No matter how abundant or renewable, solar power has a thorn in its side. There is still no cheap and efficient long-term storage for the energy that it generates. The solar industry has been snagged on this branch for a while, but in the past year alone, a series of four papers has ushered in an intriguing new solution. Scientists …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Non-wires alternatives, or NWAs, represent one of the most exciting opportunities for the transformation of U.S. utility business models. NWA projects can use distributed energy resources—including energy efficiency, demand response, solar, storage and microgrids—as least-cost energy solutions. By using NWAs, some utilities are delaying or deferring the need for comparably more expensive infrastructure, such as transmission and …
judge has ruled that the County of San Diego’s climate action plan must be set aside and redone, a decision that could have far-reaching implications for the housing industry. San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor said the plan, adopted earlier this year by the Board of Supervisors, violates the county’s Gener al Plan because it allows developers to purchase …
SALT LAKE CITY — Its own analysis that shows 60 percent of its coal-fired power plant units are more costly to run than shutter is prompting PacifiCorp to request additional time to review their potential operational life. The December request for a delay before the Public Service Commission involves the depreciation schedule for power plant units it operates in six …
ICAST recently moved into TBL Fund’s recently acquired office building, located at 7400 W. 14th Ave., Denver, Colorado. In the first phase of renovations, new energy efficient windows, insulation, low-flow fixtures, appliances and LED lighting were upgraded. Construction cameras captured the action during the upgrades. Click on the video for a time-lapse of the renovation process. We announced the move …
Government strategy to make ‘polluter pay’, with penalties for difficult to recycle items. Retailers and producers of packaging will be forced to pay the full cost of collecting and recycling it under the government’s new waste strategy. Supermarkets and other retailers could be charged penalties for putting difficult to recycle packaging – such as black plastic trays – on the market …
ICAST (International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology) a 501(c)(3) nonprofit is honored to receive the ‘Agency of the Year’ award, presented at the Annual Utah Housing Coalition meeting, held in Salt Lake City on Dec. 5, 2018. This award recognizes a non-profit, for-profit, or local government agency that makes significant contributions to the community through their leadership and innovations …
Advancing efficient and equitable approaches to update the utility business model—motivated by emerging technological, policy, and market conditions in the electric power sector—is crucial to the grid’s transition to a more secure, clean, affordable, customer-centric system. Powerful trends are impacting the contours of the electric system, including growing policy demands for improved environmental performance, the increasingly widespread availability of distributed …
The scorecard provides a benchmark of state energy policy and progress. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has released its 2018 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. For the second year in a row, Massachusetts is ranked number one and California number two. The two states shared the ranking of number one in 2016, and this battle to be the top state goes …
Seven years ago, Spain was on the way to becoming a world leader in renewable energy, but after the election in late 2011 of a People’s party government seen by critics as hostile to the sector, there was little or no progress. While Spain has significant land and offshore shale gas and oil reserves, environmentalists and local authorities have blocked …