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Lifting the High Energy Burden in America’s Largest Cities

Thursday, April 21st, 2016

While energy efficiency programs provide benefits beyond energy savings, we find they are an underutilized strategy that could complement bill assistance and weatherization programs to reduce high energy burdens in low-income communities.

AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT ECONOMY (ACEEE)
This report provides a snapshot of energy burdens in cities across the US. We focus on the high home energy burdens faced by select groups in major metropolitan areas…In the first half of this report, we analyze data from the US Census Bureau’s 2011 and 2013 American Housing Survey to determine energy burden values for 48 of the largest US cities and specific households within each city. In the second half of the report, we discuss strategies for alleviating high energy burdens, with a focus on policies and programs to increase the impact of energy efficiency initiatives in these communities.

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Tags: ACEEE, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Ariel Drehobl, Energy Burden, Lauren Ross
Posted in Energy, Equity, Infra Views, National, Policy, Urban Planning

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We Have the Power: 100% Renewable Energy for a Clean, Thriving America

Tuesday, April 12th, 2016

Figure ES-1: Comparison of Renewable Energy Technical Potential and Current Consumption (Data: NREL)

ENVIRONMENT AMERICA
Our transition to a clean energy system has already begun. But, with the need to reduce the pollution that causes global warming growing more urgent every day, we need to step up the pace. To maximize the benefits of moving to 100 percent renewable energy, leaders at all levels must act to accelerate our progress. America’s energy policy should facilitate mass deployment of clean energy solutions, support research and development of new clean energy technologies, and keep much of our coal, oil and gas reserves in the ground.

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Tags: 100% Renewables, Environment America, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Wind Energy
Posted in Clean Air, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Policy, Sustainability, Technology

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Key Wind Energy Accomplishments

Tuesday, March 29th, 2016

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Program is committed to helping the nation secure cost-competitive sources of renewable energy through the development and deployment of innovative wind power technologies. By investing in improvements to wind plant design, technology development, and operation as well as developing tools to identify the highest quality wind resources, the Wind Program serves as a leader in making wind energy technologies more competitive with traditional sources of energy and a larger part of our nation’s renewable energy portfolio.

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Tags: National Laboratory, U.S. DOE, United States Department of Energy, Wind Energy, Wind Power
Posted in Clean Air, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Policy, Smart Growth, Sustainability, Technology

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Low-Income Solar Policy Guide

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016

GRID ALTERNATIVES
VOTE SOLAR
CENTER FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION
There are many effective policy tools for supporting solar adoption among consumers at large, and nearly all of them help expand low-income access to solar power to some extent. However, fully enabling low-income solar participation requires policies and programs that are specifically designed to address the unique barriers faced by these communities. This guide provides an overview of those barriers, as well as underlying principles for successful programs, existing policy tools that can be used to create programs, and examples of state and local models that have successfully improved access.

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Tags: Center for Social Inclusion, CSI, GRID Alternatives, Solar, Solar Energy, Vote Solar
Posted in Energy, Equity, Infra Views, Policy, Sustainability, Technology

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Distributed Generation: Cleaner, Cheaper, Stronger

Friday, March 18th, 2016

Figure 1: Energy Storage Strengthens Distributed Grid Components

THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS
Distributed energy resources allow electricity to be generated closer to where it is used, protecting businesses and institutions from unexpected outages caused by natural disasters and other disruptions. The U.S. national laboratories as well as public-private partnerships provide financial resources and access to research facilities to foster innovations to modernize the power sector from a 100-year-old centralized system to one that incorporates disparate clean technologies such as microgrids, batteries, and energy smart tools. These investments and the resulting new products and capabilities decrease costs, improve grid reliability, reduce emissions, and offer consumers more options.

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Tags: Distributed Generation, Energy Storage, Pew Charitable Trusts, Pew Trusts
Posted in Energy, Infra Views, Sustainability, Technology

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Worldwide Lessons: What NYC Can Learn From 5 Peer Cities

Friday, March 11th, 2016

Fig. 1 Change in Building Emissions per Capita

URBAN GREEN COUNCIL Introduction Frankfurt and other German cities are renowned for their commitment to quality construction and engineering. London is filled with historic and diverse buildings. Singapore is famous for its direct regulation of behavior. Sydney and the rest of Australia attempted to put a price on carbon. San Francisco is a legislative testing […]

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Tags: New York City, San Francisco, U.S. Green Building Council, UGC, Urban Green Council, USGBC
Posted in Carbon Tax, Clean Air, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Global, Infra Views, Policy, Urban Planning

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ACEC’S ENGINEERING INC. — Congressman Fred Upton Spearheads ‘All of the Above’ Energy Policy

Thursday, March 10th, 2016

Engineering Inc. March/April 2016 Cover: Congressman Fred Upton

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES (ACEC)

UPTON: We are always looking to advance our work every chance we get, and the FAST Act presented an opportunity to get a number of important provisions into law. Grid security and strengthening our energy infrastructure remain an important component of our energy portfolio moving forward. The FAST Act contained several provisions to ensure that our energy infrastructure, including the electric grid, is more resilient to 21st-century risks, such as physical attacks, cyberattacks and extreme weather.

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Tags: ACEC, American Council of Engineering Companies, Congressman Upton, Engineering Inc., FAST Act, Fred Upton
Posted in Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Policy, Republican, Sustainability, Technology

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Advanced Energy Now 2016 Market Report

Monday, March 7th, 2016

ADVANCED ENERGY ECONOMY
For 2015, the advanced energy market totaled nearly $1.4 trillion in estimated global revenue, up 8% over 2014 and 17% higher than 2011, counting only products for which we have five years of revenue data. The global market for advanced energy in 2015 was twice as big by revenue as the airline industry, bigger than the global fashion industry, and approaching worldwide spending on media and entertainment. (Figure 1.1) From 2014 to 2015, advanced energy revenue grew at more than three times the rate of the world economy overall.

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Tags: Advanced Energy Economy, AEE, Market Report
Posted in Energy, Global, Infra Views, Private Investment, Sustainability, Technology

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Solar Energy Prospecting in Remote Alaska

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Figure 1. Solar resource comparison of Alaska and Germany

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Renewable energy technologies used in Alaska have included small and large hydroelectric facilities, utility-scale and distributed wind generation, geothermal and air heat pumps, and woody biomass for electricity and heating (REAP 2016, CCHRC 2016). In addition to these endemic natural resources, a previously dismissed but pervasive form of renewable energy is also increasingly being analyzed and deployed in Alaska: solar electricity generated from photovoltaic (PV) panels.

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Tags: AK, Alaska, Department of Indian Energy, Solar Energy, U.S. DOE, United States Department of Energy
Posted in Energy, Environment, Infra Views, Local, Sustainability, Technology

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