issues/transmission/
1. Testimony of Larry L. Schedin, P.E. - expert opinion on behalf of
the Izaak Walton League of America and Minnesotans for an Energy
Efficient Economy (ME3) in the Matter of Xcel Energy's Application for
Certificate of Need for Four High-Voltage Transmission Lines in SW
Minnesota, April 2002
2. Testimony of Scott Hempling - expert opinion on behalf of the Izaak
Walton League of America and Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy
(ME3) in the Matter of Xcel Energy's Application for Certificate of Need
for Four High-Voltage Transmission Lines in SW Minnesota, April 2002
3. Public Intervenor's Discovery Requests and Answers From Xcel Energy
- in the Matter of Xcel Energy's Application for Certificate of Need for
Four High-Voltage Transmission Lines in SW Minnesota, April 2002
4. Subpoena Request of 3M's Electrical Products Division - documents
sought to characterize transmission lines proposed by NSP/Xcel for
"need" determination and evaluation of appropriateness of size, timing,
and type - request by Carol Overland, March 21, 2002
Added the following to the Wind Energy page
http://www.me3.org/issues/wind/
1. Analysis of Delivering Wind Energy to High Load Centers in the
Midwest - by Tom Wind, April 2002 (also Appendix 1, Appendix 1b,
Appendix 2, Appendix 3)
2. Briefing Paper on Utility Green Tariff Plans (Xcel Energy,
Interstate Power Company, Dakota Electric Association, Otter Tail Power
Company and Minnesota Power) - by Minnesota PUC Staff, January 25, 2002
3. Speech by Governor Jesse Ventura at the annual meeting of the
Minnesota Rural Electric Association - St. Paul, February 20, 2002. In
this speech Governor Ventura annouces his support for generating 10
percent of Minnesota's electricity from wind power.
4. 2nd Wind Mills - antique wind mills
5. AMEC Inc.
6. Hull Wind Project - Hull, Massachusetts
7. Brazilian Center for Wind Energy (CBEE)
8. Wind Energy Information Guide - AWEA, March 2002
9. Small Wind Slide Show (Small Wind 101, Small Wind 102 (Economics),
103 (Siting Issues) and 104 (Grid Interconnection))- AWEA, March 2002
10. Wind Energy Promotion Act of 2002 (S.1930) - introduced by Sen.
Conrad, February 11, 2002
11. Gamesa - Spain
12. Canwindpower
13. Credit Trading and Wind Power: Issues and Opportunities - National
Wind Coordinating Committee, February 2002
Added events to the Sustainable Energy Calendar page
http://www.me3.org/calendar.html
Added 109 stories to the Energy News page
http://www.me3.org/news/
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--
John Bailey
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
1313 Fifth St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
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