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Many municipalities, particularly in older communities of the United States, have a large amount of historic buildings and districts. In addition to preserving these historic assets, many municipalities have goals or legislative requirements to procure a certain amount of energy from renewable sources and to become more efficient in their energy use; often, these requirements do not exempt historic buildings. This paper details findings from a workshop held in Denver, Colorado, in June 2010 that brought together stakeholders from both the solar and historic preservation industries. Based on these findings, this paper identifies challenges and recommends solutions for developing solar photovoltaic (PV) projects on historic buildings and in historic districts in such a way as to not affect the characteristics that make a building eligible for historic status.

Applications of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) in a paper and pulp mill power house were studied as one approach to the transfer of steam production from fossil fuel boilers to waste fuel (hog fuel) boilers. Data from specific mills were analyzed, and various TES concepts evaluated for application in the process steam supply system. Constant pressure and variable pressure steam accumulators were found to be the most attractive storage concepts for this application. Performance analyses based on the operation of a math model of the process steam supply system indicate potential substitution of waste wood fuel for 100,000 bbl oil per year per installation with the accumulator TES system. Based on an industry survey of potential TES application, which requires excess base steaming capability, the results from the individual installation were extrapolated to a near-term (1980's) fossil fuel savings in the paper and pulp industry of 3.2 x 10/sup 6/ bbl oil/year. Conceptual designs of mechanical equipment and control systems indicate installed cost estimates of about $560,000 per installation, indicating an after tax return on investment of over 30%.

Over the last few years, we have developed a non-destructive technique called Very High Frequency Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (VHF-EPR) that is proving to be a practical and very sensitive analytical method for the organic sulfur in coal. Already, although still under development, the technique rapidly can quantify organic sulfur, and perhaps provide information on organic oxygen and nitrogen, in typical Illinois coals. At this stage, the precision is not well enough calibrated, and specificity for particular species needs more development. This year`s proposal outlined a 12 month work plan designed to improve and extend the utility of VHF-EPR. Two main goals of the work are: (1) refinement and calibration of organic sulfur analysis, in coals of differing rank, over a concentration range from 0.1% to 5%, and (2) better utilization of VHF-EPR coal spectral data for sulfur speciation. This quarter, goal (1) is being pursued; results will be ready to describe in a future report. Meanwhile, work toward goal (2) has produced detailed information about the VHF-EPR spectral behavior of several comparison compounds -- sulfur -- containing thiophenic fused-ring molecules.

Electric generating stations can impose on and expose the general public and environment to adverse demands and emissions that may be considered detrimental or degrading. For example, a conventional coal fired plant demands coal as its fuel which, in turn, creates a demand for coal mining and coal transportation systems that may degrade the environment. In addition, the emissions from the coal plant (sulfur dioxide, ash, and other waste products), if not managed and controlled properly, might lead to a diminution in public health. These environmental and public hazards have been qualitatively ranked for a modern conventional coal fired power plant in the Phase I study report dated January 1978. This Phase II study extends the Phase I study to also include a hazards evaluation for two new emerging coal power plant technologies: coal-fired atmospheric fluidized bed (AFB) and pressurized fluidized bed combined-cycle (PFBCC) power generating systems, and considers the sensitivity of the hazards ranking for all the non-nuclear, i.e. coal-fired, oil-fired, and geothermal, power plants to the effects of population density, mode of plant operation, technical changes, location and environmental (temperature) effects.

With India's transportation sector relying heavily on imported petroleum-based fuels, the Planning Commission of India and the Indian government recommended the increased use of blended biodiesel in transportation fleets, identifying Jatropha as a potentially important biomass feedstock. The Indian Oil Corporation and Indian Railways are collaborating to increase the use of biodiesel blends in Indian locomotives with blends of up to B20, aiming to reduce GHG emissions and decrease petroleum consumption. To help evaluate the potential for Jatropha-based biodiesel in achieving sustainability and energy security goals, this study examines the life cycle, net GHG emission, net energy ratio, and petroleum displacement impacts of integrating Jatropha-based biodiesel into locomotive operations in India. In addition, this study identifies the parameters that have the greatest impact on the sustainability of the system.

The Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) has identified 101 plants in the Pacific Northwest that account for 80% of the region`s industrial electricity consumption. These plants offer a precise target for a conservation program. PNL determined that most of these 101 plants were represented by 11 major industries. We then reviewed 36 major conservation technologies used in these 11 industrial settings to determine their potential environmental impacts. Energy efficiency technologies designed for industrial use may result in direct or indirect environmental impacts. Effects may result from the production of the conservation measure technology, changes in the working environment due to different energy and material requirements, or changes to waste streams. Industry type, work-place conditions, worker training, and environmental conditions inside and outside the plant are all key variables that may affect environmental outcomes. To address these issues this report has three objectives: Describe potential conservation measures that Bonneville may employ in industrial programs and discuss potential primary impacts. Characterize industrial systems and processes where the measure may be employed and describe general environmental issues associated with each industry type. Review environmental permitting, licensing, and other regulatory actions required for industries and summarize the type of information available from these sources formore » further analysis.« less

This paper discusses key design and development issues in utilizing coal and other solid fuels in gas turbines. These fuels may be burned in raw form or processed to produce liquids or gases in more or less refined forms. The use of such fuels in gas turbines requires resolution of technology issues which are of little or no consequence for conventional natural gas and refined oil fuels. For coal, these issues are primarily related to the solid form in which coal is naturally found and its high ash and contaminant levels. Biomass presents another set of issues similar to those of coal. Among the key areas discussed are effects of ash and contaminant level on deposition, corrosion, and erosion of turbine hot parts, with particular emphasis on deposition effects.

The ''Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 24'' is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Office of Planning, Budget Formulation, and Analysis, under the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program in the Department of Energy (DOE). Designed for use as a desk-top reference, the data book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize transportation activity, and presents data on other factors that influence transportation energy use. The purpose of this document is to present relevant statistical data in the form of tables and graphs. The latest editions of the Data Book are available to a larger audience via the Internet (cta.ornl.gov/data). This edition of the Data Book has 12 chapters which focus on various aspects of the transportation industry. Chapter 1 focuses on petroleum; Chapter 2--energy; Chapter 3--highway vehicles; Chapter 4--light vehicles; Chapter 5--heavy vehicles; Chapter 6--alternative fuel vehicles; Chapter 7--fleet vehicles; Chapter 8--household vehicles; and Chapter 9--nonhighway modes; Chapter 10--transportation and the economy; Chapter 11--greenhouse gas emissions; and Chapter 12--criteria pollutant emissions. The sources used represent the latest available data. There are also three appendices which include detailed source information for some tables, measures of conversion, and the definition of Census divisions and regions. A glossary of terms and a title index are also included for the readers convenience.

This report takes a broad look at the status of local clean energy policies in the United States to develop a better understanding of local clean energy policy development and the interaction between state and local policies. To date, the majority of clean energy policy research focuses on the state and federal levels. While there has been a substantial amount of research on local level climate change initiatives, this is one of the first analyses of clean energy policies separate from climate change initiatives. This report is one in a suite of reports analyzing clean energy and climate policy development at the local, state, and regional levels.