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City Council to Hold Hearings on Energy Legislation

The New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection will hold hearings on Wednesday, June 23, on a series of bills that will address energy conservation and renewable energy issues. Four of these bills are listed below with links to the City Council website for additional details. The hearings begin at 10 AM in the second floor committee room of City Hall. Persons wishing to present testimony should contact the Legislative Counsel’s office at 212-788-9089.

Intro. 374, Creating an energy shortage contingency plan.
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200374-2004.htm?CFID=42808&CFTOKEN=77756073

Intro. 375, Creation of an energy office and public awareness city-wide of energy efficiency and conservation measures.
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200375-2004.htm?CFID=42808&CFTOKEN=77756073

Intro. 381, A survey regarding clean on-site power generation for city facilities.
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200381-2004.htm?CFID=42808&CFTOKEN=77756073

Intro. 382, Creation of a program regarding building commissioning and energy efficiency and conservation training.
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200382-2004.htm?CFID=42808&CFTOKEN=77756073

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Energy Expert Affirms End of Cheap Oil at Center Gathering

Alfred Cavallo, Ph.D., of the Princeton Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, told a Center for Sustainable Energy audience last week that world oil supply would peak sometime between now and the next three decades, though the realistic outlook is sooner rather than later. Using data from industry and government sources, Cavallo stated that global petroleum reserves are very well understood and there is little to suggest that what remains will enable expanding global demand to keep up with dwindling global supply. Last year alone, the People’s Republic of China increased its output of automobiles 50% over the previous year. Similar performance is expected this year. China, along with neighboring India, are placing dramatic new pressures on global oil output. In 2003, China alone accounted for one-third of the increases in total world demand.

Most importantly, Cavallo argued that the market price for oil is not connected to production costs. Saudi Arabia, for example, spends roughly $1 to produce a barrel of oil and $2 per barrel to ship and handle it, while selling it for $40 per barrel or more. These high profit margins enable other producers in places like northern Alberta, where tar sands development has been undertaken on a biblical scale, and along the US Gulf Coast, where wells are drilled down a previously unheard of 2 miles, to accelerate the exhaustion of world reserves, according to Cavallo. More of Dr, Cavallo’s views of these dynamics were published in the January/February issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and most recently, he has been extensively quoted in “The End of Cheap Oil,” the June cover story of the National Geographic.

Finally, Cavallo notes that the cost to date of the war in Iraq is nearly $200 billion. At $20,000 each, that same expenditure might have placed 10 million hybrid cars on the road thereby drastically reducing the necessity for the imported oil that Cavallo says partly explains the war. Dr. Cavallo’s Power Point presentation is available by email. Requests can be sent to the Center at mail@csebcc.org. The presentation was made as part of an ongoing series of informational seminars that are sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Energy. Check the Center’s website (www.csebcc.org) for schedules of upcoming events.

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Center Places Electric Car at Tour de Sol

A GEM electric car owned by Bronx Community College was placed on display at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s 16th Annual Tour de Sol “Green Car Rally and Exposition.” The car is one of two presently operated by BCC and was made possible by a grant from the New York Power Authority. NYPA has been actively promoting “zero emissions” vehicles and equipment through its Green Zone Program Pilot Projects. BCC’s GEM car has a range of about 35 miles on a single charge and costs roughly 2 cents per mile to operate. “GEM,” which stands for Global Electric Motors (http://www.gemcar.com), is a North Dakota company that was purchased by Daimler-Chrylser and produces more than 200 vehicles per day.

According to NESEA (www.nesea.org), “advanced technology vehicles make too much sense to be ignored.” Numerous examples of all electric, biodiesel, natural gas, hydrogen powered, and hybrid vehicles were on display at New York City’s historic South Street Seaport this past May 25th. Thousands of people over the course of the day gathered around the displays learning firsthand from the various teams of consultants and student groups how the vehicles operate and which ones are either presently available, or soon will be. The Center for Sustainable Energy has the promotion of alternative fuel vehicles, and the training of the technicians needed to service them, as among the major thrusts of its programs and training plans.

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Progress Made on Patterson Reserve Facility

A 55,000 square-foot building complex that sits on a 3.5 acre plot across the street from Bronx Community College moved a step closer recently to becoming the permanent home of the Center for Sustainable Energy. Known presently as the Patterson Reserve Facility, the structure once housed a 1,000-man armory for the US Army. Vacated by the Army more than two years ago, the facility has awaited environmental and legal clearances before it can be used by the College. The Center recently retained Sustainable Design Collaborative, an architecture firm, to assist with a preliminary visioning for the facility. The building was assessed for how it might obtain some level of the LEED standards established by the US Green Buildings Council (www.usgbc.org). LEED, “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,” is a set of measures by which building operations can be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Building infrastructures collectively use vast amounts of energy in lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electric appliances, and water consumption. Thus, the selection of building materials, glazing, insulation, HVAC systems, lighting fixtures and the like are critical to energy demand. The Center seeks to make the Patterson facility both a training site for its future transportation program and a working example of energy efficiency that will compliment a workforce development initiative in energy services technology. Discussions have been underway with a national distributor of solar photovoltaic arrays for fitting the Patterson rooftop with technology for generating electricity from sunlight.

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The Center for Sustainable Energy, established in 2003 at Bronx Community College, City University of New York, is funded with a Congressional appropriation sponsored by Representative Jose Serrano, and administered through the U.S. Department of Energy.

Center for Sustainable Energy
Bronx Community College, CUNY
Hall of Fame Terrace
Bronx, NY10453

Call the Center at: 718-289-5332
Email the Center at: mail@csebcc.org
Visit the Center website at: http://www.csebcc.org