Utilities: Page 9

  • Charging port on the Volvo C40 recharge SUV.
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    Courtesy of Volvo Cars
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    $1.3B available for EV charging network expansion in US

    Government entities nationwide can apply for federal funding to build charging infrastructure in their communities. 

    By Haley Cawthon • June 4, 2024
  • A person wearing a ponytail and purple tank top raches up to touch cardboard around a window AC unit on the outside of a building. A plastic water bottle sits on the windowsill.
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    David Ryder/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    How US summer cooling costs are rising in 2 charts

    The average U.S. electric bill this summer is projected to set a 10-year record, finds a June 3 report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and Center for Energy Poverty and Climate.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • June 4, 2024
  • Fermata Energy has partnered with the City of Boulder on a vehicle-to-grid charging project
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    Permission granted by Fermata Energy
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    EVs will power buildings in Colorado city’s ‘transformative’ pilot

    The pilot will inform how vehicle-to-everything charging technology can be used in areas at high risk of prolonged outages due to natural disaster or emergency events, a utility partner said.

    By Robert Walton • May 31, 2024
  • A Ford Pro electric vehicle charger with a F-150 Lightning pickup truck parked in the background.
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    Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
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    Dallas signs EV charging agreement with Ford Pro

    As the city aims to electrify all its fleet vehicles by 2040, Ford will scale up the necessary EV charging infrastructure.

    By Eric Walz • May 30, 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.
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    Getty Images
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    The latest threat to drinking water systems? Cyberattacks, EPA says

    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.Muleshoe i...

    By • May 29, 2024
  • Looking up at skyscrapers against a blue sky
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    Getty Images
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    Top cities for certified energy-efficient buildings announced by EPA

    Los Angeles has dominated the rankings for Energy Star-certified buildings year after year. The U.S. EPA has some ideas on why. 

    By Ysabelle Kempe • May 24, 2024
  • Overhead view of brick, multistory buildings along a one-way street.
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    Getty Images
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    Legal battle over NYC’s building emissions law resurfaces in appellate court

    A panel of New York State Supreme Court judges said the defendants, including New York City, have failed to show that the state’s existing climate legislation does not preempt Local Law 97. 

    By Nish Amarnath • May 20, 2024
  • The hallway of a home with white walls, with a thermostat that reads "70" on the wall. Above it is a panel that reads "Year-Round Comfort & Savings."
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    Dylan Slagle, BGE

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    EPA launches new Energy Star residential standard

    Requirements for certification include heat pumps, resident electric vehicle charging stations, electric cooking appliances and highly energy-efficient construction.

    By Mary Salmonsen • May 17, 2024
  • A city skyline behind a waterway lined by trees. A boat is in the waterway.
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    Getty Images
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    Clean energy fund surplus sparks tension in Pacific Northwest city

    The Portland, Oregon, program has brought in millions of dollars more than originally anticipated, putting some city leaders and climate advocates at odds over how to proceed.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • May 16, 2024
  • A wide-angle side view of a man in business dress stood at an electric charging station
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    istockphoto.com/SolStock

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    Sponsored by Franklin Electric EV Systems

    Investigating the uptime challenges facing charge point operators

    Explore the common causes of DC fast charger uptime issues.

    May 13, 2024
  • The outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit during the day
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    Retrieved from U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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    23 states, rural co-ops sue EPA over ‘unlawful, unreasonable’ power plant rules

    “This rule intentionally sets impossible standards to destroy the coal industry,” North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said Thursday.

    By Robert Walton • May 10, 2024
  • Apartment building with three cars parked in front
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    Retrieved from Bauer House on Facebook on May 09, 2024
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    HUD’s $4.8B green retrofit program announces first construction project deal

    A new heat pump system will replace the existing gas-powered system at an apartment community housing low-income older adults.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • May 9, 2024
  • The BMW Vision Neue Klasse X electric Sport Activity Vehicle.
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    Courtesy of BMW Group AG
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    BMW’s future EVs will support bidirectional charging

    The automaker’s next generation of vehicles will be able to store energy to send back to the grid.

    By Eric Walz • May 7, 2024
  • Close-up of a pipeline in a trench dug in the ground
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    Getty Images
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    How can cities build a future with fewer gas pipelines?

    As some communities question the logic of continued investment in the gas system, a new RMI and National Grid paper looks at efforts to find alternatives.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • May 6, 2024
  • A facade of a Department of Energy building
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    Getty Images
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    DOE picks local clean energy projects to receive $27M in grants

    More than three dozen state and local governments will receive funds, including $2.2 million for Chicago to launch a building electrification campaign, install EV chargers and other projects.

    By Robert Walton • May 2, 2024
  • A closeup of JPMorgan Chase's headquarters in New York.
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Clean energy transition could take ‘decades or generations,’ JPMorgan warns

    New research from the U.S. bank pointed to inflation, high interest rates and geopolitical issues as key roadblocks delaying the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

    By Zoya Mirza • May 1, 2024
  • An outside view of a courthouse of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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    "Tyler May 2016 45 (William M. Steger Federal Building and United States Courthouse)" by Michael Barera is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Energy Department finalizes rule to phase out fossil fuels in federal buildings

    The elimination of on-site fossil fuel use in new projects after 2030 is part of the Biden administration’s push for net-zero emissions from federal facilities by 2045.

    By Nish Amarnath • April 29, 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.
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    Getty Images
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    ‘The sounds of nature’: Cicada noise causes influx of 911 calls in South Carolina town

    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 the fi...

    By • April 25, 2024
  • Photovoltaic solar panels on a residential building.
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    Getty Images
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    EPA awards $7B to 60 low-income solar access programs

    The funds will support community solar programs as well as initiatives to provide loans and grants to low-income households looking to install rooftop solar, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

    By Emma Penrod • April 24, 2024
  • Group of green sprouts growing out from soil.
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    Getty Images
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    Sponsored by Reworld™

    7 starting points for effective sustainability strategies

    In today's environmentally conscious world, businesses cannot afford to ignore the impact of waste.

    April 22, 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.
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    Getty Images
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    EPA to implement national limit on “forever chemicals” in drinking water

    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 the fi...

    By • April 15, 2024
  • Solar panel over police department parking lot
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    Permission granted by Carlos Chavez & Schneider Electric
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    Sponsored by Schneider Electric

    New tax credits are spurring resilience and clean energy shift in cities

    The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enables cities to adopt clean energy with new tax credit benefits.

    April 15, 2024
  • A parking space painted with "EV charging only" with a charger behind it
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    5 ways cities can accelerate EV charger deployments equitably

    Seek community input, learn from other cities, reduce regulatory barriers and other ideas from participants in the DOE’s Clean Energy to Communities Program.

    By Iulia Gheorghiu • April 12, 2024
  • Aerial shot of solar panels with a single person in a hard hat working on top of panels
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    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 Ysabelle Kempe • April 11, 2024
  • Men standing in front of heavy equipment
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    MORC

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    2023 Crown Communities Award winner: Muscatine Organics Recycling Center

    2023 Crown Communities Award winner: Muscatine Organics Recycling Center

    By Michael Keating • April 10, 2024