Energy Efficiency

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New York is spending $1 billion to help residents conserve energy — and lower their bills

by Angely Mercado, Grist  Highlights As people shelter-in-place due to the ongoing pandemic, utility bills are rising as the summer heat intensifies  The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state’s investor-owned utilities are working to provide clean and energy-efficient solutions to more than 350,000 low-to-moderate income households  These services would include … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency Public Health
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Building decarbonization cuts pollution and boosts the economy. Here’s how state regulators can accelerate both.

Rooftop PV installation on the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe administration building

by Silvio Marcacci, Forbes Highlights Existing buildings and their components are difficult to replace and therefore are difficult to decarbonize Residential and commercial buildings in the United States account for 1 billion metric tons of emissions annually Electrification now reduces greenhouse gas emissions in 46 out of 48 states It is cost-effective to build out all-electric … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency
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‘We essentially cook ourselves’ if we don’t fix air conditioning, major UN report warns

by Dharna Noor, Gizmodo Highlights A new report from the United Nations shows that 460 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions could be avoided worldwide by switching to energy-efficient, climate-safe air conditioning There are 3.6 billion cooling appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioning units in use around the globe Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chemicals that were … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency Public Health
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The plan meant to unite Biden and Bernie voters on climate is here

by Emily Pontecorvo, Grist Highlights After Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination, he joined forces with Former Vice President Joe Biden to create a climate task force Other members of the task force included Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash, and Catherine Flowers, the founder of the … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Climate Justice Energy Efficiency Fossil Fuels
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Congressional Climate Crisis Action Plan would decarbonize U.S., add $8 trillion in benefits by 2050

Congressional climate action plan

by Megan Mahajan, Forbes Highlights The U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis has released their climate policy report titled Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient and Just America  Climate policy firm Energy Innovation modeled a subset of the Select Committee’s recommendations using … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Climate Targets Energy Efficiency Transportation
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Electrify everything, or aim for beneficial electrification?

My how things have changed. Back in the day, when most of the electricity we used was derived from fossil energy sources, any reduction of electricity use was considered a good thing by those concerned about emission. Now that the grid is on a trajectory toward ever cleaner sources, the dynamic has changed. Fuel switching … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Community Energy Resilience Energy Efficiency Transportation
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – March 27, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 disruption, the legislature has gone into recess until April 13 at the earliest. While the legislature is on recess, The Climate Center continues to analyze the bills that were introduced in February, and is in the process of determining positions on many of them. Below are several, but not all, of … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Climate Justice Community Choice Energy Community Energy Resilience Energy Efficiency Fossil Fuels Transportation
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In this new solar-powered apartment complex, all 600 units have batteries that form a virtual power plant

Solar Panel Power Generation. by mrganso found on https://www.needpix.com/photo/1123513/photovoltaic-system-solar-solar-energy-solar-panel-photovoltaic-renewable-energy-revolution-power-generation-solar-field

by Adele Peters, Fast Company Highlights: A Salt Lake City apartment complex, named Soleil Lofts, is the first to incorporate solar plus storage into every unit. The local utility will use solar and storage as a virtual power plant and will avoid using fossil fuels during peak hours The developing company, Wasatch Group, used batteries … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Community Energy Resilience Energy Efficiency
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California moves to tackle another big emissions source: fossil fuel use in buildings

by Justin Gerdes, Greentech Media Highlights: The California Public Utilities Commission has dedicated $45 million to heat pump water heater incentives. Around $4 million will be exclusively for low-income residents. Since 90% of heat pump water heaters and furnaces in California are powered by natural gas or propane, the heat pump water heater incentives will … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Energy Efficiency Fossil Fuels
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Wind, solar to dominate new power plants in 2020

Rooftop PV installation on the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe administration building

Highlights: As of January 1, 2020, new houses in California are required to install rooftop solar. “One utility, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, has asked regulators to approve a plan that says builders in its territory can comply with the solar mandate by subscribing to the utility’s community solar programs instead of putting solar on every … Read more

Categories Business Network Clean Energy Energy Efficiency