Energy & Utilities: Page 4


  • Aerial shot of solar panels with a single person in a hard hat working on top of panels
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    Eloi_Omella via Getty Images
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    DOE awards $27M for communities to plan a clean-energy future

    This is the first funding round for the Energy Future Grants initiative, which launched last year to help communities plan for transportation and building electrification, microgrids and solar projects.

    By April 11, 2024
  • Northeast's Largest Public Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Station Opens At JFK Airport.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    How cities are building out public EV charging infrastructure

    As more electric vehicles hit the road, municipalities and property owners are working with contractors to deploy EV chargers at libraries, airports, parks and other sites.

    By Joe Burns • April 10, 2024
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline
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    jamesteohart via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • Energy Department Secretary Jennifer Granholm behind a podium speaking.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Rooftop heat pump technologies can save US businesses $5B annually: DOE

    A new U.S. Department of Energy program aims to bring higher-efficiency rooftop heat pump technologies to market as soon as 2027.

    By Nish Amarnath • April 9, 2024
  • An older and younger person kneel in a workshop as they examine a grey concrete tile on the ground.
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    Courtesy of Consensus Digital Media/Purdue University
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    Indiana DOT, Purdue collaborate on highway that charges EVs

    Researchers will embed coils in a quarter-mile stretch of concrete roadway to produce a magnetic field that can recharge vehicles while they drive.

    By Matthew Thibault • April 8, 2024
  • Inside the rise of groundwater-based geothermal heat pumps

    The technology, which is cost-effective across 75% of the U.S. landmass and ideal for space-constrained users, could eventually displace utility gas service, proponents say.

    By Brian Martucci • April 5, 2024
  • Two people on a residential rooftop drilling solar panels in
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    These 8 nonprofits got $20B from the Biden administration for local clean energy financing. Now what?

    The “green bank” funds must be obligated by September 2024 amid efforts by Republican lawmakers to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

    By April 5, 2024
  • Aerial shot of buildings in dense urban setting
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    AerialPerspective Works via Getty Images
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    High-priority local actions in Biden’s new plan to slash building GHG emissions

    The Department of Energy blueprint lays out specific goals to lower U.S. building emissions 90% by 2050 compared with 2005 levels.

    By April 3, 2024
  • A technician connects cable on a solar rooftop array.
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    Wichien Tep via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Utilities must come clean about the full value of community solar

    Utilities often oppose customer-driven, third-party-owned energy projects like community solar because they threaten to supplant utility investments and utility shareholder profits.

    By Jeff Cramer and John Farrell • April 3, 2024
  • Two workers in hardhats and high-vis vests install a solar panel on a roof.
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    ArtistGNDphotography via Getty Images
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    IRS direct pay framework opens doors for tax-exempt entities to access clean energy credits

    The U.S. Treasury Department’s final rule for the program paves the way for organizations to receive more than 30% of a project’s cost in direct cash payments for clean energy investments.

    By Brian Martucci • April 2, 2024
  • Electric vehicles at an EV charging station.
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    EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER via Getty Images
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    New Mexico regulators approve El Paso Electric $11M EV plan, including low-income rebates

    The rebate program has a total budget of $200,000 and will be available to 50 customers. El Paso Electric will also offer smart charging programs and incentives for charging equipment.

    By Robert Walton • April 1, 2024
  • Silhouette of power line infrastructure at sunset
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    Sanghwan Kim via Getty Images
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    To chart its path away from gas, Massachusetts launches energy transformation office

    Headed by a former utility executive, the office will convene a task force with representatives from utilities, municipalities, business, labor and the supply chain industry.

    By March 25, 2024
  • A green IndyGo transit bus pulls up to an inductive electric charging pad.
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    Permission granted by InductEV
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    Wireless charging for electric transit buses: Here’s how it works

    Inductive wireless charging avoids the power requirements of depot charging and can be more efficient and cost-effective, said an executive for a wireless EV charging supplier.

    By March 25, 2024
  • Close up of EV charger with cars parked in background
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    Scharfsinn86 via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    5 tips for building highly utilized curbside EV chargers

    Think about EV charger placement and features that provide value to community residents, visitors and business owners, says the president and CEO of EV charging company Volta.

