From vehicle acquisition and credit trading to exemptions and outreach activity, the Annual Report summarizes the State & Alternative Fuel Provider Activity's accomplishments during MY 2004/FY 2005.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing pumping system efficiency with pumping selection considerations.

Subcontract report prepared by Dartmouth College that reviews existing biorefinery examples.

The 2005 Solar Decathlon Competition Program is distributed to Solar Decathlon visitors, media, sponsors, and the student competitors. It contains basic facts about the Solar Decathlon: what, where, when, who, and how. It is a guide for visitors to the events and workshops. It describes the 10 contests and the technologies used in the houses. It celebrates the accomplishments of the competitors and provides an opportunity for the major sponsors to describe their roles and relay their commitment to the ideals of the Solar Decathlon.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing pumping system efficiency by reducing pumping costs through optimum pipe sizing.

The RHIC control system architecture follows the familiar ''standard model''. LINUX workstations are used as operator consoles. Front-end computers are distributed around the accelerator, close to equipment being controlled or monitored. These computers are generally based on VMEbus CPU modules running the VxWorks operating system. I/O is typically performed via the VMEbus, or via PMC daughter cards (via an internal PCI bus), or via on-board I/O interfaces (Ethernet or serial). Advances in FPGA size and sophistication now permit running virtual processor ''cores'' within the FPGA logic, including ''cores'' with advanced features such as memory management. Such systems offer certain advantages over traditional VMEbus Front-end computers. Advantages include tighter coupling with FPGA logic, and therefore higher I/O bandwidth, and flexibility in packaging, possibly resulting in a lower noise environment and/or lower cost. This paper presents the experience acquired while porting the RHIC control system to a PowerPC 405 core within a Xilinx FPGA for use in low-level RF control.

This document provides definitions and metrics of building geometry for use in building energy evaluation. Building geometry is an important input in the analysis process, yet there are no agreed-upon standard definitions of these terms for use in energy analysis. The metrics can be used for characterizing building geometry, for calculating energy performance metrics, and for conducting energy simulations.

This fact sheet helps identify ways to reduce overall natural gas use in buildings, central heating plants, and with thermal distribution in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing pumping system efficiency by selecting an energy-efficient centrifugal pump.

The objective of this subcontract was to carry out R&D to advance the technology, processes, and performance of RWE Schott-Solar's wafer, cell, and module manufacturing lines, and help configure these lines for scaling up of edge-defined, film-fed growth (EFG) ribbon technology to the 50-100 MW PV factory level. EFG ribbon manufacturing continued to expand during this subcontract period and now has reached a capacity of 40 MW. EFG wafer products were diversified over this time period. In addition to 10 cm x 10 cm and 10 cm x 15 cm wafer areas, which were the standard products at the beginning of this program, R&D has focused on new EFG technology to extend production to 12.5 cm x 12.5 cm EFG wafers. Cell and module production also has continued to expand in Billerica. A new 12-MW cell line was installed and brought on line in 2003. R&D on this subcontract improved cell yield and throughput, and optimized the cell performance, with special emphasis on work to speed up wafer transfer, hence enhancing throughput. Improvements of wafer transfer processes during this program have raised cell line capacity from 12 MW to over 18 MW. Optimization of module manufacturing processes was carried out …

FEMP offers energy savings expert teams (ESET) assessments for federal facilities as part of a broad strategy to reduce natural gas consumption.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing pumping system efficiency matching pumps to system requirements

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The objective of the PV Manufacturing R&D subcontract was to continue to improve AstroPower's technology for manufacturing Silicon-Film* wafers, solar cells, and modules to reduce costs, and increase production yield, throughput, and capacity. As part of the effort, new technology such as the continuous back metallization screen-printing system and the laser scribing system were developed and implemented. Existing processes, such as the silicon nitride antireflection coating system and the fire-through process were optimized. Improvements were made to the statistical process control (SPC) systems of the major manufacturing processes: feedstock preparation, wafer growth, surface etch, diffusion, and the antireflection coating process. These process improvements and improved process control have led to an increase of 5% relative power, and nearly 15% relative improvement in mechanical and visual yield.

