Energy Management Articles
Weekend reads: Electrifying the nation's school buses; Solar from a Burning Man community center
It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web.
Honeywell Targets Carbon Neutrality by 2035
Honeywell announced on April 8 its commitment to become carbon neutral in its operations and facilities by 2035. This target represents a continuation of the company’s sustainability efforts, which have already led to a reduction in GHG intensity from operations and facilities of more than 90%.
Smart Energy Voices Podcast - Episode 30: Trends in Renewable Energy Deal Making & The Biden Administration
In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host John Failla speaks with Keith Martin, a transactional lawyer with Norton Rose Fulbright. Keith worked for 146 companies last year and his firm did $145 billion in project financing. He also lobbies the US treasury and congress on policy issues and has worked for two democratic senators. Listen to learn more about clean energy from the perspective of legislative infrastructure.
Pet Food Brand Reduces Carbon Paw Print
Direct-to-consumer, personalized dog food brand, Tailored® Pet announces a celebration of Earth Month with programs including reducing its carbon "paw print" and carbon-neutral shipping.
UMass Conducts Energy Audit by Drone
A team of faculty and student researchers from UMass Lowell’s Department of Mechanical Engineering used a drone to identify and prioritize cost-saving repairs and energy-efficiency projects on campus.
BlackRock Raises $4.8 Billion for Climate Investments
BlackRock Real Assets reported a $4.8 billion final close of its Global Renewable Power Fund III with commitments from more than 100 institutional investors and significantly exceeding its initial target. The fund invests in global climate infrastructure assets, primarily in renewable power generation, across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Wells Fargo Expands Solar in North Carolina
Wells Fargo announced a 20-year renewable energy purchase agreement for 100% of solar energy produced by the 58 MW Blackburn Solar project in Catawba County, North Carolina. The transaction is Wells Fargo’s single largest to date and will supply approximately 8% of the company’s annual global electricity.
Maud's Coffee & Tea Now Using 100% Solar Energy
Intelligent Blends, the parent company of Maud's Coffee & Tea announced that it is now using solar-powered energy for the production of all of its house blends and certified recyclable pods.
Facebook Buys Power from Floating Solar Farm
Facebook announced the purchase of 5 MW of solar power from the largest floating solar in Singapore, located in the Straits of Johor.
Georgetown University Partnership Boosts Energy Efficiency, Sustainability Goals
Georgetown University is boosting its conservation and utility management efforts through a partnership with ENGIE North America. Together, these efforts will improve energy efficiency, help the university achieve ambitious sustainability goals, and positively impact students, faculty, and the community.
Developing Energy Solutions For Your Company's Needs
Listening to customers is the first step to delivering a comprehensive, innovative, and strategic vision for energy management strategies. In this blog post from Constellation's series on Sustainability, Efficiency and Technology, the company explains why the conversation must start with a series of questions to determine what a customer is looking for in order to effectively meet their energy, sustainability, and budgetary needs.
Record-breaking 260+ GW of Renewable Energy Added Globally in 2020
More than 260 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity were added around the world, an increase of almost 50% over expansion in 2019 and beating both estimates and records. According to data released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), more than 80% of all new electricity capacity added in 2020 was renewable, with solar and wind accounting for 91% of new renewables.
Novelis Announces Sustainability and Net-Zero Carbon Goals
Novelis Inc., an Atlanta-based aluminum rolling and recycling company, announced its goal to become a net carbon-neutral company by 2050 or sooner and reduce its carbon footprint by 30 % by 2026. The company already had a longstanding sustainability commitment and now commits to becoming a fully circular business with a more diverse, inclusive, and safe workplace.
Wind Energy Powers Boehringer Ingelheim's Largest U.S. Site
Boehringer Ingelheim, a manufacturer of animal vaccines, now powers its largest U.S. manufacturing site with wind power. The change to wind power will reduce carbon emissions at the site by 76% and is part of a larger company commitment to environmental sustainability nationwide.
PepsiCo Bottling Facility in N.J. Adds Rooftop Solar
PepsiCo's bottling facility in Piscataway, N.J. now has a 992,800-watt roof-mounted solar array. The project is part of a corporate initiative to achieve 100% renewable electricity for PepsiCo’s U.S.-based operations.
