Net Zero Energy Becomes Elementary in Arlington County, VA

Taylor Patterson, 4/6/21. Zero energy buildings are the future of sustainable living – be it commercial, industrial, or residential settings. Arlington County, VA embraced this future with the design and construction of their zero-energy public elementary school. The building is powered by over 1,700 solar panels, has a geothermal athletic field that funnels into a … Read more

Petition Active for Greenhouse Gas Fighting Food Additive

Brian McCowan, 4/1/2021. Statarre Brands, which develops and produces additives for processed foods, has requested FDA testing and approval for a human and animal additive targeted at limiting gas emissions harmful to the environment. “It has been long known,” wrote lead project scientist Fing Pieru in the application, “that passing gas through flatulence is a … Read more

Physicist Warns of Need for Regulated Wind Turbine Rotation

Brian McCowan, 4/1/21. Famed Scottish Physicist Amadan Burraidh is warning that the growth of wind energy could be disastrous if the direction of blade rotation is not regulated. He states that 96% of the large wind turbines in the northern hemisphere turn counterclockwise. Zondits has confirmed the accuracy of this data through government and industry … Read more

ICC in a Pickle After Developers Argue City Voting Rights

huffpost.com, 3/30/21. Kim Havey had a problem. Minneapolis was generating more and more of its electricity from renewables, dropping climate-warming pollution from power to record lows. But emissions from natural gas, which is used to heat buildings and stovetops, were climbing ― overtaking power plants as the city’s top source of carbon pollution in 2017.  … Read more

Texas Sea Turtles Cold-Stunned Alongside Grid Integrity

Taylor Patterson, ERS, 3/5/21. The energy crisis in Texas left thousands of people stranded without power, food, and resources, exemplifying how reliable energy sources and a resilient grid are necessary to withstand natural disasters. However, a new story out of Texas showcases grid resiliency as not only essential for humans, but for animals as well. … Read more

Welcome to the High-Stakes Game of Texas Hold’em

Jon Maxwell, ERS, 3/2/2021. Texas regulators and energy suppliers have made some big bets in energy infrastructure over the last 25 years. They and their customers lost that bet last month. There’s a lot of finger-pointing going on. Fossil fans are blaming frozen turbines. Wind proponents are blaming natural gas infrastructure. What really happened? This … Read more

Waste-to-Energy Plant Inspires Innovative Efficiency

Taylor Patterson, 2/3/2021. The clean energy and technology industry thrives on innovation to provide sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest efficiency problems. Amager Bakke, a waste-to-energy plant operating in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the epitome of this outside-the-box thinking. Construction of this 4.4-million-square-foot facility began back in 2013 and was completed in 2017, replacing … Read more

MA Residents: Advocate for Net Zero Stretch Codes Now!

Built Environment Plus, 2/4/21. We are calling on the Massachusetts building community to advocate for a Net Zero Stretch Code within the Climate Roadmap Bill now in the Legislature.  We need you to call your Senator and Representatives where you live and work, and tell them that based on your building industry expertise that you support … Read more

G.M. Sets Exclusive Goals for EV Transition Come 2035

nytimes.com, 2/1/21. The move, one of the most ambitious in the auto industry, is a piece of a broader plan by the company to become carbon neutral by 2040. The days of the internal combustion engine are numbered. General Motors said Thursday that it would phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles … Read more

Building Technology Couples with EVs to Power Denver Facility

renewableenergyworld.com, 1/28/21. Today, The Alliance Center, a Denver-based organization, announced a partnership with Fermata Energy, a clean technology company based in Charlottesville, VA, to use the energy stored in an electric vehicle (a Nissan LEAF) and power its six-story, 40,000-square-foot office building originally constructed as a warehouse in 1908 (1536 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80202).  This new … Read more