Energy Efficiency, Commercial, Industrial, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 15, 2018

Weekend reads: Ups & downs of clean energy; Utility grid of the future

It's the weekend! Kick back and relax with these must-read energy stories from around the web:

Corporate Adopters Of Climate Policy Describe Carbon-Free Profits And Staggering Challenges (Forbes) It's a story of stunning progress and staggering challenges. Some of the first corporations to make climate commitments have found that clean energy saves them money wherever they can find it, but often they can't find it where they need it most. Mars Corporation, for example, has signed power purchase agreements with wind farms in Texas, Mexico and Scotland and with a solar farm in Australia. In each case, the agreement covers 100 percent of the power demand for the direct operations of a Mars facility. 

Renewables, Energy Storage, & Managing The Utility Grid Of The Future (CleanTechnica) Things are changing fast in the world of electricity generation and distribution. As always, changes are to the advantage of some and the disadvantage of others. The sharp drop in the cost of renewable energy in the past few years is the primary engine driving the changes. The next revolution is bulk energy storage, the piece of the puzzle that will turn traditional ideas of how an electrical grid should operate completely upside down. Here’s a look at what is happening right now and what the utility grid of the future may look like.

UK launches largest retail EV charging network (Smart Cities World) Volkswagen and Tesco have partnered to roll out the largest retail network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers across the UK. The charging network will comprise of 2,400 EV charging bays to be deployed at 600 Tesco stores within the next three years. The charging bays will be based in Tesco Extra and Superstore car parks throughout the UK and will be installed by UK-based independent public charging network operator, Pod Point. Customers will be able to charge their electric cars using a standard 7kW fast charger for free or benefit from the use of a rapid 50 kW charger for a small cost in line with the market rate.

New Innovations in Beverage Delivery Trucks (SevenFiftyDaily)  The hipness of your average cocktail bar stands in stark contrast to the unglamorous reality of what it takes to move tons of product along the beverage supply chain every day. It’s been done the same way for years—with pollution-spewing diesel trucks traveling along roadways, their drivers battling traffic for hours on end. But that scenario is about to change. The vehicles that drive the beverage industry are about to get a major revamp, one that might just bring a touch of genuine high-tech hipness to what has until now been a pretty staid part of the business. 

Former Cubs manager Dusty Baker has a new team and a new game: Solar power (Chicago Tribune)  It's a familiar sight for baseball fans: a grinning Dusty Baker leaning back in his office chair, a box of toothpicks within arm's reach, chewing over lineups and pitching changes. But Baker isn't plotting double switches anymore, and he didn't plan to join the wheeling and dealing at Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings this week in Las Vegas. He's about 400 miles away pursuing a very different prospect: solar power. The avuncular baseball legend, who played with Hank Aaron and managed the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals, now is competing in a new arena. 

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