Energy Efficiency | Page 235

The Georgia Public Service Commission on July 16 finalized Georgia Power Company’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), increasing the required amount of renewable energy procurement to 2,210 megawatts, more than double the utility’s initial recommendation to add 1,000 megawatts by 2022.

Rite Aid announced it has installed LED lighting in nearly 20% of their stores and plans to add another 200 per year going forward. These installations have decreased annual electric consumption by 18 million kWh.

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

Washington State recently became the first state to adopt an existing building performance standard, putting it at the forefront of all states in addressing energy efficiency in buildings. In this column from the Institute for Market Transformation, Executive Director Cliff Majersik shows how Washington is blazing a trail that other states are likely to follow.

After meeting its GHG reduction goal four years ahead of schedule by posting a reduction of 27% vs. a 2005 baseline, Kimberly-Clark announced it will double the target from the original 20% goal to a 40% reduction by 2022.

The City of New York has received delivery of a $3.3 million, 50-unit purchase of EV ARC™ units, which will provide charging to electric vehicles across multiple departments including city police, fire, and other essential city services.

High-performance outdoor lighting technologies are proving to be a cost-effective energy savings measure. Better Buildings presents the Outdoor Lighting Decision Tree tool to share successful approaches taken by cities, states, and regional groups.

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. achieved a $2.3 million savings in annual energy costs from LED lighting retrofits, 6 LEED-certified new development communities and 34 LEED or Energy Star certifications in process as of year-end 2018. AvalonBay has completed 30 LED lighting retrofit projects and plans to finish 32 more in 2019 for a total of more than 165 LED retrofits by the end of the year, reaching 63% of its portfolio. 

Amtrak reached a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 17% in 2018 over a 2010 baseline, including a 1.75% reduction from 2017 to 2018. The decline was attributed to the reduction of train fuel use and of electricity consumption in traction power and at Amtrak facilities.