Demand Management, Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Wind  -  September 30, 2023

Weekend Reads: America's Greenest Companies; Unlocking Offshore Wind

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

Ranking of America's greenest companies showcases large environmental goals (Newsweek)  The push for sustainability is a centerpiece of U.S. business culture. Companies regularly tout their green achievements and environmental goals to show how they're taking steps to make the planet more livable. By weighing their Earth-focused accomplishments and the paths they're taking to a more sustainable future, Newsweek has compiled a ranking of America's Greenest Companies.

Can we fix carbon offsets? (TIME)  Corporations, startups, and nonprofits invested in the idea of offsetting emissions by preserving natural landscapes and planting trees have a problem. In recent months, media reports from outlets like Bloomberg and The Guardian have questioned many prominent players in the sector of overstating the purported carbon benefits of projects intending to use natural systems to compensate for human emissions. Kelly Kizzier, Director of Corporate Action and Markets at the Bezos Earth Fund, is an influential voice in the offset space. She sat down with TIME in Manhattan during New York Climate Week.

WEBINAR: Overcoming the biggest hurdle in decarbonizing buildings (TRANE)  When it comes to decarbonizing buildings, one of the biggest roadblocks is simply getting started. Understanding how to fund an energy services project and how to set measurable goals is critical to success. From rebates to incentives to determining the appropriate financing structure (on- or off-balance sheet) for a program, get practical tips on ways companies can get out of the starting gate to do what’s right for their business and the climate. REGISTER HERE

Impact assessment of the transition to zero-emission trucks in Europe (CleanTechnica)  The European Union is currently reviewing its CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), the EU’s key policy to decarbonize road freight transport. To assess the industrial policy contribution of the regulation, Transport & Environment commissioned Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to study the impacts of the transition to zero-emission trucks (ZETs) on the European economy and European truckmakers’ global competitiveness.

Rising electrification requires a dramatic shift to integrated planning of DER, bulk resources (Utility Dive)  Cost-effectively achieving clean energy policy goals requires integrating a rising number of distributed energy resources, or DER, into a whole system planning strategy, utilities and analysts agree. New data analytics show power system planners can affordably and reliably use customer-owned DER to meet demand spikes instead of fossil fuels or infrastructure upgrades, many stakeholders said. And Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 2222, which requires integration of DER into wholesale markets, makes planning for DER growth critical, they also agree. But there are barriers to effective distribution system planning, or DSP, and to merging its analytic insights into comprehensive electricity planning.

What will it take to unlock U.S. floating offshore wind energy? (NREL)  A massive 2.8 terawatts of U.S. offshore wind energy potential — enough to power 350 million homes — blows over ocean waters too deep for wind turbines to be fixed to the sea floor with foundations. The solution to capturing this valuable energy resource? Offshore wind turbines that float on the water and anchor to the seabed with mooring lines. As the first West Coast commercial-scale projects aim to be built around 2030, the United States will have to develop ports able to deploy commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development. A National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study, recently published in a report titled focuses on what it will take to develop a system of ports.

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