Utilities: Page

  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    For government fleet managers, the shift to EVs takes planning, training and funding

    Because of the urgent need for decarbonization and reducing climate change, local government fleet managers are facing several major trends. One of these is the shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EVs), says Sam Pournazeri, senior director of Clean Transportation & Energy at ICF, a global consulting and technology services company with approximately 9,000 employees that helps organizations, including public- and private-sector clients, solve their complex challenges.

    By Michael Keating • Sept. 6, 2024
  • An array of solar panels create electricity at the Lightsource bp solar farm near the Anglesey village of Rhosgoch, on May 10, 2024 in Wales.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Robust community engagement good for locals, renewable energy developers: Berkeley Lab

    In a first-of-its-kind survey, wind and solar developers cited community opposition and strict local siting ordinances as leading causes of project delays and cancellations.

    By Brian Martucci • Sept. 6, 2024
  • A hand holding a pencil hovers over model buildings and windmills. Explore the Trendline➔
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Trendline

    Energy Codes and Building Performance Standards

    Cities are using these levers to meet climate goals and address everything from data centers to building decarbonization.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • Aerial view of rooftops in a suburban neighborhood. A street curves through the houses.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Neighborhood decarbonization pilot programs can start in California

    A new law allows natural gas utilities to electrify a neighborhood instead of replacing old gas pipelines under certain conditions.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated Sept. 27, 2024
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Column

    Fundamentals of fuel management for city fleets

    Editor's note: This article was originally published in American City & County, which has merged with Smart Cities Dive to bring you expanded coverage of city innovation and local government. For the latest in smart city news, explore Smart Cities Dive or sign up for our newsletter.For most f...

    By Rachael Plant • Aug. 30, 2024
  • A woman holding a young child in a darkened room next to a fan.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Cooling is expensive, and more federal assistance is needed, advocates say

    The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is “chronically underfunded,” argues a policy brief by the Natural Resources Defense Council and WE ACT for Environmental Justice. 

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 29, 2024
  • A parking space painted with "EV charging only" with a charger behind it
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    DOT awards $521M in EV charging grants amid slowing sales growth

    Grant winners will deploy over 9,200 electric vehicle charging ports and build alternative-fueling infrastructure across 29 states, eight tribal areas and Washington, D.C., the Department of Transportation says.

    By Robert Walton • Aug. 29, 2024
  • The financial district in Boston, seen against the Boston Harbor at sunrise showcasing a mix of contemporary and historic buildings.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    What to know about BERDO, Boston’s building performance standards law

    While many buildings already meet 2025 emissions limits, facility managers and owners should start planning now for how they’ll meet future requirements, city officials say.

    By Joe Burns • Aug. 28, 2024
  • Large office buildings against a blue sky.
    Image attribution tooltip
    David Ryder/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    State, local building energy codes get makeovers with over $240M from US DOE

    Nineteen states and localities, including Seattle and New York City, got grants announced Tuesday by the Department of Energy. The agency encouraged more communities to apply by Sept. 13 for a second round of funding.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 28, 2024
  • A person pushes a gurney with a person on it into a vehicle
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Cities assert tenants’ right to cooling in a warming world

    Grappling with fatal heat waves, local governments are passing laws that make landlords provide working air conditioning. Financial and other challenges remain, however.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 27, 2024
  • Two people carry equipment into a building on a busy city sidewalk.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Q&A

    Will New York City make landlords provide air conditioning? Its climate chief is optimistic.

    Coordinating any such mandate with the city's building decarbonization law requirements could reduce the burden it might create for building owners, Rohit Aggarwala explained.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 26, 2024
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Column

    America is at a crossroads with its infrastructure future

    America is at a crossroads with its infrastructure future

    By Maria Lehman • Aug. 23, 2024
  • New Tesla vehicles parked on a car lot
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    More efficient electric vehicles can reduce grid stress, cut charging costs by almost a third: ACEEE

    Local governments can leverage registration fees and subsidies to encourage EV efficiency, says research published Tuesday by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

    By Robert Walton • Aug. 20, 2024
  • Three people speak with each other in front of a large multifamily building.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Kent J. Edwards/Reuters

    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    Should tenants have a right to cooling? More cities say yes amid record heat.

