Distributed energy resources pose biggest disruption to utility business model Electrical Light & Power, July 5,2017 Although low natural gas prices and renewables are impacting the utility industry, the biggest disruption is coming from increased penetration of distributed energy resources, as well as the broader digitization of the utility value chain. This is according to … Read more
3 ways to identify energy savings in leased offices UtilityDRIVE, June 6, 2017 How many times have we thought, “It’s 2017…what office buildings don’t use LED lighting now?” LED lighting retrofits, occupancy sensor installations, and HVAC programming are examples of these “low-hanging fruit” projects. Have we exhausted all the energy efficiency opportunities in commercial buildings? … Read more
Energy Efficiency: The Foundation of Our Clean Energy Future NRDC, May 30, 2017 Energy efficiency has fundamentally reshaped our energy system, allowing Americans to power their homes and businesses with less energy. Today, as we seek to avoid dangerous climate impacts and clean up our energy system, we need energy efficiency more than ever. The … Read more
Weymouth gets $250,000 to up energy efficiency in 12 buildings The Patriot Ledger, June 22, 2017 WEYMOUTH – The town will receive $250,000 in grant funding to pursue energy conservation projects in a dozen town-owned buildings, including three fire stations, two schools and two water treatment plants. Weymouth’s Energy Coordinator Robert O’Connor and Asset and … Read more
Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits Zondits spoke with the team at Sustainable CUNY, of the City University of New York on their role in streamlining solar and solar + storage installations in NYC. Sustainable CUNY has been working on reducing barriers to solar installations in NYC since 2006 and is also working to incorporate energy … Read more
Mark D’Antonio, ERS, for Zondits As the demands on the electric grid continually evolve and as there is greater consideration of temporal and locational capacity needs, distributed energy resources (DER) and energy storage (ES) systems are increasingly being considered for a multitude of applications on either side of the meter. Capacity deferral, generation mix, demand … Read more
While You Weren’t Looking, Energy Efficiency Became One of Our Nation’s Top Energy Resources Union of Concerned Scientists, June 2, 2017 Here’s a fact I bet you didn’t know: in 2015, energy efficiency saved more electricity than was produced by every type of electricity resource in our country but for coal and natural gas. Hydro, … Read more
From Beer, A Better Battery? The plan came together — where else? — at the bar. Last April, over pints at Backcountry Pizza in Boulder, Tyler Huggins (PhDCivEngr’16) and Justin Whiteley (PhDMechEngr’16) were honing their idea for “growing” a battery from beer — specifically, from the wastewater discharged by breweries. If successful, their invention would … Read more
Jesse Remillard and Nick Collins, ERS, for Zondits During the fall 2016 elections, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and California legalized recreational cannabis, and three other states legalized it for medical use. This brought the total number of states allowing the sale and use of recreational marijuana to 8, with another 28 allowing it for medicinal use. … Read more
Better Buildings Challenge Partners Save $1.9 Billion, Achieve their Portfolio-Wide Goal this Year The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the energy-efficiency progress made by the 345 leading public and private sector organizations in the Better Buildings Challenge. These efforts have led to a combined 240 trillion Btus and an estimated $1.9 billion in … Read more