Compressed air sustained pumped hydraulic storage Intelligent Utility, March 15, 2016. Image credit: gr8effect The development of deep water compressed air energy storage (DW CAES) involves placing weight ballasted inflatable bags on the seafloor or submerged on a lake bed, with an air pipe connecting between ground level and submerged bags. It is a variation of … Read more
How to determine if energy efficiency upgrades are right for your home (and budget) Inhabitat, April 1, 2016. Image credit: AllanW So how do home performance upgrades pay off? From 2010 to 2013, the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program upgraded nearly 120,000 homes and buildings achieved total verified energy savings for the 3-year evaluation period provided of … Read more
Washington, DC Tops EPA’s List of Cities with the Most Energy Star Certified Buildings/Energy efficiency leads to a stronger economy and healthier environment EPA, March 30, 2016. Image credit: patticake1601 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its eighth-annual “Top Cities” list, which ranks the 25 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star certified … Read more
Gas-to-electricity plant debuts at Irvine’s Bowerman Landfill LA Times, March 30, 2016. Image credit: Alexas_Fotos The proverbial link between trash and treasure has evolved into a symbiotic relationship between energy and efficiency with the coming of a renewable-energy power plant to Irvine’s Bowerman Landfill. [bctt tweet=”The Bowerman Power Project is capturing methane gas from trash and … Read more
Want People to Embrace Efficiency Technology? Make It Sexy Huffington Post, January 20, 2016. Image credit: skeeze An American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ranked the U.S. among the least energy efficient of the world’s largest economies—13th out of 16—in its most recent international scorecard. (Get the details in Climate Central’s summary.) That’s too … Read more
GREENING VERMONT, BUILDING A MORE RESILIENT FUTURE The Vermont Independent, March 24, 2016. Image credit: johnoghue Here in Vermont, as everywhere, the built environment has a vast impact on the natural environment, human health, and the economy. 40% of our energy consumption comes from the building sector, and buildings also hold the greatest potential for achieving … Read more
Bringing thermal energy store vessels to life Renewable Energy Focus, March 24, 2016. Image credit: Xklaim One energy storage solution that has come to the fore is Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES), which uses liquid air to create an innovative energy reserve that delivers large scale, long duration energy storage. The Government is taking the technology’s … Read more
Companies That Don’t Manage Utilities Strategically Are Throwing Money Away Harvard Business Review, March 22, 2016. Image credit: Unsplash Managing utilities has also become more complex as the energy landscape has evolved. There are all kinds of new energy providers (especially in U.S. states with deregulated power markets) and technologies (e.g., solar and home batteries) for … Read more
The Most Important Light Bulb Deal in the World Slate, March 18, 2016. Image credit: David Mellis Today, the worm has turned. With production levels increasing, the per-unit cost of LEDs has fallen sharply. (You can get a decent GE LED for about $6 at retail.) Higher efficiency standards have pushed incandescents out of the mix … Read more
Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits. March 16, 2016. Image credit: hello_rayman Zondits spoke with the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) on how their financing solutions move clean energy projects forward. What is NYCEEC? We’re a non-profit finance company that provides innovative financing solutions and technical expertise for projects that reduce greenhouse gases. Our loans … Read more