FEATURES AND NEWS
The Clean Power Plan will remain in effect while the court hears arguments on its merits, according to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which today rejected efforts to put the carbon emissions rule on hold. Since the EPA published the Clean Power Plan in late October, ... Read more »
Cooling datacenters is one of the big issues of the times: There are more datacenters and they are getting bigger. Keeping the servers and other equipment cool is paramount – and extraordinarily expensive. EnergyBiz this week posted a feature on indirect evaporative cooling, one of the main approaches to cooling. ... Read more »
Renewable Energy World reports that the U.S. Army has signed its biggest renewable energy deal. The power purchase agreement (PPA) with Apex Clean Energy will provide 65 MW of solar and wind to Fort Hood in Texas, which is about 60 miles north of Austin. The 30 year deal is ... Read more »
This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the New York Institute for Special Education in the New York City borough of the Bronx will be the site of the state’s first K-Solar project. The project will receive free technical assistance from the New York Power Authority and is ... Read more »
Now the Good News While there is a lot of bad news concerning water, we must also say there is good news to report. In fact, what is often overlooked is that as a result of water efficiency efforts, large cities in the U.S., such as Los Angeles and Phoenix, ... Read more »
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Short-Term Price Benchmark Trends Based on a prompt month (contract start date) of March 2016, the ERC average benchmark price for retail electricity dropped by -1.07% last week to $0.0749 per kilowatt hour. The biggest declines were in Maine, where prices fell by -2.82%, and Rhode Island, where prices dropped by -2.54%. So ... Read more »
As global companies increasingly rally behind putting a price on carbon, new analysis from the World Resources Institute finds a carbon price — either a carbon tax or cap-and-trade program — would reduce emissions even more than the US Energy Information Administration has predicted. In WRI’s new issue brief, Putting ... Read more »
Dr. Andrew Steer, WRI’s president and CEO, offers his perspectives on the major global developments in economics, business, natural resources and sustainability in the coming year.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) announced on January 13 that it had approved (Case No. 07-1285-GA-EXM) the results of Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio’s auction for its standard choice offer (SCO). The auction for the standard choice offer secured natural gas supplies for Vectren’s customers for one year ... Read more »
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The Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) announced on January 7 that it had approved a request filed by Union Electric Company d/b/a Ameren Missouri (Case No. ER-2016-0131) to decrease the Energy Efficiency Investment Charge (EEIC) that appears as a separate line item on the monthly bills of the utility’s 1.1 ... Read more »
The US environmental industry grew 3.9% in 2014 to reach $353.7 billion in revenues, according to primary research and data compiled by Environmental Business International Inc., publisher of Environmental Business Journal. The environmental industry represented 2.82% of the US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, and EBI estimates environmental industry ... Read more »
The EPA has approved the State Water Resources Control Board’s new water quality standards for trash in California’s waters. The standards are part of the state’s new Trash Control Policy, designed to keep trash out of bodies of water, including streams, lakes, coastal and ocean waters, to protect people and the environment. ... Read more »
To make recycling more convenient for plant employees, PepsiCo has partnered with the FCA US Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, which builds Dodge and Jeep models. Through the PepsiCo Recycling program, the company installed recycling bins in high-traffic areas throughout the Belvidere plant. The materials collected in PepsiCo Recycling bins, ... Read more »
The decentralized generation of energy is a great thing. Bringing generation into the network, however, is not easy. It has many technical ramifications and complications. It also is costly. One of the most important issues is the nature of the batteries and related systems that store the energy that is being ... Read more »
ecoPOWER from EdmondsUSA is a hybrid commercial rooftop ventilator that combines gravity and motorization to improve efficiency, according to the company. It provides higher cubic feet per minute (CFM) than gravity-only ventilators with flat rainproof hats, the release says. The family of product come in 16-in (1,400 CFM at 68 ... Read more »
Ten of 12 umbrellas outfitted with solar-powered mobile device charging systems were installed at The Ronald Tutor Campus Center at the University of Southern California during the winter break, according to The Daily Trojan. Power outlets at the base of the umbrellas enable users to recharge their devices without using ... Read more »
The coal lease moratorium on federal lands and overhaul of the program, announced Friday by the Obama administration, was attacked by the fossil fuel industry as further proof of the war on coal and cheered by environmentalists as paving the way for a clean energy future. Its affect on businesses, ... Read more »
The world’s most sustainable companies are located in Europe, according to RobecoSAM’s Sustainability Yearbook 2016. The investment specialist today announced which companies made the annual list from each of the 59 industries analyzed. The Yearbook looks back at companies’ sustainability performance in 2015 and includes the best 15 percent per ... Read more »
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has instituted a section 206 proceeding (Docket No. EL16-19-000) to determine why New England ratepayers are paying more for transmission than energy customers in other parts of the country. Sections 205 and 206 of Federal Power Act deal with the authority of the commission over ... Read more »
The Nevada Public Utility Commission (PUCN) on January 13 voted (Dockets No. 15-07041, 15-07042) to deny two motions to stay regarding new net metering rates that went into effect statewide on January 1. “The motions to stay fail to establish any factors that would support staying the commission’s final order ... Read more »
Rechargeable batteries and cellphones collected for recycling via Call2Recycle’s program increased five percent during 2015, to a record-breaking 12.6 million pounds – the 19th consecutive year-over-year increase, the organization says. Call2Recycle attributes the increase in participation to enhanced awareness in Canada and the US, made possible by its “strong, collaborative relationships.” ... Read more »
AkzoNobel and Evonik Industries have begun work on a new membrane electrolysis manufacturing plant, a joint venture for chlorine and potassium hydroxide solution at Ibbenbüren in Germany. The companies say the plant will improve the ecological footprint of every ton of chlorine they produce in Ibbenbüren by 25% to 30% percent. This will result ... Read more »
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (Thailand) has provided a wastewater treatment plant to multinational food manufacturer Associated British Foods (Thailand). This project integrates several of Veolia’s technologies, including its Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF), Biothane Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB), AnoxKaldnes Biological Activated Sludge (BAS), and Hydrotech Drumfilter – within ABF’s ... Read more »
Two significant energy performance contracts (EPCs) were announced during the past few weeks. The city and county of Denver entered into an agreement with Ameresco. The EPC, which has a value of almost $2 million, will focus on 88 energy efficiency improvements to 14 buildings in the city, the press release ... Read more »