Commercial

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil speaks with Melissa Banks, Regulatory and Utility Advocacy Director at Trane Technologies, about the complex landscape of building decarbonization and sustainability. Banks discusses the increasing importance of regulatory compliance, utility incentives, and tax benefits in making energy efficiency projects financially viable for businesses and building owners. She explains the significance of understanding local utility incentives and shares examples of utility programs that offer substantial rebates for energy-efficient upgrades and emphasizes leveraging these incentives and working with experts to help maximize the financial benefits of their sustainability efforts — making the path to decarbonization both achievable and affordable.

Toyota Motor North America invested in a new high-powered charging network along with seven other automakers to support its buildout for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) across North America.

Snohomish County Public Utility District signed a contract to construct a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a 20-year guaranteed capacity of 25 megawatts and 100 megawatt-hours.

The city of Boston will expand access to curbside EV charging and establish a public-private partnership that will help the city demonstrate a scalable model of deploying EV charging stations in the public right-of-way.

American Airlines entered into a conditional purchase agreement for 100 hydrogen-electric engines.

Microsoft entered an agreement to purchase 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits over six years, the largest single purchase of CDR credits enabled by Direct Air Capture (DAC) to date.

U.S. Army Garrison Fort Eisenhower entered a $72 million utility energy service contract (UESC) to increase the energy efficiency of the 55,000-acre military installation located near Augusta, Georgia.

Brixmor Property Group announced a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions compared to a 2018 baseline year, surpassing its Science-Based Target initiatives goal.

Google announced that its emissions increased by 13% in 2023 and a total of 48% compared to its baseline year of 2019 from increased data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions.

Prudential Financial, Inc. lowered its emissions by 69% since its 2017 baseline year for the facilities in its emissions reduction targets.