Commercial, Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Efficiency, Industrial, Sourcing Renewables  -  April 13, 2019

Weekend reads: Vehicle-Grid integration is the key; London premieres ultra low emission zone

It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web:

Vehicle-Grid Integration Unlocks The True Potential of Electric Vehicles and Renewables  (Clean Technica)  The clean energy revolution is bringing new sources of generation onto grids around the world, which is fundamentally shifting the way grids operate. However, the intermittent nature of solar and wind generation require flexible grid technologies like demand response and energy storage at a scale. As grid operators and new energy companies innovate in the space, technologies and solutions have risen on both the energy storage and the demand side of the grid to deliver the necessary flexibility. 

UM seeks strategies to achieve carbon neutrality on campus (Missoula Current)  UM Sustainability led the fifth annual University of Montana Campus Climate Conversation last week, urging campus leaders to “be bold” with strategies to reduce emissions as the deadline for the campus’ 2020 carbon neutrality goal approaches. Faculty, staff and students brainstormed ideas for UM President Seth Bodnar for the overall Climate Action Plan implemented by former President George Dennison in 2007. Sustainability coordinator Eva Rocke said carbon neutrality through energy conservation and efficiency is the goal.

Ultra Low Emission Zone now live in London (Zap Map)  From today, 8th April 2019, drivers of the most polluting cars and vans entering central London will have to pay £12.50 per day to drive within the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in addition to the Congestion Charge where it applies. The ULEZ charge, which supersedes the T-Charge, applies to vehicles not meeting the following minimum emissions standards: Petrol Euro 4 and Diesel Euro 6. For vehicles which meet or exceed this criteria, no ULEZ charge is paid. The ULEZ is enforced based on the declared emissions of the vehicle rather than the age. 

Kinetic sculptures and sound circuits: building solar-powered art at Pioneer Works (The Verge) In 2014, multimedia artist Alex Nathanson co-curated a project called Nightlight that turned a garden in Queens into an interactive light exhibit. The team had hoped to power the exhibit by running a cable out, but that turned out not to be feasible, and “solar power was the solution.” Since then, Nathanson has been interested in the intersection of solar power and art. He managed Sunset, a Central Park art installation that consisted of a solar-powered ice cream truck, and he now teaches classes on art and engineering. 

Students help power new park with wind (Fox25)  College students in Stillwater are helping fill a block that’s been vacant in the downtown area for years. They’re doing it with wind power. The City of Stillwater has been trying to figure out what to do with the empty lot on 9th Ave and Duncan Street for about three years. “It creates the opportunity to create a town center that we’ve really kind of missed, so that’s the opportunity that we have here to have a living room or family room for the city,” said Jim Beckstrom, the chair of the Block 34 Trust, the group working on the empty lot. 

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