FEATURES AND NEWS
New York will eliminate its use of coal power by 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo pledged in yesterday’s State of the State address. The state currently has three active coal-fired power plants that produce less than 4 percent New York’s energy load. One plant is scheduled for closure in 2016. To ... Read more »
How the Low-Carbon Electricity Revolution Affects the Grid’s Biggest Customers The electricity grid of the United States is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Coal-fired and nuclear power plants are closing their doors, renewable energy from wind and solar energy is gaining market share and natural gas has become the dominant source ... Read more »
Donald Trump’s plane violating UK carbon emissions rules may have snagged the bulk of the aviation-emissions headlines last week, but an announcement by NASA may prove to be even bigger than the presidential hopeful’s ego. NASA says US airlines could save more than $250 billion, cut airline fuel in half ... Read more »
The Virginia Committee for Fair Utility Rates – an advocacy group representing major industrial customers of Dominion Virginia Power – said in filings (Case No. PUE-2015-00058) with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) on January 6 that it will appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court a new law that prohibits the ... Read more »
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) – a District of Columbia-based group that advocates on behalf of America’s investor-owned utilities – announced on January 6 that Philip D. Moeller would join the organization on February 1 as senior vice president of Energy Delivery and Chief Customer Solutions Officer. Moeller resigned from ... Read more »
Partner Content
Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) is the first company to deploy the Intelligent Pipeline Solution (IPS), a software system from General Electric and Accenture that helps pipeline operators make informed decisions around pipeline safety and integrity. CPG now has an enterprise-wide, near real-time view of their more than 15,000 miles of ... Read more »
Anellotech and Suntory Holdings have entered into the next phase of their strategic partnership to develop and commercialize cost-competitive 100 percent bio-based plastics for use in beverage bottles. Suntory is one of the world’s leading consumer beverage companies whose brands include Orangina, Schweppes and Jim Beam. The Anellotech alliance with ... Read more »
Municipalities big and small increasingly are looking to power purchase agreements (PPAs) to finance solar projects. On Monday, PennEnergy reported that the small upstate New York city of Watervliet has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with SunEdison for almost 1 MW of DC solar power. The power, the story ... Read more »
Duke Energy and the U.S. Navy will work together on a 24 MW DC solar project at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, IN. The facility, which will generate 17 MW alternating current, will consist of about 76,000 solar panels on 145 acres in the southeast portion of the base. ... Read more »
Cohasset, MA, has abandoned an LED street light replacement project due to lack of data on the number of lights to be replaced, according to the Patriot Ledger. The story says that $141,460 is available from the state’s Department of Energy Resources, which has named the town a Green Community. ... Read more »
Partner Content
Industrial wastewater treatment technology from Honeywell UOP will help a Wyoming refinery remove contaminants from its wastewater to meet new environmental requirements, the company says. HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining will use Honeywell UOP’s XCeed bioreactor technology to remove selenium from wastewater at its 52,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The unit ... Read more »
Aglaia Ntili is the managing director of Sustainability Knowledge Group, providing sustainability and CSR advisory and training services at international corporate level. She is the founder of CSR Coaching, supporting professionals in corporate responsibility and sustainability, and the founder of the CSR & Sustainability meetup, an open platform to support ... Read more »
President Obama took on big oil in last night’s State of the Union, emphasizing the US’ transition to clean energy. “Rather than subsidize the past,” he said, “we should invest in the future — especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. That’s why I’m going to push to change ... Read more »
Short-Term Price Benchmark* Trends Last week’s average national benchmark price for retail electricity ($0.0752/kWh) was down a fraction of a percent (-0.19 percent) from the previous week. The only states to see a meaningful change in their retail electricity prices were Texas, with a week-over-week increase of 2.08 percent, and ... Read more »
Carbon markets are booming, according to two new reports, and business is playing a key role. Global carbon markets’ total value increased 9 percent to €48.4 billion ($52.6 billion) in 2015, boosted by North American markets, which grew 121 percent in terms of volume and 220 percent in terms of ... Read more »
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order on December 31 (Docket No. EL15-70-000, et al) to correct “market manipulation” by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) in connection with its 2015-2016 Planning Research Auction. The commission ordered MISO to file rule changes before its next auction, scheduled for ... Read more »
Houston-based GDF Suez Energy Resources N.A. – which claims to be the third-largest non-residential retail electricity provider in the United States – has entered into an agreement to acquire Guttman Energy’s portfolio of retail power customers. The deal, announced on January 8, is a part of GDF Suez’s growth strategy ... Read more »
Nearly 80 percent of local governments that participated in the industry-run PaintCare stewardship program saved money as a result, with average annual cost savings of $151,905, according to a report from the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI). PSI released two reports to illustrate how the PaintCare program benefits retailers, residents, contractors ... Read more »
Bioplastics and biomaterials develoer TerraVerdae BioWorks has partnered with biopolymer firm PolyFerm in a move that TerraVerdae says will allow it to expand its elastomeric PHA biomaterials portfolio into the biodegradable thermoelastomer market. PolyFerm has developed the only line of biodegradable thermoelastomers in the industry made entirely from renewable feedstocks. ... Read more »
A new sustainable agriculture tool uses big data to help farmers reduce risk and increase yield while using water and other resources more efficiently. CropClimate is an interactive website uses climate-, soil- and crop-modeling to link the effects of environmental conditions, weather and crop yield history and field management to ... Read more »
HVAC systems must be kept in optimal working order. In addition to controlling the livability of the premise, HVAC systems are key line item expenses. Keeping them running smoothly is a financial, health and even legal necessity. Though the goal is the same – fix aging and underperforming HVAC systems ... Read more »
Real estate managers who oversee multifamily dwellings are one of the target groups for SmartPhone Meter Reading LLC’s first fully-featured meter reader for Android smartphones. The app, the press release says, eliminates the need for expensive meter reading equipment. The app can be downloaded via a text link. It uses the phone’s ... Read more »
The issue of which is the best form of lighting may not be resolved after all. The world is gradually shifting to LEDs. However, Science Alert reports that The Massachusetts Institute of Technology aims to give industry at least an option in its choice of lighting. The research is aimed at changing ... Read more »
With today’s emphasis on sustainability and reducing greenhouse gases (GHG), more companies than ever before are interested in energy efficiency programs. In fact, studies have shown that energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond environmental aspects, energy efficiency is not a new concept in ... Read more »
On the upside, if crude prices stay low in the face of exports, consumers should continue to benefit from the lowest gasoline and diesel prices in years and US refiners should still have access to favorably priced crude. On the downside, the nation may see an increase in foreign imports. ... Read more »