Oregon could lead in alternative energy development

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http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1179080352231460.xml&storylist=orlocal

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon could surge ahead of other states in encouraging the development of renewable energy alternatives with the passage of bills before state legislators, but there may be a fight over at least one proposal because of worry over its costs.

Lawmakers have considered nearly 30 different energy proposals this session — many legislators call it the "energy session" — but decisions on some of the most important bills are still pending.

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The centerpiece of the energy legislation — and the heart of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's aggressive clean energy agenda — is a bill that would require the state's largest utilities to draw 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, waves and the sun by 2025.

Although the bill threatens to split the Legislature down party lines, nearly all lawmakers and lobbyists agree that the proposal to force utilities away from carbon-intensive fuels would have the most and longest-lasting impact.

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1. TriMet

Using improved fuel

TriMet employee Mark Smith fills
a tank from the first official batch
of ULSD biodiesel fuel.
TriMet buses use a cleaner burning B5 biodiesel fuel blend: five percent biodiesel and 95 percent petroleum diesel. TriMet is the largest biodiesel user in Oregon.

The blend, including the petroleum-based share of the fuel, meets new federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD). It reduces emissions, especially carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulates (smoke).

Other benefits of biodiesel use include:

Reducing greenhouse gases—the number one contributor to global warming
Reducing dependence on foreign oil
Moderating the volatile price swings of petroleum-based diesel
Helping to build the biodiesel industry
TriMet chose B5 because engine manufacturers and the biodiesel fuel industry are still working on B20 specifications—20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel—which could come within the next year.

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Reducing bus emissions


Older TriMet buses to run 90 percent cleaner
Forty-five older low-floor TriMet buses are being retrofitted with high-tech filters to reduce exhaust emissions up to 90 percent, making them run as clean as new ones.

The filters, paid for and installed by Cummins Northwest, LLC, reduce both particulate emissions (soot) and unseen pollutants. With the retrofit, these buses run much cleaner than required by the Environmental Protection Agency for their model year. Emissions are reduced to levels comparable to those of brand-new models.

Cummins is providing the particulate filters, spare parts and installation for the TriMet buses, which have Cummins engines, at a cost of about $432,000. Cummins selected TriMet as part of a nationwide EPA decree to reduce emissions from diesel engines.

The filter installations are made possible by the use of new fuel that meets federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), and also is a five-percent biodiesel (B5) blend.

A cleaner fleet in progress
With this project, TriMet will have 84 out of a fleet of 321 low-floor buses meeting 2007 EPA standards: 45 from the Cummins project and 39 new buses. By 2010, about a third of the fleet will see similar emission reductions.

Results from a long-term commitment
Emissions from TriMet buses already have been reduced in the last several years due to new pollution-control equipment, testing programs and cleaner-burning fuels:

Even without the new filters, TriMet buses emit 90 percent fewer oxides and particulates than they did 10 years ago.
TriMet voluntarily tests buses for exhaust opacity (visible smoke) to comply with stricter California standards.
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Hybrid technology
TriMet is among several transit agencies in the country testing the next generation of cleaner, more efficient hybrid-electric buses, which reduce current oxide and particulate emissions. More

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