energy simulation software. For many years, DOE-2 has been the standard energy modeling tool for large buildings and the benchmark against which other simulation tools are tested. It has some weaknesses, however, including being notoriously time-consuming to use and failing to model parameters such as airflows due to natural forces. EnergyPlus is built from scratch to address some of these shortcomings, and it can dynamically model the interactions between thermal loads in a building and the mechanical systems working to meet those loads. The program currently requires some sophistication to run, but it should eventually become quite easy to use as user-friendly interfaces, such as that of Energy-10, are developed. More information and a free software download are available at:

www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/energy_tools/energyplus/.

in severity in many parts of the United States. In the Southeast and Northwest, drought conditions range from moderate to extreme, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In pockets of West Texas, the Central Appalachians, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Iowa, and eastern Tennessee, drought conditions range from dry to severe. Precipitation in the Great Plains has been so low that water stopped flowing from the Rio Grande River into the Gulf of Mexico in February. In Washington, Governor Gary Locke declared a statewide drought emergency in March. See

www.drought.noaa.gov.

At the 2001 Convention of The American Institute of Architects in Denver, AIA members reacted remarkably quickly to the Bush Administrations Energy Policy, which was released as the convention got under way. On May 19, 2001 delegates passed a resolution titled “

Design and Energy Efficiency Initiative-Committee on the Environment,” sponsored by the AIA Committee on the Environment, AIA Kansas City, and AIA Seattle. The resolution delegates a committee to help the national leaders develop the National Energy Policy for Building Codes and Standards, and resolves that the AIA “supports a program of national initiatives that will improve the energy efficiency, develop new alternative energy sources, and improve capital investment of our infrastructure and the preservation of natural resources through good design and construction practices.” It further resolves that “the AIA makes itself available to the President and the Congress of the United States of America to immediately assist in developing the architecture and urban design conservation standards to provide the American public with safe, efficient, and beautiful structures and public realm while relieving stress on our energy supply-related issues.” More details are available with other news from the convention at

www.aia.org

has accepted a position as Vice President of the U.S. Green Building Council, with primary responsibility for technical development and implementation of the LEED™ Green Building Rating System. Until November 2000, Howard was with the Building Research Establishment in the U.K., where he oversaw that organization’s influential Environmental Assessment Method for buildings. Howard will take up his new position in July 2001.

The future looks bright for brownfield sites. On April 25, the U.S. Senate passed the

Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001 (S.350) in a unanimous 99-0 vote. The bill, if approved by the House and signed into law by President Bush, would provide liability protection for innocent landowners and significant funding for clean-up of abandoned, contaminated industrial sites. SprawlWatch’s Allison Smiley tells

EBN that the legislation is finding bipartisan support and champions in the House. For more, see

www.sprawlwatch.org.

California gave a big boost to small power producers in the state by

increasing the cap on power-production systems that can feed power into the grid through

net metering provisions. The cap has been increased from 10 kilowatts to 1 megawatt. Net metering laws or regulations in more than 30 states allow power producers to “run their electric meters backwards”—getting paid at retail electric rates for electricity production (up to the limit of the individual’s or com-pany’s total electricity consumption).

A

novel energy conservation plan in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Utah promises significant electricity savings. The 20-20 Program gives PacifiCorp customers at least 20% off their electricity bills this summer if they use 20% less electricity than they did last summer. While not yet approved by regulators, the program would apply to the months of June through September, and customers will be automatically enrolled. For details, visit

www.pacificorp.com or call 800/222-4335.

Scientists at NREL have achieved a

new efficiency record for cadmium telluride photovoltaic cells. The new record of 16.4% beat the previous mark of 15.8%, which had stood since 1992. Cadmium telluride is an increasingly attractive PV technology. First Solar’s new 100 MW CdTe plant in Toledo, Ohio began operation this spring (see

EBN

Vol. 10, No. 3).

While efforts by American industry to clean up its act have been well publicized in recent years, toxic releases appear to be on the increase. The quantity of

toxic chemicals emitted by U.S. industry grew by 5% in 1999, according to the annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A total of 7.7 billion pounds of chemicals were released, two-thirds of which came from hard-rock mining companies and electric power plants.

Advances in wireless communication and Global Positioning System

(GPS) tracking are improving mass transit. A system created by NextBus sends users automated phone alerts when a designated bus is nearing their bus stop. The system has been extensively tested in San Francisco and was recently installed in Vail, Colorado. For information, visit

www.nextbus.com. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is also experimenting with GPS technology—in this case to help schedule and more efficiently route a senior-citizen shuttle.