Green Building

Posted Apr 2021

Break the Ice: Keeping turbines—and power plants—turning in the next Texas blizzard

Chuck Ross

When the lights went off in Texas during February’s storms, some politicians were quick to blame wind turbines. An overreliance on the intermittent resource was the root cause of the...

Posted Apr 2021

LED Light, Green Light: Chicago turns on LED streetlights

Jeff Gavin

An LED street-lighting transformation is on the rise. Cities considering smart street-lighting advancements more than doubled to 59, according to the Northeast Group LLC, a Washington, D.C., smart infrastructure market...

Posted Apr 2021

High Energy to Low-Voltage: Power over ethernet brings more energy to new applications

Chuck Ross

About two decades ago, a new technology began to revolutionize telephone services. Called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), this approach moved phone traffic off telephone company lines and onto the...

Posted Mar 2021

Biden Infrastructure Plan Will Invest Heavily in Electric Vehicles

Rick Laezman

New technology has always benefitted from government investment, and electric vehicles (EVs) are no exception. In his recently announced infrastructure plan, President Joe Biden is including billions to expand the...

Recent Stories

Mar 2021

Transmission Upgrade Planned for Eastern Kentucky

Rick Laezman

As the landscape for electricity rapidly evolves, infrastructure is racing to keep up. Officials in Kentucky are moving ahead with a plan to upgrade transmission lines in the state. Kentucky Power, Ashland, Ky., provides...

Mar 2021

Small-Scale Solar Growing in Multiple States

William Atkinson

According to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), small-scale solar projects—defined as solar installations that are connected to the grid, but less than 1 megawatt (MW) in size—are increasing...

Solar panel.

Mar 2021

Southern Utilities Team Up on EV Charging Network

Rick Laezman

Electric vehicle (EV) use is growing rapidly across the country. As the technology catches on, demand for a comprehensive network of charging infrastructure is also on the rise. Stakeholders recognize the trend and are taking...

An electric vehicle plugged in to a digital charging station

Line Contractor

Mar 2021

New Commitments: HVDC transmission offers options for renewable demands

Chuck Ross

As the United States moves to decarbonize its electricity supplies, transmission planners face a conundrum. The most productive and reliable wind, solar and hydro generating resources are often far from the cities that need...

Line Contractor

Mar 2021

Are We There Yet? The status of smart meter use

Chuck Ross

In 2009, the Obama administration’s $8 billion Smart Grid Investment Grant program helped spawn a wave of smart meter deployments by utilities. An estimated 98 million units were installed by the end of 2019, with the...

Mar 2021

Credit Where It’s Due: Energy Act of 2020 helps utilities, developers on renewable tax incentives

Chuck Ross

The Energy Act of 2020 included provisions that could impact the bottom lines of electric utilities and energy developers for several years. Among the most important terms are extensions of solar and wind tax incentives that...

Feb 2021

Report Shows Increases for U.S. Energy Storage

William Atkinson

According to "U.S. Energy Storage Monitor" report, published jointly by the U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA), Washington, D.C., and Wood Mackenzie, Annapolis, Md., 2,156 megawatt-hours (MWh) of new energy storage systems...

Energy storage.

Feb 2021

Building Energy Upgrades Increase

Rick Laezman

The battle against global climate change is being waged on many fronts. In recent years, buildings and their emissions have become a primary target. While clean energy technology and sustainable building practices have helped...

Connected buildings.

Feb 2021

Greatest Demand for EV Charging Infrastructure Expected to Be at Home

William Atkinson

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Washington, D.C., which represents companies that manufacture almost 99% of autos and light trucks in the United States, announced that it is actively and voluntarily getting behind the...

An electric vehicle plugged in to a charging station

Feb 2021

Solar Plus Agriculture Protects Farmland, Improves Panel Efficiency

Marlena Chertock

Oregon State University’s Nexus of Energy Water and Agriculture Laboratory (NEWAg), Corvallis, Ore., is partnering with the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative to build an agrivoltaics research farm that will co-develop land for...

Rows of solar panels with crops growing in between | Oregon State University