All posts published in 2017
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
Triple Aqua snags IEA heat pump award With the development of innovative low-charge ammonia cooling systems heralding a renaissance of this natural refrigerant worldwide, charges could eventually reach as low as 18 grams per kilowatt (kW), leading expert Professor Hrnjak told participants in the 7th IIR Conference on Ammonia and CO2 Refrigeration Technologies in Ohrid … Read more
Will the heat pump market move towards natural refrigerants? Last week at the DeCarb Heat conference in Brussels, Belgium, Eric Delforge of Mayekawa Europe told this website that the transition from HCFCs to ammonia that has already taken place in the European industrial sector is also possible in the rest of the heat pump sector. … Read more
Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits A recent episode on the 99% Invisible podcast investigates how electric meters work and the origins of net metering, as well as the future of electricity markets. The 99% Invisible podcast is all about the things that largely go unnoticed but are essential to the modern world we live in. … 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
Jeff Perkins, ERS, for Zondits Green banks are organizations created to stimulate private investment in clean energy projects. They can be public, public-private, or private and can have different objectives, products, and approaches depending on the mission defined at their creation. Interest in green banks is increasing, and they have been created in a number … Read more
Is the Battery Rush Distracting Us From Better Energy Storage Options for the Grid? Batteries are helping the grid everywhere from Aliso Canyon to South Australia. But some are concerned that battery-based storage might not be the universal panacea that evangelists believe. Launching the Tesla Powerwall in 2015, for example, Elon Musk claimed: “The size … Read more
Boulder Commons Sets New Standard for Net-Zero Leases Just two miles from downtown Boulder, Colorado, a new net-zero energy (NZE) development is under construction: Boulder Commons. The project consists of two commercial buildings totaling roughly 100,000 square feet of professional office space and boasting a restaurant, coffee shop and community gathering flex space — all … Read more
An electric utility will pay EV owners 5 cent per kWh of charging during off-peak hours Electrek, April 17, 2017 We previously reported on several reward programs for electric vehicles owners charging during off-peak hours, like BMW’s program in California and the Netherlands is trying to make it a nationwide standard for EVs, but now we … Read more