    As rental cooling standards pop up around the country, experts warn that they aren’t a perfect solution to the rising danger of scorching temperatures.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 20, 2024
  • A low angle of tall buildings in Manhattan
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    New York encourages electrification with new affordability pilot, grid planning process

    The pilot will ensure that about 1,000 low-income households spend no more than 6% of their annual income on electricity when they electrify their space and water heating.

    By Robert Walton • Aug. 19, 2024
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Government EV fleets are expanding to include charging infrastructure for larger vehicles

    Editor's note: This article was originally published in American City & County, which has merged with Smart Cities Dive to bring you expanded coverage of city innovation and local government. For the latest in smart city news, explore Smart Cities Dive or sign up for our newsletter.Local gove...

    By Michael Keating • Aug. 14, 2024
  • Hand holding up smart phone with navigation on the screen
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Oldcastle Infrastructure
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sponsored by Oldcastle Infrastructure

    Tackling water loss with advanced AI technology

    Transition to continuous monitoring and proactive maintenance.

    Aug. 12, 2024
  • An interior of a lake source cooling system at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from Cornell University on August 06, 2024
    Image attribution tooltip

    Thermal energy networks can slash water use in buildings, study shows

    With thermal energy networks poised to expand in coming years, water usage data must be standardized and publicly available, the Building Decarbonization Coalition said.

    By Nish Amarnath • Aug. 7, 2024
  • Engineers look at digital twins to monitor building energy use.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    AI could halt energy use growth in US buildings: LBNL study

    Combined with policy measures and low-carbon generation, building carbon emissions can decline over 90% by 2050 compared with business-as-usual scenarios, according to national lab researchers.

    By Joe Burns • Aug. 6, 2024
  • A view of a neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Electric company would pay $2B in pending Maui wildfire settlement

    Hawaiian Electric Industries and its utilities were named in about 400 lawsuits related to the wildfires, with plaintiffs arguing utility power lines started the deadly blazes.

    By Ethan Howland • Aug. 5, 2024
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Column

    Teamwork between local government and utilities spells safer, swifter power restoration

    Editor's note: This article was originally published in American City & County, which has merged with Smart Cities Dive to bring you expanded coverage of city innovation and local government. For the latest in smart city news, explore Smart Cities Dive or sign up for our newsletter.An East Co...

    By Mike Zappone • Aug. 2, 2024
  • Two people wearing yellow wide-brimmed hats and orange work gloves hold a solar panel leaning on a home's roof.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    $36M for low-income housing energy efficiency available from US DOE grants

    Local governments and other entities can get up to $2 million each for weatherization and workforce training efforts.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 1, 2024
  • Workers install solar panels on a roof.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Clean energy tax credits are tough. This new tool could help.

    The free online navigator from Lawyers for Good Government can help cities determine if a project qualifies for Inflation Reduction Act direct-pay incentives.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • July 31, 2024
  • A view of the facades of commercial skyscrapers in Boston's bustling Copley Square
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    US cities sharpen focus on building performance standards to meet net-zero goals

    U.S. cities are turning to performance-based standards to meet climate goals after traditional energy-efficiency mandates fell short, a JLL report says.

    By Nish Amarnath • July 29, 2024
  • Teal and orange color of NYC midtown view and the East river from Roosevelt Island
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Building performance standards are likely not preempted by federal law, attorney says

    Such policies are likely safe even after a federal appeals court struck down Berkeley, California’s first-in-the-nation gas ban in new construction, said Daniel Carpenter-Gold, staff attorney at the Public Health Law Center.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated July 24, 2024
  • A view of the facade of New York City Hall and Manhattan Municipal Building in lower Manhattan, New York City.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    600+ NYC facilities pledge to cut energy use as part of expanded demand response program

    The city also plans to install over 1,150 real-time meters in municipal buildings to help manage electricity use, according to its Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

    By Nish Amarnath • July 23, 2024