Independence-xx

__Shawn__ __Press Release – Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Bioenergy Action Plan for California.__ Office of the California Governor. 17 July 2006  This press release discuses the Governor’s Bioenergy Action Plan which outlines ways for California to bring alternative energy into the mainstream and reduce dependency on foreign fossil fuels. The plan focuses on ways to create a positive environment for bioenergy (including ethanol) development to help attract new facilities and investment in this State. Part of this plan is an Executive Order which aims to have California produce a minimum of twenty percent of its own biofuels by 2010 and forty percent by 2020. __Press Release – Governor Schwarzenegger Embarks on Trade Mission to China__. Office of the California Governor. 13 Nov. 2005  In November of 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger completed a six day trade mission to China, in which he discussed export and jobs. There is also mention in the release regarding California being in a position to have the technology to help China manage its staggering economic growth (which is 9.5% annually) to protect its environment and reduce its dependence on fossil fuel. The Governor was trying to position California as a world leader in alternative energy solutions. He believes California is a natural partner for China with the State’s strength as an innovator and world leader in science, technology, and solutions related to the environment and alternative energy. Again, this release is thin on details and information, but it does showcase the efforts being made by this Administration. __Press Release – Cal/EPA Renews Commitment to Energy Created by Renewable Resources__. California Environmental Protection Agency. 14 Nov. 2006  Continuing to explore California State governor’s efforts regarding the implementation of alternative energy sources, I turn to the California Environmental Protection Agency. In November of 2006, the Secretary of Cal EPA urged the property manager of their Sacramento headquarter building to continue to participate in SMUD’s Greenergy Program. This program reduces more than 3,500 tons of greenhouse gases every year and supports the alternative energy market (such as landfill gas created by waste decomposition.) Cal EPA’s Sacramento headquarter building (10th and I Streets) was designed using green design principles that conserve energy and natural resources. During the first three years of this building’s operation, approximately $4.8 million dollars was saved in costs related to energy, water, and waste disposal. __Press Release – Another First for California: Fuel Cell to Light Holiday Tree at State Capitol__. California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board. 5 Dec. 2006  This is a fun bit of information, yes it is a political stunt, and has the makings of a good news story generated by a State government agency. However, using a fuel cell to light a Christmas tree does show case the diversity of uses of alternative energy sources. The LED bulbs on the tree use 98 percent less energy then traditional decoration lights. Fuel cells are highly efficient; emit no toxics, only pure water. Although this demonstration was a bit of a stunt, it got people talking about this fairly new method of producing clean energy. __The__ __California__ __Solar Initiative - CSI__. Go Solar California! 21 May 2007  The California Solar Initiative (CSI) is part of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Million Solar Roofs Program. This program has set a goal to create 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2017. The California Public Utilities and Energy Commission’s administrators tax incentive programs for new construction for installation of solar panels. The following two sources discuss the program in more detail. __A Short History of Solar Energy and Solar Energy in__ __California__. Go Solar California! 21 May 2007  Here is when we get technical regarding the history and develop of solar technology in the U.S., and in particular California. It was discovered way back in 1839 that certain material, when exposed to light, produces electricity. In 1876, selenium was discovered as being the most efficient at producing electricity. In 1954, silicon-based solar cells were developed; this method is still used today. This site further discusses solar technology development through the 1970’s and 80’s and into the 90’s through 2006. There is a lot of meat in this information source; it is certainly worth a look. It is a treasure chest of background and historical information regarding solar as an alternative energy source. __The Big Picture__. Go Solar California! 21 May 2007  This final source of information from the Go Solar California website takes a step back with a brief look at all alternative energy sources including: biomass, geothermal, small hydroelectric, solar, and wind. About 10.2 percent of California’s energy currently comes from these sources. This site also briefly goes into the benefits of renewable energy. //California Energy Commission// __Mission____, Vision and Values of the__ __California__ __Energy Commission__. California Energy Commission. 21 May 2007  My next several sources are from the California Energy Commission’s website. This page gives a good overview introduction of what the Commission stands for. Their mission statement is to assess, advocate, and act through public/private partnerships to improve energy systems…. Their vision statement is for California to have energy choices that are affordable, reliable, diverse, safe, and environmentally acceptable. The values statement section talks about customers and stakeholders, human resources, and products and services. This site also explains the symbols in the Commission’s seal. This is great introductory site to the Commission. James D. Boyd. __California__ __and the Future of Energy – UCLA Forecast__. 