Building & Transportation Electrification: Page 8


  • A Freightliner eCascadia at Electric Island
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    Courtesy of Daimler Trucks North America
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    Opinion

    As trucking electrifies, how we prepare the grid must evolve

    Fleets are often able to procure zero-emissions vehicles and chargers in less than a year. Grid upgrades can take upwards of five or more years.

    By Cole Jermyn • Jan. 25, 2024
  • A modern office with glass windows looking over a green outdoor courtyard.
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    Fahroni via Getty Images
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    ASHRAE updates energy efficiency standard for existing buildings

    The 2024 edition of Standard 100 contains new metrics for setting emissions targets and a “simple” compliance mechanism for energy efficient and low-emission buildings, it says.

    By Joe Burns • Jan. 22, 2024
  • Citscape with solar panels installed outside. Explore the Trendline
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    Liudmila Chernetska via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Building Electrification

    Decarbonization goals are spurring building electrication efforts across the U.S. While the use of heat pumps and other technologies is expanding, some policies are facing legal challenges.

    By Utility Dive staff
  • Bipartisan group of 12 senators proposes blocking DOE’s distribution transformer efficiency rule

    Stricter standards and an “overnight” implementation proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy “jeopardize electricity distribution for millions” of Americans, said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

    By Jan. 22, 2024
  • Pole in a flat desert area.
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    Permission granted by RS Technologies
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    Sponsored by RS Technologies

    Composite poles vs. alternatives in the face of natural disasters

    Composite utility poles have been shown to be highly resilient in ice storms, freezing rain, hurricanes and wildfires.

    Jan. 22, 2024
  • A view of the front of John Weld Peck Federal Building in downtown Cincinnati, where the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is the main tenant.
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    jetcityimage via Getty Images
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    $104M for clean energy projects in 31 federal buildings announced by DOE

    The selected projects are expected to save over $29 million in energy and water costs, generating an additional 27 MW of clean energy capacity, the U.S. Department of Energy says.

    By Nish Amarnath • Jan. 19, 2024
  • A gray four-door crossover vehicle with a woman seated with her hand on the steering wheel is parked in front of a Hertz building.
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    Courtesy of Hertz/GM
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    Hertz reverses course on electric vehicles

    The company, which once said EVs would account for a quarter of its rental fleet by 2025, is selling some 20,000 electric vehicles and replacing them with gas-powered cars.

    By Dan Zukowski • Jan. 16, 2024
  • Gov. Newsom proposes $283M cut to California’s building decarbonization programs

    The proposed 2024-25 budget would also delay $600 million of funding for the state’s electric vehicle rebate program, Clean Cars 4 All, and EV charging stations by three years.

    By Dan Zukowski • Jan. 16, 2024
  • Looking down a city street lined with colorful houses, trees, cars and power lines.
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    Scharvik via Getty Images
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    New buildings that use natural gas lose final utility subsidy in California

    Incentives that indirectly help expand the gas system don’t align with the state’s climate goals, the California Public Utilities Commission said.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 12, 2024
  • Biden administration awards $623M for EV charging, hydrogen buildout

    The largest award, among recipients from 22 states and Puerto Rico, is $70 million for up to five hydrogen fueling stations in Texas, part of a plan to create a hydrogen corridor from Southern California to the Lone Star State.

    By Jan. 12, 2024
  • View of the facade of a modern building using renewable energy
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    t_kimura via Getty Images
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    Buildings can reduce energy intensity by up to 38%: report

    Undertaking energy savings and energy efficiency measures by 2030 can garner up to $2 trillion in annual savings, according to a white paper by the World Economic Forum and PwC. 

    By Nish Amarnath • Jan. 10, 2024
  • Solar panels and wind turbines generating renewable energy for green and sustainable future.
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    pidjoe via Getty Images
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    9 US power sector trends to watch in 2024

    The U.S. march toward a decarbonized electric system will continue in 2024 as policymakers and others work to balance, climate, reliability, affordability and other goals.

    By Robert Walton, Ethan Howland, Diana DiGangi, Larry Pearl, Kavya Balaraman and Emma Penrod • Jan. 10, 2024
  • Image of cloud data center, 3d rendering.
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    mesh cube via Getty Images
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    PJM triples annual load growth forecast to 2.4% driven by data centers, electrification

    The PJM Interconnection’s fastest-growing zones include ones served by Dominion Energy and FirstEnergy’s Metropolitan Edison and Jersey Central Power & Light utilities, per the grid operator’s load forecast.

