Energy Efficiency, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  April 20, 2019

Weekend reads: Grocers go green to compete; World's largest solar plant

It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web:

Grocers competing for customers, cost savings with ‘green’ initiatives (Dayton Daily News) Amid a larger grocery “war” to offer the most convenience, grocers are competing to become the most sustainable to attract young customers, decrease operating expenses and reduce environmental impact. Several area stores are undergoing green transformations that will save grocers money in the long run, said Riley Dugan, marketing professor at the University of Dayton. 

2019’s Greenest States (WalletHub)  Eco-friendliness and personal finance are related. Our environmental and financial needs are the same in many areas: providing ourselves with sustainable, clean drinking water and food, for example. We also spend money through our own consumption and taxes in support of environmental security. In the past year, the U.S. has seen an especially devastating amount of natural disasters. And the U.S. was home to three of the world’s costliest disasters in 2018. 

UMPI looking into solar energy projects to replace wind turbine (WAGM)  It's been a little more than a year since the University of Maine at Presque Isle's wind turbine caught fire due to a mechanical failure. An insurance investigation that just recently wrapped up confirmed the cause...and UMPI officials are now looking further into what's next. According to Chief Business Officer Ben Shaw, conversations about the University's next energy project has been ongoing since the fire.

World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant (The  Science Times)  With the inevitable depletion of traditional fuel sources, many nations are now spending time, money and effort into the development of alternative and renewable energy sources, and Dubai seems to be ahead of the game. Dubai has started construction on what is to be the largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in the world ambitiously stating that they are planning to have it operational by the fourth quarter of 2020. 

Announcing our new comic book sequel “Blackout” (REC Solar blog)  In honor of Earth Day, REC Solar is pleased to release the long-awaited sequel to the Megawatts comic book.“Blackout” was written and submitted by Gavin Hiller during our comic book contest for kids and really demonstrated a keen understanding for the role renewable energy and microgrids have in keeping the power on! The story features a familiar cast of characters, “The Megawatts”, getting help from a few new friends to tackle global warming and some new villains. Will “The Megawatts” once again prevail and protect Bloomington from disaster? You’ll have to read the comic book to find out!

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