FEATURES AND NEWS
BP’s annual Energy Outlook describes a “most likely” trajectory of the global energy system, based on BP’s views of likely economic and population growth, as well as developments in policy and technology. Energy Outlook 2035 – February 2015 – makes assumptions on changes in policy, technology and the economy, based ... Read more »
Facilities managers and commercial property owners increasingly accept that they can save their company significant amounts of money through reduced energy use and lower plant operating costs. But engaging in energy efficiency projects and upgrades can be costly and companies don’t always have the funds to get started. Fortunately, funding ... Read more »
June DeHart is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. She advises clients on a broad range of legislative and regulatory matters, including energy and energy tax; transportation and other public infrastructure policy and funding; appropriations; international trade; and gaming, and often advises CEOs and ... Read more »
A Los Angeles-area recycling business will pay $1.8 million in restitution to California’s beverage container recycling program as part of a settlement agreement resulting from illegal claims for refunds on out-of-state bottles and cans. As part of the agreement with the CalRecycle, Action Sales and Metal and owner Bruce Falk ... Read more »
Apple suspended production at 15 facilities that violated its environmental rules in 2014, according to the company’s Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report. Last year the tech giant conducted compliance audits at 633 facilities — a 40 percent increase from 2013. Three of the sites were suspended for repeating a violation ... Read more »
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BP has warned CO2 emissions will increase by 1 percent each year to 2035 — or 25 percent in total — unless policy makers put a “meaningful global price on carbon,” according to the oil giant’s latest energy outlook. This increase will put emissions on a trajectory significantly above scientists’ ... Read more »
Chinese companies will need to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions of their operations by up to 2.7 percent a year if China is to stay on track with the level of action required to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, according to a report released by WWF-China and ... Read more »
Environmental risks facing new construction or renovation of healthcare facilities can jeopardize patient health and lead to significant financial losses, according to an advisory published by ACE Group. Regulatory changes, increasing competitive pressures and rapid technological advances are transforming the construction of medical facilities, the advisory says. This also opens ... Read more »
A pilot program for plastic waste, co-sponsored by Dow Chemical, diverted about 6,000 pounds of typically non-recycled items from landfills in three months. Other Energy Bag pilot program co-sponsors include the Flexible Packaging Association, Republic Services, Agilyx, Reynolds Consumer Products and the city of Citrus Heights, California. The program explored ... Read more »
Every one of the corrugated shipping containers tested in a new study met acceptable sanitation levels, according to the University of California-Davis and toxicology experts Haley & Aldrich. Maryann Sanders, senior toxicologist, microbiologist and regulatory compliance specialist at Haley & Aldrich, says that 100 percent of the samples evaluated were below the sanitation ... Read more »
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The engine exhaust gas analyzer Mexa-One-QL-NX, which can be integrated into Horiba One Platform, supports manufacturers in implementing nitrogen emissions regulations and developing environmentally friendly products, the company says. The management software allows operation using a single display. Furthermore, Horiba One Platform now possesses several new and improved features. These ... Read more »
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has selected Opower for a multi-year partnership to deliver personalized communications to residential, commercial and industrial customers. SMUD will replace a set of existing systems with the Opower platform. Opower will deliver an integrated Web portal across all of SMUD’s nearly 625,000 residential and commercial ... Read more »
While big name companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple are into using renewables and energy efficiency technologies to “green” their data centers, the rest of the data center industry isn’t so interested in environmental concerns, but rather, they’re primarily interested in technologies that will save money, according to a ... Read more »
General Motors signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Enel Green Power to procure 34 MW of wind energy to power its manufacturing operations. Enel Green Power is developing and constructing the 34 MW wind farm in Palo Alto, Mexico. Seventy-five percent of the energy coming from the wind turbines ... Read more »
Eaton was contracted by the US Army Corps of Engineers to provide electrical safety studies across the Winn Army Community Hospital and 18 clinic buildings located at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. Eaton’s electrical system safety studies will include in-depth analysis of possible risk associated with arc ... Read more »
Energy Ottawa, a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa in Canada, has released the EnergyFlow Monitor, a web-based tool that helps businesses and landlords identify inefficiencies in energy use. The application collects data from individual meters—electric, gas, steam, fuel oil and water—in one-minute intervals. That data is then transmitted to secure servers ... Read more »
The LEGO Group is closer to reaching its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2020. Kirkby, a holding and investment company that owns 75 percent of the LEGO Group, has invested about $456 million to construct of an off-shore wind farm in the German North Sea. The first turbines have ... Read more »
The Palace of Auburn Hills – home to the NBA’s Detroit Pistons – installed a new LED lighting system by Musco Lighting. Musco’s system reduces energy consumption by 77 percent compared to the previous lights. In addition, instant on/off/dimming controls help to further conserve energy and allow for special effects. ... Read more »
Last week, we featured an article on Shopping for Retail Energy, which explained the concept of shopping websites. These sites help customers to identify local suppliers and in some cases to compare prices directly on the website. The table below provides a directory of shopping website URLs for each state that allows retail electric or gas competition – ... Read more »
Spot market prices for natural gas and electricity soared this week in the Northeast as a result of winter weather. With average temperatures in the 20s across much of the country and constrained gas supplies, natural gas prices spiked throughout the week as heating needs increased. In turn, this caused ... Read more »
The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) updated its list of demand response providers on February 9. With the snow piling up and average temperatures in the 20s, it may seem like an odd time for New Yorkers to think about air conditioning and peak summertime demand, but energy services ... Read more »
DTE Energy’s CEO Gerard Anderson expressed concerns last week about a shortfall in Michigan’s power generation capacity during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call. While discussing the implications of the EPA Clean Power Plan, Anderson stated that his company and Consumers Energy, the state’s two largest electric utilities, are building ... Read more »
Nate Kessman, Vice President of Great Eastern Energy in New York, posted an article on Facility Executive with five tips for energy managers (originally framed as five mistakes to avoid): Be a facility manager, not just an energy manager. – Think holistically about your energy strategy and the details of ... Read more »
Exelon stated in its recent 10-K filing that “The market experienced high price volatility in the first quarter of 2014 which contributed to bankruptcies and consolidations within the industry during the year. However, forward natural gas and power prices are expected to remain low and thus we expect retail competitors ... Read more »
Ohio utility FirstEnergy has petitioned the Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to guarantee sales from four of its aging nuclear and coal-based power plants, according to Midwestern Energy News. This would allow the company to bypass the normal rules governing auctions in a competitive energy market. Because the contracts would ... Read more »