Long weekend reads: - Smart Energy Decisions

Energy Efficiency, Microgrids, Sourcing Renewables  -  November 23, 2018

Long weekend reads: Energy-saving labs; Turkey poop

We hope you're all enjoying the day relaxing with family and friends and nursing your Turkey hangover. Or you may be busy working, and if so, hats off to you. Either way, here are some energy stories to sink into over the long holiday weekend:  

Are We Building the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure We Need? (Center for Automotive Research)  In the last couple years, one by one automakers have begun spelling out their electric vehicle (EV) strategies. Ford, for example, revealed that it will invest $11 billion to develop EVs by 2022; GM plans to launch at least 20 EV models by 2023; and Toyota intends to add 10 new battery electric vehicles (BEV) worldwide by early 2020s and have electric options throughout its entire lineup by 2025. With EVs predicted to see substantial growth, industry and other stakeholders are left with the ongoing challenge of ensuring that enough charging infrastructure is in place to meet the expected demand.

These Guys Created A $500M Market By Figuring Out How To Save Labs Money (Forbes)  The Product of the Year, according to the New Hampshire Tech Alliance, is SmartStack, an active system for sensing lab exhaust, from a company based in Manchester, New Hampshire, called Measured Air Performance. Steve Graves, CEO of Measured Air Performance, estimates the market for SmartStack is about $500 million in the United States, and $1 billion globally. Graves says what he and the MAP team have done, and in particular Founder and Chief Technical Officer Eric Desrochers, is find a new way to save energy in lab buildings that was largely overlooked, despite the fact that people have been looking for ways to save energy in lab buildings literally for decades. 

Solar Sidewalks, Roads Could Be Part Of Downtown Jacksonville's 'Innovation Corridor' (WJCT)  Imagine walking on sidewalks that generate electricity from the sun to power street lights or charge up parked electric vehicles. That’s one of the technologies being considered for the planned smart corridor along Bay Street in downtown Jacksonville, according to North Florida Transportation Planning Organization Executive Director Jeff Sheffield. “When we talk about new signal controllers, new signal systems, when we talk about pedestrian sensors, flood sensors, possibly solar road path concepts, those are things that can move forward with some of the funding that we already have programmed next July,” said Sheffield.

Microgrids for Energy-Hungry Cannabis Growers in California City (Microgrid Knowledge)  SALT Energy, a Maryland based developer of renewable energy and microgrid projects, has teamed up with Baker Energy Team of Roseville, Calif., to explore the development of microgrids to serve new businesses in California City, especially cannabis growing operations. A microgrid project could be in operation as soon as next summer, according to Robert Babcock, president and owner of SALT Energy. Although they are still preliminary, Babcock said he has had discussions with businesses that are either already in California City or are looking to locate there, particularly cannabis grow operations. 

Pardon Me, Turkey, Is This Stool Taken? Scientists Turn Poultry Poop Into Fuel (NPR) As Thanksgiving arrives, Americans will be cooking their favorite holiday bird and debating the best recipes, ideal roasting temperatures and juiciest stuffing. But a team of scientists at Ben-Gurion University in Israel is preparing something different: turkey poop. They say that when cooked under the right temperature, pressure and other conditions, turkey droppings transform into a form of coal, which can fuel power plants and serve as a renewable resource.

 

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