    By Brandt Hastings • March 22, 2024
  • An electric car charges at a mall parking lot.
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    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News via Getty Images
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    Energy Department’s weakened EV mileage rule allows more gas-engine car sales through 2030

    A more aggressive timeline originally proposed by the Biden administration drew pushback from the auto industry.

    By Michael Brady • March 20, 2024
  • A heavy equipment operator drives a roller machine on a construction jobsite.
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    Courtesy of Skanska
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    Electrifying construction: Zero-emission compactor piloted on major Los Angeles transit project

    After testing an electric excavator on the $9.5 billion Purple Line project in February, contractor Skanska deployed this month one of the first all-electric compactors used on an ongoing U.S. project.

    By Zachary Phillips • March 19, 2024
  • A row of Veolia electric refuse trucks in London
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    Courtesy of Veolia
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    Bidirectional charging could unlock new potential for waste fleet electrification

    A recent pilot in the UK could lead to a future where electric trucks can feed energy back into the grid rather than just paying for it. But the U.S. market is still in the early stages of incorporating EV technology.

    By David Richardson • March 18, 2024
  • A forest fire burns under a high voltage transmission line in California.
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    My Photo Buddy via Getty Images
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    California regulators approve power line undergrounding program to prevent wildfires

    Moving power lines underground can reduce the risk of wildfire ignition by 98%, according to Pacific Gas & Electric, but critics of the practice argue there are cheaper methods.

    By Robert Walton • March 14, 2024
  • A rooftop solar installation against the backdrop of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building in midtown Manhattan.
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    FernandoAH via Getty Images
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    New York City bill would mandate solar panels on public buildings

    The legislation would prohibit the use of power purchase agreements to meet solar targets, leaving the city to figure out who should handle routine operations and maintenance of the systems.

    By Nish Amarnath • March 12, 2024
  • The U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C.
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    Douglas Rissing via Getty Images
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    ASHRAE commercial building code standard now requires on-site renewables

    The Energy Department estimates that ASHRAE’s updated Standard 90.1 will drive energy savings nationwide. States have two years to certify that they have reviewed and, if needed, updated their codes.

    By Nish Amarnath • March 8, 2024
  • Construction framing of wood building.
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    ribeirorocha via Getty Images
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    Building energy code revamps can get another $90M from DOE

    More energy-efficient homes can remain habitable longer during extreme heat and cold events, which could save lives, a Department of Energy-commissioned study finds.

    By March 5, 2024
  • An aerial view of Los Angeles, California.
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    Adam Kaz via Getty Images
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    LA City Council plans to streamline solar, battery installation review process

    The move, which echoes a similar initiative in New York City, aims to help Los Angeles reach its goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035.

    By Joe Burns • March 5, 2024
  • Hydrogen fuel cell buses at a bus stop.
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    Scharfsinn86 via Getty Images
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    Fuel cell electric buses up 75% in transit fleets last year

    Battery-electric bus fleets also grew last year, but at a slower rate than in 2022, according to Calstart’s annual report on zero-emission buses.

    By March 4, 2024
  • An engineer checking a maintenance pipe system for ventilation and air conditioning on the rooftop of a building.
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    Amorn Suriyan via Getty Images
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    NYC defines ‘green economy,’ projects job growth in new action plan

    The 124-page plan released yesterday is the city’s latest signal that it is hungry to be at the center of climate change-related business and workforce growth.

    By Feb. 29, 2024
  • Pylon with power lines against reddish sky at sunset, rural North Carolina, USA.
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    Karl Weatherly via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    Congressional action on energy permitting remains stuck, but states, developers are finding solutions

    States are resolving local objections to projects through community engagement while transmission developers are making innovative use of existing rights-of-way to bypass permitting logjams.

    By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 29, 2024
  • A maintenance boat works next to the turbines of the new Burbo Bank off shore wind farm in the mouth of the River Mersey on May 12, 2008 in Liverpool, England.
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    Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
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    Ocean City, Maryland, ‘cannot be bought’: Mayor rejects offshore wind developer’s benefits package

    Mayor Rick Meehan said US Wind offered community benefit packages in exchange for local officials refraining from negative comments about the planned renewable energy project.

    By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 28, 2024