Energy Management Articles
ASHRAE issues updates to refrigerant standards
ASHRAE has published two new major refrigerants-related standards as a package, with 30 new refrigerants and refrigerant blends added.
Tesla Gigafactory begins battery cell production
Tesla Motors Inc. and Panasonic Corp. have begun mass production of lithium-ion battery cells at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada.
Bloomberg: Solar to become cheapest power source
Though solar generated power is already cheaper than coal in some parts of the world, new data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance suggest that may be the case globally, on average, by 2025.
Massachusetts moves to create energy storage targets
Massachusetts is moving forward with plans to establish targets for the use of energy storage after the state Department of Energy Resources deemed such targets as prudent.
Green group challenges Duke Energy monopoly
A North Carolina environmental group is taking a challenge to a long-standing state policy preventing the sale of electricity by parties other than a utility to a court of appeals.
WSJ: Cyberattacks renew power grid security concern
While a recent article reporting that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid was later proved incorrect, renewed alarm about the security of the country's infrastructure is not without merit, according to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal.
Hawaiian Electric to hit 100% renewables by 2040
In a recent filing with state regulators, Hawaii's largest utility outlines its plans for increasing its use of renewable energy to meet 100% of the state's power needs by 2040.
Wind farms supplying power to P&G, Salesforce, sold
The 126-MW Texas wind project that is expected to generate enough renewable energy to power all of Procter and Gamble's fabric and home care plants in the U.S. and Canada has entered commercial operation.
With veto, Ohio clean energy standards to unfreeze
Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Dec. 27 vetoed a bill that would have weakened the state's renewable energy standards for power companies; seven of the state's largest businesses, including Nestle, Owens Corning and Whirlpool, applauded the move.
AWEA: Rural, Rust Belt wind powering corporates
As commercial and industrial corporations are turning to wind energy to help meet increasingly large renewable energy goals, the American Wind Energy Association has published an analysis of corporate wind power purchase agreements to date.
Cheap hydro attracts Amazon data centers to Montreal
Amazon.com's cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, has opened at least two data centers in Montreal, attracted to the area for its access to low-cost hydro-electric power, the Ottowa (Ontario) Citizen recently reported.
2016's top 3 corporate energy management trends
As the clock winds down on 2016, we've taken a look back at the year in corporate energy management with an eye toward the most impactful storylines.
SC Johnson hits 33% green power use globally
Since 2000, S.C. Johnson has slashed greenhouse gas emissions from its worldwide factories by nearly 52%, partially attributable to an increase in the use of renewable energy sources.
Washington governor revives carbon tax proposal
In introducing plan to support pay for teachers and other public school workers, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently proposed a host of new taxes, including a state carbon tax that would charge emitters $25 per metric ton starting in 2018.
EPA abandons work on Clean Power Plan guidance
The U.S. EPA announced Dec. 19 that it has stopped work on model rules associated with the Clean Power Plan intended to help states chart paths to compliance with the rule.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise adopts science-based GHG reduction target, outlines strategy
The company has also set a goal to increase the energy performance of its product portfolio 30 times by 2025.
Michigan energy reform maintains customer choice program, increased renewable energy mandate
Reaching a last-minute compromise, Michigan lawmakers on Dec. 15 passed long-sought-after reforms to the state's energy policies that will increase the renewable energy standard and maintain the retail electric choice program.
Cisco targets 450 energy efficiency, green projects
Technology conglomerate Cisco Systems continues to ramp up its energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives, recently reporting the implementation of 100 such projects in fiscal 2016.
Views from the top: How Toyota North America is stepping up to a global net zero emissions challenge
In this Smart Energy Decisions exclusive, Robin Haugen, general manager of Toyota North America's plant and environmental engineering group, discusses how she and her team are working toward the global company's 2050 Global Environmental Challenge, which aims to completely remove CO2 emissions from its operations.
Weekend reads: Rick Perry's wind cred; a Brooklyn microgrid; solar industry woes & more
Kick back with these must-read energy stories from around the web.
P&G moves toward cleaner power with wind, biomass
Toward its goal of using 30% renewable energy by 2020, Procter & Gamble is currently at about 10%, according to its first-ever corporate citizenship report.
NYC hospitals report 10% energy use reduction, look toward Brooklyn cogeneration project
New York City's public healthcare system reported a 10% reduction in its energy use in 2016 resulting from a series of energy efficiency projects across the network's 11 locations.
Smart Energy Decisions announces Innovation Summit sponsors, attending C&I companies
Smart Energy Decisions has announced an initial list of sponsors and attending corporations for its inaugural Innovation Summit event.
Google's renewable energy investments hit $2.5B
Google has made $2.5 billion in equity commitments for renewable energy projects worldwide, according to its 2016 environmental report, which also put numbers on efforts to make its data centers as energy efficient as possible.
Bloomberg-led task force issues recommendations for corporations to report climate-related financial risks
A new set of recommendations intended to help businesses better disclose climate-related financial risks and opportunities were released Dec. 14 by the task force launched by the Financial Stability Board and led by former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
Report: Restructuring underway at GE's Current
Current, the energy management "startup" launched by General Electric just over a year ago is undergoing a corporate reorganization, Greentech Media reported Dec. 12.
1st US offshore wind farm begins operations
The country's first offshore wind farm is now operational, setting the stage for the possibility of future projects to be added to the nation's generation mix.
Gates, Bezos launch $1B clean energy tech fund
A group of high profile investors including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos have launched a fund of more than $1 billion to finance emerging clean energy technologies.
'The World's Best Coffee' and other lies: How to avoid energy-efficiency investment pitfalls
How can a corporate executive distinguish energy efficiency projects that will pay off from the ones that are full of hot air (and not in a good way)?
Canada to roll out nationwide carbon price in 2018
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada will introduce nationwide carbon pricing in 2018.