28 Sept. 2006  This is a five page PowerPoint presentation from James Boyd, who is a Commissioner on the California Energy Commission. He begins by comparing California to the nation, with interesting facts such as California is the 5th largest consumer of energy in the world. He also breaks down the percentages of types of energy California uses compared to the U.S. Natural gas is the largest power source for California at 37.6% compared to only 14.8% for the country. He concludes by outlining California’s actions on energy including the Biofuels Action Plan, and Assembly Bill 1007. This source is just a real brief outline, it does not give much detail, but it may make you aware of programs and statistics you can look more into using other sources. __Major Energy Producing & Regulatory Organizations__. California Energy Commission. 21 May 2007  This site is a great place to start researching the role of the Federal and California state government in implementing alternative energy sources. It gives a brief outline of nine government and non-government entities, including: the California Legislature, California Energy Commission, California Public Utilities Commission, the Electricity Oversight Board, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California Independent System Operator, Municipal Utilities, Investor-Owned Utilities in California, and the Independent Power Producers. Start with this site, and then branch out into more detail about each entity. __Renewable Energy Program__. California Energy Commission. 21 May 2007  This site gives a two page overview of the California Energy Commission’s Renewable Energy Program. This program was created in 1998 to help increase total renewable electricity production statewide. The program has a goal of 20% use of renewable electricity by 2017 in California. This site also outlines the California Solar Initiative I have mentioned in previous sources. My next source goes into more detail regarding this program. __History of the Renewable Energy Program__. California Energy Commission. 21 May 2007  The Renewable Energy Program, which is managed by the California Energy Commission, was created by SB 90 in 1998, after the deregulation of the energy market in California. The program is organized under five categories: existing, new, and emerging renewable resources, customer credit, and consumer education. This site talks about current and future funding, the Program will have $135 million annually for 10 years (beginning in 2002) from investor-owned utility companies. Each one the five categories has their own (separate) funding accounts. __California____’s Gross System Power for 2006__. California Energy Commission. 21 May 2007  Go to this site for a chart of California’s Gross System Power for 2006 from in-state and out of state imports. There is also data here about renewable energy, such as: biomass, small hydro, solar, etc. For all your statistical data on California’s energy supply, visit this site. __Why We Should Care About Renewable Energy__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007  This is a one page source that outlines the benefits of renewable energy use. Some of those benefits include: clean air, create jobs for U.S. workers, reduce dependence on imported oil, reduce carbon dioxides, and many other benefits. This is a good and brief source of information to introduce you to the world of renewable energy. __Overview of Wind Energy in__ __California__. California Energy Commission. 21 May 2007  This is a good introductory information source for wind energy in California. In 2004, California produced 4,258 million kilowatt-hours using wind, which is about 1.5% of the state’s total energy production. Wind is an inexpensive and clean method of producing energy. This site discusses some of the technical aspects of how generation of electricity from wind works. This site also discuses the benefits and permitted uses of wind as an energy source. __Wind Power__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007  My next several sources are from the California Energy Commission’s, Consumer Energy Center website. This site discusses in detail all the forms of renewable energy generation that is produced in California. The first source of renewable energy is wind power. There are more then 14,000 wind turbines in the state, which are grouped together in “wind farms”. The largest farms are near San Francisco, Palm Springs, and Bakersfield. California produces about 10% of the world’s wind energy. Go to this site for more detailed information. __Biomass Electricity__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/renewables/biomass/index.html> Biomass consists of organic residues from plants and animals that are obtained from harvesting agricultural and forestry crops. The residues are used to power direct combustion power plants. The estimated resource of biomass is 47 million tons in California. This site gives the reader a brief preview of biomass technology. __Fuel Cells for Electricity__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/renewables/fuelcells/index.html> Fuel cells use hydrogen to make electricity, pure water, and heat. This site talks about the technical aspects about how hydrogen is converted into electricity and water. There are three