Colorado Mountain College Partners for New Solar + Storage
Colorado Mountain College has signed a PPA to host a solar power and energy storage project on its Glenwood Springs campus in return for RECs. Ameresco will build and operate the project, selling the power generated to Holy Cross Energy, which will administer the RECs to the college.
City of Perry Gains Solar Project on former Brownfield Site
The city of Perry, Iowa, will install a 1-megawatt solar facility on the town's western edge. The site is a remediated brownfield area where the city has worked for several years to build a renewable energy project.
U.S. Airlines Organization Commits to Net Zero by 2050
Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization representing leading U.S. airlines, announced that its member carriers would work across the aviation industry and with government leaders to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
ENERGY STAR’s Certification: The Path to a More Efficient Data Center
Over the past 12 years, manufacturers of computer servers have shown leadership through the ENERGY STAR® program to improve server energy efficiency and help reduce data center energy consumption. In this column from ENERGY STAR, a team of experts explores the use of SERT™ (Server Efficiency Rating Tool), the benefits of enabling power management, and the use of SERT data to estimate data center power demand.
Energy Resilient Medical Facility Rises from Ashes of 2018 Fire
Adventist Health announced the completion of a solar and microgrid project at their medical facility in Paradise, California. The new, integrated system will deliver clean energy while ensuring energy resiliency to serve the community during public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events. The hospital was heavily damaged by the 2018 Camp Fire, one of the most destructive in California's history.
Cabot Completes Major Air Emissions Project
Cabot Corporation has announced the completion of a significant air emissions control project at its carbon black manufacturing facility located in Franklin, Louisiana, USA. Cabot invested $85 million in technology that will improve air quality through the substantial elimination of NOX and SO2 emissions.
UNC Asheville target carbon neutrality by 2050
The University of North Carolina at Asheville has committed to going carbon neutral by 2050. As part of the institution's Greenfest festival - which included social distancing and masks - UNCA's Chancellor Nancy Cable signed the Carbon Commitment.
Weekend reads: Minneapolis breaks ground on geothermal project; Commodifying carbon capture
It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web.
Smart Energy Voices Podcast - Episode 29: The Future of Clean Tech Investing
In this episode, John speaks with Ron Pernick, the founder and managing director of Clean Edge. Ron has over 30 years of experience in high-tech sectors, the last 20 of which have been in clean tech. He founded Clean Edge to be an analyst organization focused on this emergent sector. Since 2001, they’ve collected and processed data from dozens of successful clean tech organizations. Find out how this information can be used to invest in the future of clean tech.
2021 Virtual Innovation Summit Wrap-Up
Uniting industry buyers and suppliers under the theme of “Emerging Technologies for the Future of Energy Management,” Smart Energy Decisions (SED) presented its 2021 Innovation Summit as a virtual event in a very real and ever-changing world of the energy transition.
Ford's New Science-Based Targets Revealed
Ford Motor Company announced new science-based targets toward the company's goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. The targets were announced with the release of the company’s first-ever integrated sustainability and financial report.
JetBlue Marks Earth Month with Decarbonization Efforts
JetBlue announced on April 1 a set of short and medium terms ESG targets, including several focusing on achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and expanding usage of sustainable aviation fuels as part of its celebration of Earth Month.
24/7 Clean Power for Federal Buildings, EV Investment Included in American Jobs Plan
The American Jobs Plan released by the Biden Administration on March 31 proposed using the federal government’s purchasing power to drive clean energy deployment across the market by purchasing 24/7 clean power for federal buildings.
DHL Adds Nearly 100 Electric Express Vans to Growing U.S. Fleet
Delivery giant DHL further expands its electric delivery van service in the U.S.with 89 electric delivery vehicles this year in New York and California, following an initial pilot program using nine Lightning Electric Ford Transit 350HD electric vans late last year.
California Cement Industry aims for Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2045
The California Nevada Cement Industry Association announced plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045, outlining opportunities and actions to take to meet this goal. The commitment supports California’s state GHG reduction goal and is committed to carbon neutrality, consistent with the belief that curbing emissions is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
