Energy Exchange

Denver Housing Authority Sets Bar for Municipalities Nationwide

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 31, 2015

To many, it may seem that pursuing environmental sustainability would fall relatively low on a municipal housing authority’s goals. After all, providing moderate and low-income families with clean, stable homes in the face of uncertain federal subsidies and increasing taxpayer scrutiny is challenge enough.

The Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver (DHA), therefore, deserves praise for its innovative solar power program that not only provides renewable energy, but creates revenue for the housing authority, creates green jobs in the region, and saves taxpayers’ money – all the while reflecting the spirit of the federal Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, which looks to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by the year 2020. DHA serves as a model for municipalities across the country.

Andrea Davis of the DHA’s Real Estate Department and Chris Jedd, portfolio energy manager, showed the creativity and sheer will to make a lofty renewable energy goal affordable, manageable and successful, while providing their communities with empowerment, economic opportunity, and a vibrant living environment. Read More »

Also posted in EDF Climate Corps, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing / Tagged EDF Climate Corps, Solar Energy | Comments are closed

How the Clean Power Plan Can Benefit Latino Communities

By Lucía Oliva Hennelly / Published: August 27, 2015

Earlier this month, the United States announced a major step forward in addressing air quality concerns and climate change threats to Latinos. I’m talking about the Clean Power Plan, which establishes the first-ever national limits on carbon pollution from powerplants and places us on a path to heed Pope Francis’s call to protect our planet.

Unfortunately, critics began attacking the plan even before it was final. Some of these attacks have targeted the Latino community in particular, arguing that the Clean Power Plan will disproportionately and negatively harm Latinos. These are baseless claims and arguments that have been debunked by experts.

When the Clean Power Plan takes full effect, Latinos will be among the many Americans who will share in the benefits of a cleaner, healthier future that also affords us good jobs and energy savings. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, Clean Power Plan, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, General / Tagged Community Solar, green jobs, Latinos, Net metering | Comments are closed

Clean Energy Partnerships Grow between the U.S. Military and Rural Cooperatives

By Marilynn Marsh-Robinson / Published: August 18, 2015

What do rural electric cooperatives have in common with United States military bases? They all want clean, reliable, affordable energy.

Rural electric cooperatives are not-for-profit electric utilities that provide reliable, at-cost electricity to their members. They’re ingrained in the American landscape: more than 900 rural cooperatives serve more than 42 million customers in 47 states, accounting for 12 percent of all U.S. electricity sales. Because of their market share and core mission to provide affordable, “at-cost” electricity, co-ops represent a huge (and largely untapped) clean energy opportunity. One way they’re starting to tap this potential is through partnerships with local military bases.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), which operates more than 300 domestic bases, is federally mandated to lower its energy consumption – and for good reason. The DoD is our nation’s largest single energy user, and as a result, has committed to expanding its clean energy portfolio to cut energy use. Each military service has ambitious goals to deploy one gigawatt of on-site renewables in the near future, and many are jump-starting these efforts on bases across the United States. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Military, New Jersey / Comments are closed

Four Powerhouse Bills to Help California get to 50 Percent Renewable Energy

By Lauren Navarro / Published: August 18, 2015

California is deep into the dog days of summer, and pressure is mounting on the state’s electric grid to keep up with demand. Luckily, California’s legislature is working to bring more clean energy resources to the grid, diversifying how we power our homes and businesses while also improving the resiliency, efficiency, and carbon footprint of our energy system.

State lawmakers are directly addressing our dependence on polluting fossil fuels used to produce electricity. They are doing this by increasing California’s reliance on renewable energy, establishing energy efficiency resource standards, and providing certainty that California will meet its renewable energy and climate goals. The state’s current Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) has already achieved tremendous success in growing the market for renewables while bringing down associated costs. Building on this success, California’s legislature is currently undertaking four bills that will keep the state on a path to a reliable, affordable, and clean energy future – for the health of its citizens and economy.

The following bills are all advancing through the legislature and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) hopes they will become law this year. If they do, they will put some serious voltage behind California’s transition to a cleaner electric grid. Read More »

Also posted in California, Clean Energy, Climate, Demand Response, Energy Efficiency / Comments are closed

Desperately Seeking Monopoly Protection

By Dick Munson / Published: August 17, 2015

They say crises don’t test your character, they reveal it. I believe they do the same thing to your vision of the future. Times are tough for Ohio’s FirstEnergy, and CEO Chuck Jones is signaling where he wants the utility to be in the future: the past.

First, we need to look back to last year, when Jones pushed the Ohio legislature to halt state efficiency and renewable energy standards that helped reduce electricity demand and saved Ohio customers millions of dollars.

This year, Jones’ vision quest is a $3 billion bailout – to be paid for by his customers – that would guarantee the purchase of power generated by FirstEnergy’s older and costlier power plants. In a recent op-ed, Jones argued that the deal would secure Ohioan’s energy independence. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, FirstEnergy, Ohio, Utility Business Models / Read 5 Responses

3 Ways the Clean Power Plan Will Strengthen Our Economy

By Jim Marston / Published: August 6, 2015

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Clean Power Plan, the first initiative of its kind to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing U.S. power plants. By improving air quality, the plan promises to prevent 90,000 childhood asthma attacks and avoid up to 3,600 premature deaths each year – without compromising economic growth. In fact, the Clean Power Plan is an incredible economic opportunity that states can’t afford to miss.

By limiting power plants’ “free pass” to pollute, EPA projects their Plan will deliver billions of dollars in environmental and public health benefits each year – and that’s just the start. Here are three ways in which the Clean Power Plan will work to strengthen states’ economies and accelerate many of the clean energy trends already underway: Read More »

Also posted in Clean Power Plan, General, Grid Modernization / Read 2 Responses