categories of fuel cells: proton exchange membrane, platinum, and alkaline; and two types of fuel cell designs: molten carbonate, and solid oxide. This site has one introductory paragraph of each of these subtopics. This is a good place to start; the site also has links to other government and non-government information sources. __Geothermal Energy__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/renewables/geothermal/index.html> Geothermal energy is generated by the using heat directly from the earth, usually in volcanic and seismically active regions. California has 25 known active regions that can be utilized as geothermal energy sites. California’s geothermal power plants generate about 2,030 megawatts a year (which is 4.8 percent of the state’s total electrical generation in 2004). This site goes on to discuss other cities with geothermal sites and discusses the two forms of geothermal energy: hot dry rock and magma. This information site also has contact information and website links to four other sources of information regarding this renewable energy source. __Hydroelectric Power__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/renewables/hydro/index.html> Although hydroelectric power is not really considerate alternative energy, it is a renewable energy source. In 2004, 16.5 percent of the total energy produced in California was from hydroelectric sources. Nationally hydro accounts for 10 percent of total power generation. The site goes on to discuss who owns and operates the state’s hydroelectric plants, how hydro works (water spinning blades on a turbine), and the types of hydro facilities (conventional methods and pumped storage facilities). __Solar Thermal Electricity__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/renewables/solarthermal/index.html> The first solar hot water system was used in 1878 to heat water to create steam for a printing press at the World’s Fair in Paris. Solar hot water systems were also used in the late 1800’s in the southwestern U.S. These systems can either be used to heat water for domestic use or to make steam and electricity. This site discusses different types of solar thermal power plants in use in California and the equipments efficiencies. The use of thermal electric capacity is projected to increase nationwide because the cost to build and maintain these facilities has become less and less expensive. Again, this site is a good introductory source of information. __Biodiesel as a Transportation Fuel__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/biodiesel.html> Biodiesel is an alternative fuel source produced by such things as soybeans and restaurant grease. This fuel will run in diesel engines without any major mechanical conversions required. Biodiesel can be mixed with petroleum diesel in any percentage and is approved by the Federal government for use in the US. This site further goes on to discuss Biodiesel emissions, health factors, cost, storage faculties, how to use it in existing diesel engines, and where it can be bought. In California, more than 4 million gallons of Biodiesel per year is being used. This is another brief introductory website, with links to other sites with additional and more detailed information. __Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a Transportation Fuel__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/cng.html> CNG is usually used in its gas form compressed to pressures above 3,100 pounds per square inch to power vehicles. Most natural gas comes from three types of wells; California currently has 1,200 wells in operation. More then 99 percent of the U.S.’s natural gas is produced domestically (CA produces 15.4 percent of the natural gas in-state that it uses.) The site goes on to discuss how natural gas is stored, its flammability, its benefits, the vehicles that use it, where it is available to pump in California, and cost. This site also has links to five additional website for more detailed information. __Ethanol as a Transportation Fuel__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/ethanol.html> Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is an effective motor fuel; it contains the same alcohol as alcoholic beverages. Ethanol is typically blended with regular fuel at concentrations of 5 to 10 percent. This alternative fuel source is less efficient then regular gasoline, with about 33 percent more required to travel the same distance. Ethanol is made primarily from corn, which is largely grown in the Midwestern states. Ethanol cost significantly more then petroleum fuels. This site goes on to discuss this fuel’s environmental characteristics, and how it is transported, stored, and distributed. This site covers all the frequently asked questions about this alternative fuel source. __Gas-to-Liquid Fuels In Transportation__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/gtl.html> Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) fuels are what the name implies. Natural gas, coal and biomass, are converted to liquid for use as an energy source. GTL is currently not produced in California. The nearest GTL supplier is the Shell plant at Bintulu, Malaysia. Natural gas in its gas form is 4 times more expensive to transport than oil. Converting natural gas to liquid is a huge transportation cost savings. This source of information continues with discussing GTL’s availability, fuel economy, emissions, and cost. This site also has links to six additional websites where you can find more detailed information. __Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a Transportation