Energy Management Articles
San Diego’s historic Balboa Park awarded LEED for Communities certification
San Diego’s Historic Balboa Park’s cultural partnership announced on Feb. 15 that the park has achieved a LEED for Cities and Communities certification.
Ingersoll Rand sets GHG emission reduction goals
Ingersoll Rand, a global provider of mission-critical flow creation and industrial solutions, released its 2030 and 2050 environmental goals on Feb. 22.
3M invests in reaching carbon neutrality
3M announced on Feb. 16 that it expects to invest approximately $1 billion over the next 20 years to accelerate new environmental goals, including achieving carbon neutrality.
Weekend reads: Texas outages vs. wind energy; Major oil companies invest $40M into geothermal tech
It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web.
Five years of Smart Energy Decisions
Inspired by a desire to help accelerate the energy transition and the principles espoused by Jigar Shah in his book, "Creating Climate Wealth," five years ago today on Friday, February 19, 2016, we published the first issue of our newsletter with this welcome message: “Each issue of our weekly newsletter, created exclusively for Fortune 1000 commercial and industrial energy executives just like you, will feature news, expert columns, and research. Here's to your success!"
The Texas Energy Catastrophe and Clean Energy
A historic freeze plunged every county in Texas into a winter weather advisory and caused the state’s electricity system to fail, with 4 million customers facing outages, many that lasted hours and hours. For some naysayers, the failure of the grid operator in Texas to prepare for severe weather is yet another chance to try and blame clean wind and solar energy, the very technologies we need to address climate change. However, says John Moore of NRDC in this column, that dog won't hunt.
Smart Energy Voices Podcast - Episode 23: Creating Climate Wealth with Jigar Shah
Celebrate the fifth anniversary of Smart Energy Decisions with this conversation between Founder and Editorial Direction John Failla and clean energy industry pioneer Jigar Shah, who has changed the way businesses approach technology to both save money and improve their impact on the environment. Join John and Jigar for surprising insights on Jigar’s career in the energy space, and his thoughts on where the industry is headed.
Ford Europe transforms Cologne facility for more EV manufacturing
Ford announced on Feb. 17 that it is committing to having 100% of its passenger vehicle range in Europe be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid by mid-2026, and completely all-electric by 2030.
U.S. climate leaders launch coalition to support emissions cuts
To mark the United States' return to the Paris Agreement, thousands of non-federal climate leaders announced on Feb. 19 that they launched a coalition to drive a society-wide mobilization for bold climate ambition to uphold the country's commitment to domestic and international climate action.
Kimco Realty strives for net-zero emissions by 2050
Kimco Realty Corp., which operators open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use assets in North America, announced on Feb. 17 a series of five and ten-year goals that will guide the company’s ESG strategy.
New York expands energy efficiency program for commercial buildings
New York City will soon be expanding the implementation of its energy efficiency, water conservation and clean energy programs for commercial buildings through a $30 million contract.
Anheuser-Busch pursues energy goals with $10B sustainability credit facility
Anheuser-Busch InBev announced Feb. 18 that it signed a new $10 billion Sustainability Linked Loan Revolving Credit Facility that will contribute to it achieving its goals in renewable energy and emissions reduction.
IBM pledges net zero emissions by 2030
IBM announced Feb. 16 that it is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
New Mexico State University begins work on 3 MW solar installation
New Mexico State University announced Feb. 15 that construction has begun on a 3 MW solar project that will generate enough power to cover a third of the university's electricity needs by this fall.
Jaguar Land Rover reveals plans for net zero, all-electric models
Jaguar Land Rover announced Feb. 15 its intention to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039. Plans also call for Jaguar and Land Rover to offer pure electric power, nameplate by nameplate, by 2030.
The Climate Pledge gains 20 new signatories
Twenty new companies have added their names to Amazon's The Climate Pledge, including IBM, Iceland Foods, Johnson Controls and Ørsted.
Chevron expands dairy biomethane project
Chevron USA announced Feb 17 the expansion of its dairy biomethane project in partnership with Brightmark.
Delaware to launch commercial PACE program
Delaware announced that more counties have joined its Delaware Property Assessed Clean Energy (D-PACE) program.
Michigan school district purchases low-emission school buses
Michigan’s Livonia Public Schools District announced on Feb. 16 that it has added 22 Blue Bird propane autogas-fueled buses to its fleet with funding received from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
Grey Sail brewery to capture and reuse CO2 emissions
Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island announced on Feb. 4 that it is the first craft brewery in the state to implement carbon technology to capture waste CO2 emissions from its production process and reuse it on-site to carbonate its beer.
Conagra Brands sets new environmental commitments
Conagra Brands, which includes Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Healthy Choice and other North American food brands, shared on Feb. 15 its progress toward key ESG initiatives. This includes committing to reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 25% by 2030.
Orange signs PPA for two French solar projects
Orange, a French multinational telecommunication corporation, announced on Feb. 15 that it has signed a 15-year PPA to develop two solar projects.
The next chapter for HQ2: sustainable buildings surrounded by nature
Amazon has unveiled a proposed design for the second phase of its Arlington, Virginia headquarters. In this column, John Schoettler, Vice President of Amazon's Global Real Estate and Facilities team, offers highlights of the plan, which blends architectural and ecological elements for the new PenPlace to meet LEED Platinum certification, run all-electric central heating and cooling systems on 100% renewable energy, and align with Amazon's Climate Pledge to be net-zero carbon by 2040 and advance Arlington and Amazon’s shared commitment to be leaders in the fight against climate change.
Bromley Mountain Ski Resort furthers sustainability plans with solar array
Bromley Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont announced on Feb. 11 that it plans to add a 615-kW solar project.
NYU finds ESG investments drive better financial performance
The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, partnering with Rockefeller Asset Management, announced on Feb. 10 that their research indicates that ESG activities lead to better financial performance.
Weekend reads: Wyoming's struggle to convert from fossil fuels; the human cost of air pollution
It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web.
Smart Energy Voices Podcast - Episode 22: The Future of Sustainability Strategy
2020 definitely produced a number of challenges, but the need for societies and organizations to move toward sustainable energy solutions has not gone away. This conversation between Smart Energy Decisions founder, John Failla, and Greg Kandankulam, Senior Manager of Sustainability at NRG Energy highlights the current situation in the push for renewable energy, how and why the focus has shifted away from renewable energy procurement and toward the reduction of carbon emissions, and how sustainability consultants are playing a large role in the transition.
Intel Corp. to power Oregon facilities with solar
Intel announced on Feb. 11 that it has signed a 15-year agreement with PGE to purchase solar power to help provide renewable power for its technology development and manufacturing facilities in Hillsboro, Oregon.
Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID
CPower’s latest ebook takes a peek into eight of the biggest commercial industries in North America and reveals key energy management strategies successful organizations executed during the wildest year of the young century. This book also breaks down the demand response and demand management programs available in five of the nation’s open energy markets as well as those offered by several of the largest electric utilities in U.S. deregulated markets. "Demand-Side Energy Management in the Time of COVID" is a must-have resource for any commercial and industrial organization striving to optimize its energy use and spend in 2021. Download your electronic copy today!
U.S. renewables generation mix to double by 2050
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Feb. 8 that it expects the share of renewables in the U.S. electricity generation mix to increase from 21% in 2020 to 42% in 2050.
