Articles for December 1, 2008
ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a
weekly current awareness service provided by the Washington State University
Extension Energy Program Library and written by Angela Santamaria, WSU Energy
Library Manager, to assist users in tracking developments in the energy field.
To view past issues or to subscribe to receive an email notification of the
publication of a new issue, go to Energy Newsbriefs archives at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.
Please be aware that
although every URL is checked for accuracy prior to the publication of Energy
Newsbriefs, URLs are, for various reasons, subject to change. Further, servers
sometimes fail to connect to working URLs.
AGRICULTURE
"Sustainable
Ag Conference: Feb 10-12" is a November 12, 2008, press release from the Washington State University. See the release at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/reportertools/news/2008/sustain-conf-2008-11.html.
For specific information about the conference including registration,
speakers, and the like, see the document at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/documents/library/SustainabilityConference.pdf.
BIOMASS
"Waste Wood to Heat Downtown Seattle Buildings"
was written by Will Mari, Staff Reporter, The Seattle Times. Seattle will be using wood waste to heat about half of the downtown (or 9 million square
feet). A new hybrid boiler will use about 40% natural gas and 60% wood waste
to do the job. The wood will consist of local construction site waste and
lumber mill scraps, among other things. See it in The Seattle Times,
October 8, 2008, at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008238613_biomass08m.html?syndication=rss.
CODES
"WSU
Extension Energy Program Shares in Grant to Update Building Energy Codes"
is a November 18, 2008, press release from a Washington State University news office. $300,000 of the total grant of $2.6 million from the U.S. Department
of Energy will come to the state of Washington while five other states will
also each receive part of the grant money. The money is to be used to revise
the state's building codes to achieve energy efficiencies beyond what earlier
code revisions have already accomplished. See the release at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/reportertools/news/2008/building-code-2008-11.html.
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
Impacts Report - Industrial Technologies Program [ITP]: Summary of Program Results for CY [calendar year] 2006 is a 190-page, September
2008, publication from DOE (U.S. Department of Energy) on the achievements of
its ITP. It is a valuable report on the many energy-saving strategies
developed for and applied in various industrial settings with the support of
the ITP. The appendices describe technologies available now, "emerging"
technologies, and applied technologies that are "historical" ITP
successes. See the entire report at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/about/pdfs/impacts2006_full_report.pdf.
LIGHTING
"Power
Play," by Maureen Patterson, Managing Editor, Archi-Tech, describes
the huge photovoltaic-powered decorative wall of light emitting diodes (LEDs)
on a Beijing entertainment center. The low-resolution light-wall is perfect
for art, not for advertising which requires much higher resolutions. The wall
includes glass-covered solar panels to collect sunlight during the day and LEDs
to make the art at night. The photovoltaics produce twice as much power than
needed for the wall; the extra power is sent to the grid. The technology is clearly
described and illustrated. See this article in Archi-Tech
October/November 2008, at http://www.architechmag.com/articles/detail.aspx?contentID=6651.
RECYCLING
"Choosing to be Single" is a three web-page
article by Jennifer Grzeskowiak about
the advantages - for some though not all communities - of single stream
recycling where cans, paper, bottles, and glass are collected from one recycling
bin. Generally, 15% more items are disposed of in recycling bins when one bin
takes all four types of items, and, additionally, pick-up days are reduced by
half which saves fuel. See this three-page article in Waste Age,
October 2008, beginning at http://wasteage.com/Collections_And_Transfer/choosing_single_psds/.
THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES
"Automated Vacuum
Heat-Treat Systems in the Powertrain Industry," by William Gornicki and
Klaus Löser, Ph.D., both of ALD, discuss the newer heat-treating technology especially
suitable for powertrain components that are produced continuously and in high
volume: vacuum carburizing with
high-pressure gas quenching. While most powertrain components today are
heat-treated using atmosphere gas carburizing with oil quenching, it appears
that the newer technology offers superior hardening and saves energy. See this
article in Industrial Heating, October 2008, at http://www.industrialheating.com/Articles/Online_Exclusives/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000327593.
UTILITIES and ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
"The Importance of Energy Efficiency," by Jennifer Taylor, shows the efforts of
utilities to reduce energy use and damage to the environment through energy
efficiencies and conservation. See this article in South Dakota Electric Cooperative Connections, November 2008, at http://www.sdrea.coop/Publications/nov%2008/1108_10-11.pdf.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
"Hotels Cut Food Waste
Using Decomposition Machines," by
Glenn Hasek, Green Lodging News, describes the two basic types of
machines - and some brands for each of the two types - that break down food
waste on site. Both waste-hauling charges and fuel are minimized and landfill
gas is avoided. See this article carried in GreenerBuildings, October
27, 2008, at http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/27/reduce-food-waste.
WORKFORCE
"Training
the Green-Collar Workforce," by Adele Ferranti, shows what approaches the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) has been taking since the late nineties to ensure there are
enough trained workers available for the ever-increasing numbers of jobs in the
fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy. See this article in Solar Today, September/October 2008, at http://www.ases.org/index.php?view=article&catid=12%3Alatest-features&id=215%3ASolarToday&option=com_content&Itemid=23.
Past issues of
Energy
Newsbriefs
are available at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.
Generally, subscription information
for the journals cited above can be found at the home page of their web
sites.
© 2008
Washington State University Extension Energy Program. This publication
contains material written and produced for public distribution. Permission to
copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted, provided that the
copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, and that each is
referenced by title with credit to the Washington State University Extension
Energy Program. Copying, reprinting or dissemination, electronic or otherwise,
for any other use requires prior written permission from the Washington State
University Extension Energy Program.