Fuel__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/lng.html> Continuing to explore the California Energy Commission’s, Consumer Energy Center, we come to liquefied natural gas (LNG). This is a highly controversial alternative fuel source here in California due to the industries attempts to build LNG storage tanks along the state’s coast. This type of natural gas is in liquid form (as the name implies), clear, colorless, odorless, non-corrosive, and non-toxic. Relating directly to how the state government is implementing alternative energy sources, in 2005 the California Energy Commission provided more than $3.5 million in grant cost-share funding for 15 infrastructure projects. This site dives into how LNG is transported, where the import terminal are in the U.S., storage, flammability, explosiveness, availability in California, cost, and what vehicles use this form of alternative fuel. __LPG – Propane As A Transportation Fuel__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/lpg_propane.html> Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), better known as motor fuel propane, is produced as part of natural gas processing and crude oil refining. Propane is a gas that can be converted into a liquid; and has been used as a transportation fuel since 1912. It is the third most common source of fuel in the U.S. LPG is now most commonly used as a forklift and construction site fuel. There is about 1,200 propane fueling facilities in California, they are currently mostly used to fill residential, recreational vehicles and barbecues, but can be used to fuel vehicles. The CA Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy has provided funding to establish 25 motor fuel propane stations, they are used to fill CalTrans and the Department of Water Resources vehicles, as well as the general public’s vehicles. Propane has the potential to provide 4.4 percent of the total fuel used by state owned vehicles. Go to this site for more details on this fuel source. __Fuel Cell Vehicles__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/fuelcell/index.html> This is another good source of information regarding fuel cell technology; I touched on this topic briefly in a previous citation. This site dives into the following topics regarding this promising alternative fuel source: what hydrogen is, where it comes from, what fuel cells are, fuel cell vehicles, and the future of hydrogen vehicles. This site also links to ten government and non-government websites for further information. __Battery__ __Electric Vehicles__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/ev+nev.html> Battery electric vehicles (EV) have been around for a long time, in the early 1900’s there was more electric vehicles then gas powered ones. At there peak, there were 50,000 EVs on the roads of the U.S. In 1990 the California Air Resources Board passed a regulation to reduce the pollution from cars. The regulation required 2 percent of all cars sold in the state must be zero-emission vehicles, this increased to 5 percent in 2001, and 10 percent in 2003. This regulation was later changed to allow partial zero-emission credits for non-zero emission vehicles, but the Board still requires the 2 percent zero-emission law. These vehicles include hybrid plug-ins and neighborhood electric vehicles. Visit this site for more information about these types of vehicles. __Urban Options – Neighborhood Electric Vehicles__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/urban_options/nev.html> Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) can carry one to four people, and have three to four wheels, and weigh less then 2,200 pounds. They are low speed vehicles intended to run local errands. A project in San Francisco called “Station Cars” has 70 commuters who use small battery-powered electric cars between home and mass transit stations. The City of Palm Springs (local government) has a similar program were police patrol cars patrol enclosed neighborhoods. Both these programs are good examples of government implementing alterative modes of transportation. __Hybrid Vehicles__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/hybrids/index.html> Next the California Energy Commission discusses hybrid vehicles, which are vehicles that combine two or more sources of power. The City of Elk Grove (where I live) uses hybrid buses which are diesel-electric. The electric motors are used for low speeds, and when the buses stop, the gas engines shut off. There are two types of hybrids: parallel (small internal combustion engine – which charge the batteries and provides power to the transmission), and series (a gas engine runs a small on-board generator to produce electricity – which charge the batteries which powers an electric motor). This site also has a chart that shows the gas savings with hybrids, which helps off set the more expensive initial purchase price. The site also has the efficiency comparison numbers between a Mustang GT and a Toyota Pruis. Very interesting number comparison! __Myths about Energy, Energy Fallacies & Weird Energy__. California Energy Commission – Consumer Energy Center. 21 May 2007 <www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/index.html> This is a fun little website that discusses myths, fallacies, and weird facts about energy. Come here to add some interesting facts to your paper. At this site, you can find answers to such compelling questions as: 200 mpg cars were stopped by oil and auto companies, free energy, over unity, perpetual motion devices, idling your car uses less gas than shutting off and starting back up, etc. Have fun with this information source! __________________