    By Jan. 9, 2024
  • An artistic rendering of a building which is transitioning from fossil fuel use to renewable sources like solar panels
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    Oliver de la Haye via Getty Images
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    Biden administration seeks public input to define zero emissions for buildings

    The administration plans to base Part 1 of the definition on three pillars: an adherence to energy efficiency guidelines, the use of 100% clean energy and zero on-site emissions generation from energy use.

    By Nish Amarnath • Jan. 8, 2024
  • A rendering of an Electric Era charger charging a vehicle.
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    Permission granted by Electric Era
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    Opinion

    To spur more EV chargers, regulators must get creative with demand charges

    No matter what the incentives for installing an EV charger, very few businesses will enter this marketplace if selling the product leads to thousands of dollars in charges that aren’t made up for with revenue.

    By Chris Kaiser • Jan. 5, 2024
  • natural gas stove flame
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    "Stove flame" by Paul Kretek is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Legal threats to city, state natural gas bans in 2023: A timeline

    The nation’s first gas ban was overturned. One state changed its building codes to avoid legal challenges. Here’s the biggest gas ban news of 2023.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 4, 2024
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    David McNew via Getty Images
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    9th Circuit declines to reconsider decision rejecting Berkeley, California, natural gas ban

    If the city wants to continue to appeal the decision, its next step would be the U.S. Supreme Court. 

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 3, 2024
  • The James V. Forrestal Building Building, the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy, in downtown Washington, DC at sunset.
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    Silverman Media Services via Getty Images
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    $530M in building code technical assistance grants available from DOE

    The grants will support a wider range of energy code and building performance standards activities, including workforce development, by state, local and tribal governments.

    By Joe Burns • Dec. 20, 2023
  • Gas industry sues DOE over new furnace efficiency rule, citing cost and other concerns

    The new rule will require gas furnaces to be 95% efficient, but the American Gas Association and other stakeholders say it effectively bans a product class and will drive prices higher for many consumers.

    By Dec. 20, 2023
  • An artistic rendering of a sustainable building representing the concept of corporate goals for net-zero emissions by 2050.
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    Fahroni via Getty Images
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    To be truly net-zero, buildings must buy 100% renewable energy, global council says

    A globally consistent definition of net-zero buildings is needed, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development says, while analysts note current carbon compliance ambiguities.

    By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 19, 2023
  • The Seattle skyline, featuring the Space Needle and skyscrapers.
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    George Dodd via Getty Images
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    Seattle requires large buildings to zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

    As building performance standards gain traction nationwide, Seattle’s policy is the city’s most ambitious plan ever to reduce building emissions, the City Council said.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 13, 2023
  • The Statue of Liberty stands in the foreground as Lower Manhattan is viewed at dusk, September 8, 2016 in New York City
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    Drew Angerer via Getty Images
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    NYC removes zoning restrictions for rooftop solar, energy storage and electrification equipment

    The "City of Yes" initiative, which took effect Dec. 11, is expected to help facilitate environmentally friendly retrofits for over 50,000 buildings.

    By Joe Burns • Dec. 12, 2023
  • A Resideo smart thermostat mounted on a wall of a home.
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    Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
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    Ford, Resideo launch joint vehicle-to-home energy management project

    The two companies will study how Ford’s future electric vehicle batteries can supply power to homes to help reduce energy costs.

    By Eric Walz • Dec. 12, 2023
  • An illustration depicting Volkswagen's vehicle-to-home electric vehicle charging technology.
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    Courtesy of Volkswagen AG
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    VW is launching a vehicle-to-home EV charging pilot in Sweden

    Today’s EVs, equipped with larger batteries, can provide even more power than Tesla’s Powerwall, which delivers 13.5 kWh of usable energy..

    By Eric Walz • Dec. 11, 2023
  • Closeup of a sign reading "United Nations Climate Change COP28 UAE" with blurred groups of people standing in the background
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    Sean Gallup/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    HUD announces new building decarbonization efforts at COP28

    As the U.S. pledges to make near-zero-emissions buildings the “new normal” by 2030, the housing agency is teaming up with other departments for access to the best available data and research.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 11, 2023
  • A person walks in front of a wall reading "United Nations Climate Change" and "COP28UAE."
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    Sean Gallup/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    UN report proposes energy efficiency, other measures to slash cooling emissions up to 96% by 2050

    Passive cooling, higher energy efficiency and a quicker phasedown of climate-warming refrigerants could save $1 trillion by 2050, according to the report released during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

    By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 8, 2023