Energy Management Articles
GM moves towards an electrified future
General Motor’s 2017 Sustainability Report, released on June 12, highlights the company’s progress toward its visions of "a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion."
Solar grows despite tariffs
The U.S. solar market grew by 13% in the first quarter of the year, adding 2.5 gigawatts of solar PV, despite a tariff imposed by the Trump administration in January on solar imports.
Report: Apple's 2018 Environmental Responsibility Report
Beginning January 2018, all of the electricity from Apple's facilities worldwide are covered by renewable energy--every Apple data center, retail store, corporate office, and colocation facility in 43 countries around the world now runs on clean power.
Sysco signs for solar gardens in Texas
Sysco Corporation announced it has signed a ten-year renewable energy agreement for electricity from three solar gardens to be constructed in the Houston and Dallas areas. The gardens, expected to be operational by Q1 2019, will support approximately 10% of Sysco’s U.S. electricity usage.
Fort Huachuca to upgrade energy efficiency
Fort Huachuca, a U.S. Army installation near Sierra Vista, Ariz., has begun a project to improve energy security, resiliency, and efficiency across its facilities. The $24 million project is expected to reduce energy costs by 23% per year and will generate nearly $63 million in savings over 23 years.
Weekend reads: Meet Tesla, the energy company; Big oil's play for RE & more
Kick back and relax with these must-read energy stories from around the web:
Infographic: Corporate sourcing of renewables—numbers behind the growth
A new report from IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) suggests that with the continued decline in the costs of renewables, corporate demand will continue to increase as companies seek to reduce electricity bills, hedge against future price spikes and address sustainability concerns.
Microsoft’s new data center goes under the sea
Microsoft announced it has placed a renewable energy-powered experimental data center at the bottom of the ocean near Scotland’s Orkney Islands. The deployment of this shipping container-size facility marks a milestone in the company’s Project Natick,
GM and Honda join forces on battery development
General Motors Co. and Honda announced on June 7 an agreement for new advanced chemistry battery components, including the cell and module, to accelerate both companies’ plans for all-electric vehicles.
Deere & Co. commits to sustainability goals
As part of its commitment to sustainable energy use, Deere & Company intends to reduce GHG emissions by 15% through 50% renewable electricity supply and excellence in energy efficiency. This is one of a series of sustainability goals announced by the company to be achieved by the end of fiscal year 2022.
Cornell’s NYC tech campus goes solar
The Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island, Manhattan campus is now powered by solar generation system, which is expected to contribute to the Center’s goal of getting to net-zero energy usage.
Serving renewable energy's full spectrum
Renewable energy solutions have focused on small and large business, but mid-sized companies are often overlooked. This white paper, presented by WGL Energy, offers new approaches and innovative solutions for those companies who find themselves in this "green-energy gap."
Wynn Las Vegas opens solar facility
Wynn Las Vegas announced the beginning of commercial operation of the Wynn Solar Facility, a 160-acre facility that now offsets up to 75% of the resort’s current peak power requirements. Wynn reports this is the largest percentage of renewable energy used by any resort in Las Vegas
Iron Mountain climbs to RE heights
Iron Mountain Inc., a global storage and information management service company, announced their U.S. data center business was entirely powered by wind and/or solar sources in 2017, while 40% of the company’s total electricity use in the U.S. came from renewable energy.
Perdue Farms sets GHG reduction goals
With the release of its 2018 Company Stewardship Report, Perdue Farms announced a commitment to aggressive environmental sustainability goals, including a 30% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 2022.
CSU pivots towards green tariff
After reviewing 75 proposed projects from 27 companies with the goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2030, Colorado State University has decided not to move forward with any of these projects. Instead, the university will pivot to a strategy of joining four other Fort Collins electricity users in a green tariff.
Martin Guitars shreds energy efficiency goal
Martin Guitars set a goal to improve its energy performance across its U.S. operations by 25% within 10 years—and achieved this goal after only two years.
$1.3 billion from California, NJ, NY for EV infrastructure
A total of $1.3 billion will be invested by California, New York, and New Jersey in charging infrastructure for electric cars.
Weekend reads: Meeting Paris goals (without Trump); Giant corporates going solar & more
Kick back and relax with these must-read energy stories from around the web:
LEMs: An Emerging Corporate Energy Management Tool
Have you considered whether your captive power generation may be to the power industry what spare bedrooms are to Airbnb and car-sharing is to Lyft? Distributed energy resources—power generated by businesses and homeowners, usually via renewables—may prove highly disruptive to traditional utilities.
Mars goes 100% RE in Australia
Mars, Inc. has announced the purchase of solar energy to deliver 100% of the electricity needed to power its Australian operations by 2020. The global confectionary company signed a PPA with Total Eren for the 200 MW Kiamal Solar Farm in Victoria,
Webster, MA hospital adds solar array
The Harrington HealthCare’s Webster, MA facility has added a 4,200-panel solar array, expect to save the hospital and community more than $1 million. The facility will realize direct savings and lower operating costs, while almost 150 nearby homes can subscribe
Facebook signs green tariff for Utah data center
Facebook will begin construction on a 970,000 square-foot data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah to be powered with 100% renewable energy via a green tariff with Rocky Mountain Power.
125 million electric vehicles expected by 2030
The number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road worldwide is forecasted to reach 125 million by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which put the total car count at about 2 billion by 2040. Estimates for 2017 showed the EV count at 3.1 million, an increase of 54%.
Supercharged: Challenges & opportunities in global battery storage markets
This report from Deloitte's Center for Energy Solutions on global energy storage explores eight key market drivers that are supercharging the technology, while revealing four barriers that may be impeding growth.
The Home Depot premieres largest solar array in D.C.
The Home Depot has installed a 554-kilowatt solar generation project at its northeast Washington, D.C. location. The project is the largest single rooftop array in the District and is expected to supply more than 9.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity to the store
Ithaca Beer goes solar
Ithaca Beer Company, one of the largest craft breweries in New York State, installed a 200kW solar array on the roof of their facility located on Ithaca's West End. The company partnered with Renovus Solar on the installation.
Amazon premieres rooftop solar system in Las Vegas
Amazon announced on May 29 the launch of a 1.1-megawatt solar rooftop installation on its North Las Vegas fulfillment center, consisting of 3,145 individual solar modules atop an 813,000 square-foot roof—an array the size of 3.5 football fields.
Lava covers wells at Hawaii geothermal plant
Lava from the ongoing Kilauea volcano eruptions on the Big Island of Hawaii has covered two wells at the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV), though civil defense officials say no release of hydrogen sulfide has been detected at the plant.
Corporate sourcing of RE hit 465 TWh hours in 2017
Companies in 75 countries combined to source 465 terawatt hours (TWh) of renewable energy in 2017, an amount close to the overall electricity demand of France.
