Green Energy News | March 12, 2000

March 12, 2000 – Vol.4 No.50

ENERGIES... week of March 12, 2000

HOW GREEN IS YOUR CAR/CAR COMPANY? Unusually high gasoline prices - at least in the eyes of American motorists - may make some purchasers consider a more efficient vehicle the next time they buy or lease a new one.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is offering its Green Book(tm): the Environmental Guide to Cars and Trucks which lists model-by-model all vehicles available in the U.S. - the cleanest and most efficient as well as the dirtiest and least efficient. The Green Book also explains how the authors have come to their conclusions. Useful portions of the publication are available for free on the Internet. The Book and online subscriptions for additional information can be purchased through their web site.

CALSTART, a California non-profit consortium for advanced transportation technologies and analysis, has taken a look at how opinion leaders perceive automotive companies in their commitment to building environmentally sensitive cars. The Green Index(tm) 2000 looks at overall environmental and technological leadership - their green image. The survey finds that Ford is perceived by these opinion leaders to be the greenest company (by 33 percent) followed by Honda (21 percent) and Toyota (16 percent). However, 65 percent felt that there is no car company that is a clear environmental leader. Internal combustion engines are viewed by 81 percent as a major cause of air pollution.

Visit ACEEE’s Green Book at http://greenercars.com/ .

(Consumers note: At $3500 per edition Calstart’s Green Index is not intended for individuals. However other pertinent information is available at the web site.)

NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRIBUTED POWER. With economies continually expanding - along with the demand for energy - utility companies must find ways to supply power to customers without the enormous investment needed for new, large, centralized power plants. DTE Energy Technologies will enter into the small gas turbine generator market with its development of a 333 kilowatt generator - enough power for a small neighborhood.

DTE will work with Pratt and Whitney Canada and Turbo Genset to develop the specially designed turbine aimed at markets in distributed power generation or interfaces with utility grids.

The turbine will be based on one of Pratt and Whitney’s reliable aviation engines. Turbo Genset will supply the high-speed generator. DTE Energy Technologies will be responsible for developing and marketing packaged systems for end users and utilities. The new generator should be on the market by 2002. Visit DTE at http://www.dteenergy.com/ .

WASTE-TO-HYDROGEN. There’s a surprising amount of hydrogen in municipal waste. Though it’s tied up in discarded plastic bottles, used motor oil, even rotting garbage, Startech Environmental thinks it has a way to turn mountains of trash into a hydrogen-rich gas which could be used to power fuel cells or combustion engines.

The company has just received $265,000 to produce and demonstrate a full scale Star Cell(tm) hydrogen separation unit for Unistar Energy. The Star Cell unit will produce a synthesis gas though a process of molecular dissociation. Visit Startech at http://www.startech.net/ .