Project Locations and Highlighted UNPEPP Projects
The stars on the map show locations of all previous UNPEPP projects. To view more information on any of the eight highlighted projects, click on the project title.
UNPEPP Projects by Year
1999 Participants University of Washington and Crater Lake National Park and the Columbia Cascades Support Office
Crater Lake National Park
Contacts:
Cascades Energy Coordinator: Joe Dunstan, joe_dunstan@nps.gov (206) 220-4273 UWA
Program Manager: Phil Malte, malte@u.washington.edu (206) 543-5486
Project Descriptions:
University of Washington is partnering with Crater Lake National Park to design alternative energy solutions for the tour boat operation on Crater Lake. The tour boat operation has been in existence since 1907 and large gasoline engines have always powered the boats. Crater Lake National Park would like to replace the gasoline engines with an alternative fuel source such as electricity in order to reduce noise, the potential for air and water pollution, and to implement a sustainable energy practice.
The second part of the project involves energy auditing and planning for the Marblemount Station at North Cascades National Park (NOCA). The interest at Marblemount is to examine the built environment. UW architecture students are already working on this project and the University would like to add engineering students to the effort. The engineering students will evaluate current energy use at Marblemount, primarily electric, since the station lies close to hydroelectric generating facilities of Seattle City Light. The engineering students will also investigate the HVAC equipment used at Marblemount and recommend modifications and upgrades to reduce energy consumption and to improve the quality of the energy use. In addition, the students will assess the feasibility for renewable energy options. The focus will most likely be on passive solar for lighting, heating, and cooling and on solar PV. Only the engineering students will be supported by this partnership.
Update and Final Reports:
Over the summer of 1999, the University of Washington, in cooperation with the Columbia Cascades Support Office of the National Park Service and Crater Lake National Park, evaluated alternative fuels and exhaust emissions control for the tour boats operated on Crater Lake.
The focus was on improving the combustion engines through alternative fuels and exhaust emissions control. Additionally, the University of Washington has gained experience in solar photovoltaic (PV) system design for Crater Lake National Park, and under the summer study has identified opportunities for the use of solar PV in the tour boat operation.
The summer activities summarized below are three-fold:
- Evaluation of alternative fuels for the Crater Lake boats - methane, methanol, ethanol, and bio-diesel.
- Evaluation of exhaust emissions control for the Crater Lake boats - state-of-the-art marine engines and the future of exhaust catalysts for marine engines.
- Opportunities for the solar PV in the tour boat operation.
The photo on the left shows one of the National Park Service boats evaluated under this project.
The gasoline fuel tank at Cleetwood Cove. During the summer of 1998, a new fuel distribution system was installed at Cleetwood Cove that includes the ability to distribute alternative liquid fuels.
A Mercury four-stroke, gasoline, stern-drive engine equipped with multi-port EFI - Michael O'Keefe is examining the engine.
The boat houses on Wizard Island in full sunlight at about 11 AM on September 14, 1999. The boat houses face south, and receive good sunlight that is little shielded by trees. Given this situation, it should be possible to generate electricity from PV during the mid-spring to early-autumn period.
The University of Washington solar PV test unit. Craig Connors is inspecting the electrical connections. The system includes the 64 watt, multi-film, amorphous silicon, solar PV collector; the charge controller; the battery pack for electrical storage; the reference cell; the lighting load; and full monitoring of voltage, amperage, and temperature via a full-time data acquisition system consisting of a data logger and portable PC.