Expert Columns

The decision by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to veto landmark climate legislation is extremely disappointing and a step in the wrong direction for Massachusetts’ ability to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis, according to this column from Ceres. The organization is calling on state legislators to reintroduce this legislation immediately, noting that the Commonwealth cannot afford to delay the transition to a net-zero emissions future that is already underway.

The Western Maryland Railway Station in Cumberland, Maryland, built in 1913, went through various transformations before its current use for offices, a museum, and retail shops. This column from Better Buildings shows how a comprehensive building upgrade resulted in a 21 percent annual energy savings.

The year 2020 was certainly one for the history books, and for many of us, the cycle of bad news throwing wrenches into our lives and our livelihoods could not have ended soon enough. In terms of energy policy, however, the year brought some good along with the bad. In this column, Caitlin Marquis of AEE reflects on the trends that dominated energy policy in 2020 and will be shaping the debate for the year ahead. 

2020 was supposed to be a big year for energy treasure hunts and the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR© program - until COVID-19 hit. Yet even with restrictions brought about by the pandemic, this column from ENERGY STAR shows that organizations can still implement programs to find energy savings, engage employees, and build better energy management practices.

While a DER project’s financial impact is very important to IBM, the company also needs to assess its impact on operations, the likelihood that it will get built, and how external factors might impact the project. In this column, IBM's Global Energy Manager Jay Paidipati shares the framework IBM developed to evaluate projects in the interest of exchanging best practices and benchmarking.