Energy Management Articles
Unilever nabs biogas contract to power 5 UK sites
About year after outlining a goal to become carbon positive by 2030, Unilever recently signed a contract to use biogas for the heating needs of five of its sites in the U.K. and Ireland.
Rankings: Corporate clean energy procurement index
This report from the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Information Technology Industry Council and Clean Edge ranks all 50 U.S. states on the ease with which American corporations can procure domestic renewable energy.
Weekend reads: 'Clean coal' plant revs up; NY's nuke shutdown; Fiat faces emissions accusations & more
Kick back with these must-read energy stories from around the web.
Cargill, Hilton, Wells Fargo join 38 C&I organizations in attending SED Summit
Executives from Cargill, Hilton Hotels and Resorts and Wells Fargo recently joined a growing list of 49 other energy professionals confirmed to attend the Smart Energy Decisions Innovation Summit.
Ohio C&I groups neutral on energy efficiency deal
Two commercial and industrial company organizations, alongside Kroger, have agreed not to oppose a new settlement over FirstEnergy's revised energy efficiency plan for its Ohio utilities, though tensions between the company and the Ohio Manufacturers Association appear to remain.
Blue Cross Blue Shield installs rooftop solar array
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has completed a 150 kW net-metered solar array installation at its headquarters in Berlin, Vt.
Corporates urge Trump support of low carbon policies
More than 530 companies and 100 investors on Jan. 10 called on the incoming Trump administration and the new Congress to support policies to accelerate a low-carbon future.
IKEA completes 45th US rooftop solar project
Home furnishings retailer IKEA recently completed its 45th U.S. project, a 1.13 MW rooftop system atop its Renton, Wash., store near Seattle that the company says is the largest in the state.
Energy storage, software player acquired by Enel
Energy storage and intelligent software company Demand Energy Networks Inc., a notable player in the New York City storage market, has been acquired by the North American renewable energy subsidiary of Italian power company Enel SpA.
New PPA structure hopes to meet clean power needs of small, midsize energy users
Looking to capture the interest of midsize C&I organizations, Altenex has announced a new power purchase agreement structure that allows for smaller amounts of renewable energy capacity to be purchased on shorter contract terms.
4 keys to successful energy benchmarking
This column, presented by Ecova, outlines best practices for establishing a resource management strategy that will help your company achieve cost savings, meet corporate responsibility goals and gain valuable insight into the performance of capital investments.
Greenpeace praises Switch in clean energy rankings
Environmental advocacy group Greenpeace, in a new report, named Apple, Google, Facebook and Switch as leaders in the movement to build a renewably powered internet while taking a more critical eye toward Amazon.
Citi strikes clean energy deal for Texas data center
Banking giant Citi has entered into a new contract to purchase renewable energy for a multiyear term at its Roanoke, Texas, data center.
Google-supported Texas wind project changes hands
About a year after Google announced its signing of a 225 MW wind PPA with developer Invenergy, the project has been sold to Southern Co. subsidiary Southern Power.
Already leader in landfill gas, Waste Management will increase solar, wind project hosting in 2017
As both a supplier and user of renewable energy, Waste Management Inc. has as taken a holistic approach to cutting greenhouse gas emissions that includes energy conservation and renewable energy sources, landfill gas in particular.
Outdoor lighting challenges and solution pathways
This report from the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative outlines solutions to overcoming challenges related to outdoor lighting retrofits.
Weekend reads: Garbage power; a winery's climate change battle; solar for Trump's wall & more
Kick back with this week's must read energy stories from around the web.
Fact sheet: Defining the greenhouse gas benefits of renewable energy purchases
This fact sheet from the Center for Resource Solutions offers guidance on communicating the benefits of renewable energy purchases.
Toyota has improved energy efficiency 24% in 5 years
On a path toward a net positive environmental impact, Toyota recently released its 2016 environmental report for North America, tracking its progress on a number of long-term goals and its laser-sharp focus on improving energy efficiency.
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.
