Utilities

Duke Energy, FPL Plan EV Conversion by 2020

Two major utilities plan to convert their fleets of trucks and cars entirely to plug-in hybrid or completely electric vehicles by 2020. The move by FPL ...

Businesses Find New Ways to Save Energy, Cost in Data Centers

Whether it's a novel technique to cool data centers like the one tested by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, installation of new hardware chosen by Skyservice Airlines, ...

PG&E Quits U.S. Chamber of Commerce Over Climate Change, Nike Applies Pressure

Citing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's "extreme position on climate change," Pacific Gas & Electric has quit the chamber, reports the New York Times. Nike ...

Utilities’ Cost of Adding Energy Efficiency Continues to Drop

Increasing total energy capacity by adding energy efficiency measures continues to be cheaper than adding new sources of electricity, such as conventional coal-fired plants. A ...

EPA to Large Emitters: Start Collecting GHG Data Jan. 1

Large emitters of greenhouse gases will have to begin collecting their emissions data Jan. 1 under the new reporting system from the ...

Utilities Again Under the Gun of Emissions Lawsuit

A 2004 lawsuit against five major U.S. utilities, previously dismissed, has been reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York. The ...

IBM Makes Cities and Utilities Smarter with New Technologies

Moving forward with its strategy for a Smarter Planet, IBM is helping cities and utilities become smarter by providing new technologies and tools to help them ...

DOE to Fund Large-Scale Renewables Transmission in Montana

Businesses in Western states should find it easier to purchase renewable energy in the future. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is financing a ...

EPA Scrutinizing Utility Wastewater

Power plant wastewater is about to the get same kind of federal scrutiny that emissions and air pollution have received. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to ...

Feed-in Tariffs May Push Renewables More Than RECs

By establishing a set price, feed-in tariff (FiT) policies reduce the need for multiple incentives and complex financing through tax liabilities currently used to supplement renewable ...

Saving Money, Not Environment, the Biggest Reason to Reduce Electricity

When asked what was the most important reason to reduce electricity consumption, more than 72 percent of the public said they would do so to reduce ...

NREL, SCE, PG&E, Black & Veatch Discuss Future of Renewables

In this session from the International Association for Energy ...

Software Drives Smart Grid Deployments

In order to deliver real-time communications over smart-grid networks, utility companies like Duke Energy and Xcel Energy are partnering with technology companies that can deliver the ...

GHG Allowances Fall 32% to $2.19 in RGGI Auction

The poor economy and a decrease in manufacturing activity led to a precipitous decline in greenhouse gas emissions allowances in the most recent Regional Greenhouse Gas ...

U.S. Carbon Emissions to Drop 6% in 2009

The poor economy has prompted a revised estimate for U.S. carbon emissions. The Energy Information Administration now predicts that overall U.S. emissions will ...

Section 48C Big Opportunity for Advanced Energy Manufacturers

The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA) authorizes the Department of Treasury to award $2.3 billion in tax credits for qualified investments ...

California on Track to Meet Renewable Portfolio Standard Targets

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved contracts for more than 8,300 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy signed with the state's largest utilities, according ...

Austin Energy Proposes Raising City Renewable Use to 35%

Austin Energy's 2008 carbon reduction plan called for 30 percent of the Texas capitol's energy to come from renewables through 2020, but the utility has floated ...

Judge Affirms Arizona Renewable Energy Fee

An Arizona requirement that utilities get some of their electricity from renewable sources - and charge customers for it - has been upheld by a Superior ...

EPA ‘Endangerment Ruling’ May Omit Small Business Emissions

If the EPA draft ruling declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant goes through as written, it would regulate emissions only from large industrial sources. EPA's new take ...