FEATURES AND NEWS
BMW, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and a host of hydrogen fuel companies have agreed to deploy a total of 110 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in several European locations including Copenhagen, London and Munich and develop new clusters of hydrogen refueling stations in a deal worth £31 million ($51.5 million). Locations are being ... Read more »
National Grid awarded a contract to engineering and construction firm URS to develop a framework on natural capital and ecosystem services—a system that will place a value on the goods and services provided by nature. URS will advise National Grid on how its business operations might affect the natural world ... Read more »
Exxon has made another concession to environmental groups and investors, agreeing to disclose more details on the risks of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Just days after releasing a report on the risks that climate change policies pose to the value of its assets and future profitability, Exxon said that it would report by September ... Read more »
Terracycle’s Zero Waste Box program is being marketed to factory managers in a bid to encourage employees to recycle items commonly used on factory floors, including ear plugs and hair nets. The Zero Waste Boxes range from $27.70 to $177.37, depending on the size and waste stream, according to Consumer ... Read more »
The Green Building Certification Institute will provide third-party certification for the WELL Building Standard, under a collaboration with the International WELL Building Institute. The collaboration will create a seamless WELL Building Standard experience for professionals and organizations already using LEED, the IWBI said, making it easier for LEED users to ... Read more »
Partner Content
The Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has, yet again, kicked the can down the road on securing reliable energy to power the state’s growing population. The PUC, the state agency charged with managing electricity rates, meets to securely plan for the future, yet they continue to delay planning meetings. This ... Read more »
Boulder County, Colo., commissioners are considering a sustainability tax that would fund additional EnergySmart energy efficiency programs as well as recycling, local food, transportation and water quality initiatives. A public hearing on the sustainability tax is scheduled for April 22. County officials are looking for feedback from other government entities, ... Read more »
LPL Financial, an independent broker-dealer, opened its new San Diego headquarters, Tower II at La Jolla Commons, which it believes to be the largest net-zero energy commercial office building in the United States. The 13-story, 415,000-sq-foot office tower utilizes three fuel cells to convert biogas into carbon-neutral electricity that will ... Read more »
In partnership with the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) recently demonstrated eight energy efficiency technologies at installations in Hawaii and Guam. In one instance, NREL identified advanced plug load controls as a good investment for the Navy. Advanced power strips, a plug ... Read more »
Partner Content
Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project has announced a partnership with the Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge that aims to develop a more robust marketplace for energy efficiency retrofits in the city. Los Angeles has set a goal of achieving 20 percent energy savings across 30 million square feet of ... Read more »
Dwelling units of multifamily buildings of any height would fall under ASHRAE’s residential ventilation standard, 62.2, under a proposed change designed to provide consistency of ventilation requirements. Currently, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2013, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, has responsibility for multifamily residential buildings 4 stories or more, while ANSI/ASHRAE Standard ... Read more »
The Interior Department could let companies start surveying for Atlantic oil and gas this year, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management director Tommy Beaudreau told a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, The Hill reports. Beaudreau said the agency has received a handful of applications from firms wanting to conduct seismic testing in ... Read more »
A privately-financed Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) project in Michigan will involve over $1 million of improvements to the 1-800-Law-Firm building in Southfield. Over $500,000 will be financed through PACE, a tool that allows any business to use a property tax assessment to obtain much longer term financing than is ... Read more »
The UK’s Energy Minister outlined a Solar Strategy in which the government will promote “solar hubs” at factories and other large buildings as well as parking lots. The government wants to move the emphasis for growth away from large solar farms and instead focus on opening up the solar market ... Read more »
The European Parliament yesterday postponed, to 2017, the date by which the EU’s Emissions Trading System will apply to the entire length of flights in and out of Europe. The 458-120 vote brings three decades of contentious negotiation to a close, Reuters reports. EU rules bringing aviation into the ETS, with ... Read more »
Anadarko Petroleum Corp yesterday agreed to pay more than $5 billion to clean up polluted sites across the US that caused cancer and other health problems, in the Department of Justice’s largest environmental settlement yet – but Anadarko’s share price actually rose 14.5 percent on the news. The sites are polluted ... Read more »
Alaska Air Group, which includes Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, pledged to cut fuel consumption 20 percent as part of its 2020 sustainability goals. The airlines also announced it would use a sustainable aviation biofuel at one or more airports and increase its recruitment of military veterans. The company has ... Read more »
Home improvement retailer Lowe’s Home Centers will pay $18.1 million to settle claims that more than 100 of its stores in California illegally dumped hazardous waste in landfills. The civil environmental prosecution settlement with Lowe’s, approved in Alameda Superior Court, followed a joint investigation by the California Department of Toxic Substances ... Read more »
AEG Power Solutions is offering a wireless battery cell control and monitoring system for large battery energy storage applications. AEG has developed the new MoniStore-SC.BCCS wireless battery cell control system for operation with conventional batteries. The battery sensor is connected to the battery’s negative pole. It continuously monitors the functionality ... Read more »
PepsiCo, Sears Holdings and Samsung are among the 127 recipients of the 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award, the EPA and the Energy Department has announced. Winners demonstrated innovative strategies to help their customers, partners and stakeholders save energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA says. The winners were selected ... Read more »
The Canadian oil sands industry, long held up as a pariah by the environmental movement, has recently been the source of a flurry of financial and technical assistance for recycling carbon emissions, The Guardian reports. The impetus for such a seemingly counter-intuitive move appears to be financial, according to the ... Read more »
By the close of 2014, the global market size for energy efficiency commercial building retrofits will reach $68.2 billion, according to Navigant Research’s report Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Commercial and Public Buildings. Of this total, about 81 percent, or $55 billion, will derive from sales of products used in energy ... Read more »
Plug Power has acquired the assets of ReliOn, a developer of hydrogen fuel cell stack technology and fuel cell systems based in Spokane, Wash. Plug Power paid about $4 million in Plug Power common stock for ReliOn’s assets and will add key ReliOn personnel, primarily in sales and engineering. The ... Read more »
Rocky Mountain Institute plans to educate Fortune 500 executives in an effort to increase renewable energy initiatives. RMI’s proposal centers on the creation of a nonprofit resource center, currently named the Business Renewables Resource Center (BR2C). The center’s key objective is to accelerate renewables penetration in the US by overcoming ... Read more »