Energy Efficiency Technologies Buildings The buildings sector is responsible for about 35 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these emissions result from the electricity needed to run appliances and equipment in buildings, such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and lighting. The Department has developed technologies that have saved consumers literally tens of billions of dollars to date in energy costs. We have reinvented our buildings technologies program and are using the successful Industries of the Future model to develop industrydriven technology visions and roadmaps to better serve our customers and use our resources most effectively. We are delivering more for each dollar invested. The FY 2000 budget request proposes spending $145 million for building technology and related activities, an increase of $49 million over the FY 1999 enacted level. One major component is the Building America program, which creates partnerships with traditional housing developers as well as manufacturers of manufactured housing to demonstrate how new technologies can be integrated into homes to increase new home efficiency up to 50% at no increase in purchase cost and to disseminate that knowledge to other builders. This effort is in conjunction with the Administration's Partnership for Advanced Technology in Housing (PATH) program. The DOE also works with States to encourage them to voluntarily upgrade their commercial and residential building energy codes to promote greater energy efficiency in all new construction. DOE's Rebuild America program is the centerpiece of a newly-consolidated Community Partnerships Program with States and cities across our nation. Rebuild America partners have committed to improving the energy efficiency of more than 400 million square feet of existing building space -- to reduce energy use, cut emissions and save money. The DOE also develops energy efficiency standards for many categories of appliances and also develops testing methodologies used to determine compliance with standards and to provide efficiency rating labels. (DOE's rating and labeling programs are performed in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission.) In FY 2000 new standards will be issued for fluorescent lamp ballasts, water heaters, and clothes washers, and test procedures will be issued for residential central air conditions and heat pumps, distribution transformers, commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and water heaters. This process is conducted in full consultation with manufacturers, utilities and other relevant stakeholders. EIA acknowledges that "historically, efficiency standards have been successful in improving energy efficiency" and that these improvements will save consumers more than $2 billion per year in energy costs in 2010 alone. We will be directing additional resources into this key area. Industry The industrial sector is responsible for about one third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. technologies and production methods that can help businesses achieve productivity gains while leading to major reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and a variety of traditional air pollutants. The FY 2000 budget request proposes $171 million, an increase of $5 million over the FY 1999 enacted level, for DOE's industrial research and related programs. Through the Industries of the Future program, we are working with the most energy intensive U.S. industries - aluminum, glass, chemicals, forest products, agriculture, mining, petroleum refining, metal casting and steel - to develop technologies that cut their energy requirements, emissions and production costs and thereby improve the competitiveness of U.S. companies. For example, in the steel industry, we have developed and demonstrated a portfolio of technologies that likely will save more than $8 million per year at Bethlehem Steel's Burns Harbor, Indiana, plant and could save hundreds of millions of dollars per year if implemented industry-wide. We have also developed a wide range of crosscutting technologies that cut production costs in the industries America needs to stay competitive. The program supports development of a range of other advanced materials with special properties that improve manufacturing productivity. We are nearing completion of our work on industrial advanced turbine cogeneration systems which are 15% more efficient and emit 80% less NOx and cut electricity costs by 10 percent relative to conventional industrial turbines. In addition, EPA and DOE are also working to eliminate barriers to the deployment of new combined heat and power technology. Also supported are a variety of voluntary information and technical assistance programs that enable industrial firms to make more effective use of a wide variety of energy efficiency technologies. Transportation Cars, trucks, aircraft, and other parts of the Nation's transportation system emit about one third of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Both fuel use and emissions are growing rapidly as Americans drive more and because of the growing popularity of less fuel efficient sport-utility and other larger vehicles. A range of new technologies will make it possible for Americans to continue to enjoy the best personal transportation in the world while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are meeting our industry/government partnership goals and are on schedule to meet the goal of the ten-year Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). This effort has led to significant engine and materials technologies being incorporated into current vehicle models. Our work has also helped to make possible large-scale deployment of alternative fuel vehicles - such as natural gas cars and buses. The FY 2000 budget request proposes $315 million, an increase of $66 million over the FY 1999 enacted level, for the Department's transportation technology program including the PNGV. The program aims to produce a prototype mid-sized family car capable of 80 miles per gallon with a two-thirds reduction in carbon emissions by 2004. In pursuing the PNGV goal, great strides have been made in producing lower-cost, lightweight materials, control systems and advanced propulsion systems for use in hybrid vehicles. Light-duty trucks, including sport utility vehicles (SUVs), are responsible for an increasing share of the nation's petroleum use. Currently, total light trucks on the road consume nearly as much fuel as total automobiles. The DOE transportation program will develop, by 2002, advanced ultra-low emission diesel engine technologies that enable pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs to achieve at least a 35 percent efficiency improvement relative to current gasoline engines, while meeting strict emissions standards. The DOE also funds research to improve the engine efficiency of heavy-duty truck engines from 45 percent to 55 percent while reducing oxides of nitrogen emissions to near-zero levels. Federal Energy Management The Department manages the Federal Energy Management Program, which spearheads the effort to reduce federal energy consumption by 30% by 2005 relative to 1985. The FY 2000 budget request for this program is $32 million - up from $24 million in 1999. We have had remarkable success in reducing federal building energy costs - saving taxpayers more than $800 million per year as a result of efficiency and renewable energy projects. However, we are now at a critical juncture. To move the remaining