Tritium transport simulations were conducted to model the mechanisms associated with dilution, dispersion, and radioactive decay that attenuate the 618-11 Burial Ground tritium plume and limit the risk associated with exposure to the Columbia River and Energy Northwest water supply wells. A comparison of simulated and observed tritium concentrations at two downgradient monitoring wells indicated that the model was a reasonable representation of the tritium concentrations immediately downgradient of the site (699-13-3A) and near the leading edge of the plume (699-13-0A). This good match increased confidence in the conceptual model, its numeric implementation, and ultimately the validity of predictive simulations of tritium fate and transport. Three release scenarios were investigated to measure the impact of the tritium plume at primary receptor locations under different conditions. The three cases were 1) a pulse release of tritium from the burial ground that was the best fit between observed and simulated tritium concentrations; 2) a continuing, decaying source beneath the burial ground through 2015, the milestone for source removal under the River Corridor Closure Contract; and 3) a pulse release as in the best fit case but at twice the concentration. For the best fit case, the model predicts that the maximum tritium …

An upgrade of the main magnet-field-driven timing systems at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) and Booster accelerators will be described in this paper. A novel approach using content addressable memory (CAM) is applied to overcome a weakness in the previous systems, which required a reproducible dwell field for proper operation. Upgraded from a multibus-based system to a VME-based system, the new timing system also proves easier to maintain and to diagnose. Details of the system architecture, as well as its application in other timing systems will be discussed.

The Coeur Rochester silver mine in Nevada would save almost 11 million kilowatt-hours and $813,000 annually by implementing the five energy efficiency projects described in this ITP case study.

ITN Energy Systems, Inc., and Global Solar Energy, Inc., assisted by NREL's PV Manufacturing R&D program, have continued to advance CIGS production technology by developing trajectory-oriented predictive/control models, fault-tolerance control, control platform development, in-situ sensors, and process improvements. Modeling activities included developing physics-based and empirical models for CIGS and sputter-deposition processing, implementing model-based control, and applying predictive models to the construction of new evaporation sources and for control. Model-based control is enabled by implementing reduced or empirical models into a control platform. Reliability improvement activities include implementing preventive maintenance schedules; detecting failed sensors/equipment and reconfiguring to tinue processing; and systematic development of fault prevention and reconfiguration strategies for the full range of CIGS PV production deposition processes. In-situ sensor development activities have resulted in improved control and indicated the potential for enhanced process status monitoring and control of the deposition processes. Substantial process improvements have been made, including significant improvement in CIGS uniformity, thickness control, efficiency, yield, and throughput. In large measure, these gains have been driven by process optimization, which in turn have been enabled by control and reliability improvements due to this PV Manufacturing R&D program.

Newsletter features articles on Clean Cities, such as coalition news, stakeholder success stories, and Technical Assistance projects. Industry news, EPAct updates, and new resources are also covered.

The FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence) Code is a comprehensive aeroelastic simulator capable of predicting both the extreme and fatigue loads of two- and three-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs). This document covers the features of FAST and outlines its operating procedures.

Volume 8 of a quarterly newsletter that describes the activities of the National Bioenergy Center's Sugar Platform Integration Project.

Subcontract report prepared by Dartmouth College that identifies and discusses the advantages of producing ethanol in a biomass refinery as compared to a single-product facility.

In the early 1990s, only a handful of utilities offered their customers a choice of purchasing electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Today, nearly 600 utilities in regulated electricity markets--or almost 20% of all utilities nationally--provide their customers a "green power" option. Because some utilities offer programs in conjunction with cooperative associations or other publicly owned power entities, the number of distinct programs totals about 125. Through these programs, more than 40 million customers spanning 34 states have the ability to purchase renewable energy to meet some portion or all of their electricity needs--or make contributions to support the development of renewable energy resources. Typically, customers pay a premium above standard electricity rates for this service. This report presents year-end 2004 data on utility green pricing programs, and examines trends in consumer response and program implementation over time. The data in this report, which were obtained via a questionnaire distributed to utility green pricing program managers, can be used by utilities as benchmarks by which to gauge the success of their green power programs.

The principal objective of this R&D program is to expand, enhance, and accelerate knowledge and capabilities for development of high-efficiency hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and amorphous silicon-germanium alloy (a-SiGe:H) related thin-film multijunction solar cells and modules with low manufacturing cost and high reliability. Our strategy has been to use the spectrum-splitting triple-junction structure, a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H, to improve solar cell and module efficiency, stability, and throughput of production. The methodology used to achieve the objectives included: (1) explore the highest stable efficiency using the triple-junction structure deposited using RF glow discharge at a low rate, (2) fabricate the devices at a high deposition rate for high throughput and low cost, and (3) develop an optimized recipe using the R&D batch large-area reactor to help the design and optimization of the roll-to-roll production machines. For short-term goals, we have worked on the improvement of a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H alloy solar cells. a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H are the foundation of current a-Si:H based thin-film photovoltaic technology. Any improvement in cell efficiency, throughput, and cost reduction will immediately improve operation efficiency of our manufacturing plant, allowing us to further expand our production capacity.