distance to meeting our 30% federal energy efficiency goal, we have put into place large regional Energy Savings Performance Contracts to bring private sector energy efficiency financing into the federal infrastructure. This strategy is proving successful, with about 190 "delivery orders" under these contracts now in the works, with total potential value in the hundreds of millions of dollars. A recent single order from NASA facilities in Texas is valued at approximately $43 million. These contracts are probably the most important innovation in federal energy efficiency in the last decade. However, we will not be able to effectively meet this great demand without adequate federal resources to manage this work across all federal agencies. Electricity Generation Technologies The generation of electricity in the U.S. is responsible for more than a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions - including the emissions due to electricity use in buildings, industry and transportation. The FY 2000 CCTI budget request proposes $375 million, an increase of $65 million over The FY 1999enacted level, for renewable energy, fossil energy and nuclear energy programs. Renewable Energy Technologies The budget proposes $340 million, an increase of $49 million over the FY 1999 enacted level, for DOE's renewable energy programs. The R&D conducted over the last two decades has reduced the costs of a wide range of technologies such as solar photovoltaics, wind and biomass by 80 to 90 percent - making them competitive in many regions around the world. EIA projects additions of 800 megawatts of new wind capacity in the US in 1999 alone - an expansion that would not have been possible without DOE research and development efforts. With regard to photovoltaics, the DOE will accelerate R&D of the next generation photovoltaic cells, increase manufacturing R&D; increase research in buildings-integrated applications; and fund efforts to develop new, unconventional technologies. The complementary Million Solar Roofs initiative seeks to encourage the installation of one million solar systems by 2010, which would reduce carbon emissions equivalent to the annual emissions from 850,000 cars. The DOE has received initial commitments for over half a million solar rooftop installations to date. Biomass represents a tremendous renewable resource whose use can help strengthen our energy security, protect the environment, and enhance our rural economy. The DOE is testing and demonstrating biomass co-firing with coal, supporting advanced technologies for biomass gasification using paper industry by-products; developing low-cost ethanol production technologies from waste and energy crops, and developing and testing high-yield, low-cost biomass feedstocks. In addition, we are exploring technologies that will enable co-production of a variety of products - electricity, fuels and chemicals - from a variety of domestically grown biomass inputs. The DOE will also continue developing a next-generation wind turbine able that can produce power at a cost as low as 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in good wind regions, with a goal of having such turbines commercially available from U.S. manufacturers in 2002 or 2003. The DOE will also accelerate R&D on critical wind turbine components, and accelerate testing and field validation. Geothermal energy is one of the more cost-effective renewable energy sources today, with a levelized cost of about 3.5 cents/kWh in good steam resources. Continued improvement is necessary to stay competitive with conventional power sources, however. DOE's research program addresses efficiency of steam use (to make lower-temperature reservoirs economical), improved drilling instrumentation to cut costs and control fracturing, and improved methods of reservoir exploration and characterization. Research and development will continue on other important renewable energy and related technologies - including fish-friendly hydropower turbines, low-cost hydrogen production and storage and superconducting wire technology. The latter two technologies hold the promise of enormous savings in the 2020 time frame. Fossil Energy Technologies The FY 2000 CCTI budget request proposes $27 million, an increase of $9 million over the FY 1999 enacted level, for DOE fossil energy power production programs. An additional, much larger segment of the fossil energy R&D budget - including advanced coal and natural gas generation technologies - is supportive of the CCTI, but not considered an integral element. In addition, $10 million of fossil energy funding is included in the carbon sequestration activities section discussed below. DOE's Vision 21 initiative funds research aimed at finding ways to use coal and gas with efficiencies well beyond what is possible with today's technologies. Development of higher-efficiency power-generation technologies will reduce the amount of carbon produced per kilowatt-hour generated. In addition, both the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and certain fuel cell technologies can produce a concentrated carbon dioxide waste stream that requires minimal processing prior to reuse or sequestration. These breakthrough technologies are expected to take a decade or more to reach practical application, although important efficiency-enhancing spinoffs are likely to emerge from this program over the next several years. Nuclear Energy Technologies The FY 2000 CCTI budget request proposes $5 million, an increase of $5 million over the FY 1999 enacted level, for DOE's new Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization (NEPO) program. An additional, larger segment of the nuclear energy R&D budget is supportive of the CCTI. The Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization is a new initiative proposed for fiscal year 2000, to cooperate with industry to develop key technologies that can help assure the long term viability of our nation's existing 104 nuclear power plants. During the first part of the next century, while efforts continue to reduce the costs of renewables and advanced fossil energy technologies, existing nuclear power plants are essential to meeting demand for capacity and also for meeting our existing emission laws and international goals on controlling greenhouse gas emissions. R&D under NEPO will investigate reactor materials degradation and how to prevent or repair it, further improve nuclear plant capacity factors, and develop methods of retrofitting current technology into older reactors to improve their reliability and safety. Carbon Sequestration The FY 2000 budget request proposes $30 million, an increase of $16 million over the FY 1999 enacted level, for DOE carbon capture and sequestration programs in the Offices of Science and Fossil Energy. The purpose of these programs is to develop and demonstrate technically, economically and ecologically sound methods to capture, rense and dispose of carbon dioxide. The program will include research into the feasibility of capturing and storing carbon dioxide in underground geological structures and in the deep ocean. The success of these programs could lead to sustained use of fossil fuels without significantly increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Science The DOE Office of Science also has several efforts that are directly supportive of the CCTI and provide the knowledge base for the development of advanced technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts support the PNGV in the materials and combustion 57-713 99-2 |