News – Page 3 – California's Local Government Energy Efficiency Portal

Energy efficiency can address climate change, drive prosperity, and strengthen national security

November 30, 2018

“Current climate change thinking argues that the world has to use energy at least 3% more productively each year in order to stay below 2 degrees. Amory Lovins argues that the world’s ability to sustain such rapid savings (slightly above the 2015 peak of 2.8%/y) is far greater—and can prove even more profitable—than had been…

California invests in “by location” distributed energy resources

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“California is leading the nation with several pilot projects to reward more rooftop solar energy generators and other distributed energy resources in specific locations as an alternative to utilities’ needs to invest in upgrading their electricity generation networks. This use of Locational Net Benefit Analysis (LNBA) can foster the growth of hundreds of megawatts of…

California OKs PG&E plan to replace gas-fired power plants with battery storage

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“California regulators have approved plans outlined late last year by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) to replace at least three Bay Area natural gas-fired peaking plants with battery storage and to add batteries at an existing gas-fired plant at Moss Landing, CA. Three of the battery projects, with a capacity of 385 MW, will…

Chicago challenges businesses to power buildings with renewable energy

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“As part of a commitment to use more renewable energy, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a challenge with private and university partners to incentivize them to use renewable energy to power one or more buildings by 2035. Participants in the Chicago Renewable Energy Challenge pledge to keep their buildings powered with renewable energy for at…

Energy efficiency is the cornerstone for building a secure and sustainable energy system

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“Recent trends show that policy efforts have weakened in recent years. In other words, the improvements in energy efficiency that were seen in recent years are now slowing down as fewer new standards and policies were introduced in the past two years. This has contributed to the acceleration in energy demand growth that was observed…

How Ohio can capture $25 billion worth of clean energy growth

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“Ohio risks missing out on roughly $25 billion in investments and 20,000 new jobs over the next two decades if state officials don’t take steps soon to expand clean energy, according to a new analysis. The report details nine steps state leaders could take to capture new clean energy jobs and investments. They include new…

How the 2008 financial meltdown shaped clean energy

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“Ten years ago this week, stock markets around the world cratered as fears grew that the global economy was headed into a deep, dark recession. Alan Greenspan called it “a once-in-a-century credit tsunami.” The drama was high in energy. Oil prices collapsed. Carbon prices cratered. Capital dried up. The burgeoning renewables sector looked like it…

Opinion: Climate activists must come to grips with the role natural gas will have

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“Wind and solar energies are on the rise around the globe. Falling prices and proactive government policies are the reason. But that progress is not enough to offset the effects of climate change: wildfires and hurricanes. Because renewables are intermittent, though, they need a back-up. Enter natural gas.” Click here to read more from Forbes.

Opinion: Energy efficiency can save the world — if we can figure out how to pay for it

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy points out global energy intensity fell by 2.5% in 2011, but the rate of improvement slowed to 1.7% in 2017 — and absent gains in China, the decline could have been worse. What is happening? The answer, say experts, is a difficulty in funding energy efficiency. Projects like…

Opinion: Why governments are less important to renewable energy, as demonstrated by spain

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“Spain’s government has set the target for 100% of its electricity to come from renewables by 2050, but the reality is that the private sector will probably have more to do with hitting that target than the authorities in Madrid. It will probably happen sometime before 2050 as well. Solar power is already the cheapest…

Renewables demand a revamp of power market rules

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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““RTOs are going to have to recognize the inevitability that wind and solar are going to continue to grow on their grids,” said Gallagher. “We know that these resources are coming, we know what kinds of characteristics and capabilities they have now, and there’s some data to prove it. Now we have to work with…

State of the US renewables market: Rapid growth and a ‘lot of risk’

November 21, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“The worlds of power markets and renewables are colliding, and nobody seems quite sure what to do about it. Though still a miniscule fraction of grid power in many places, renewable energy resources have momentum on their side. As they grow, they alter the functioning of the markets in ways that look different from traditional…

California utility customers may be on hook for billions in wildfire damage

November 18, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“As wildfires ravage large swaths of California for a second year, one of the state’s biggest utilities has declared that it faces billions of dollars in potential liability — far more than its insurance would cover. The potential losses could leave the company’s customers on the hook to pay the bill, exposing businesses and consumers…

On the menu: Turkey, potatoes, energy efficiency

November 18, 2018

Grace Kaufman

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“Did you know your Thanksgiving dinner is fairly carbon friendly (link is external)? While holiday travel and some parts of the cooking process consume a lot of energy, the ingredients in a traditional Thanksgiving feast have a light carbon footprint. First of all, poultry, a.k.a. your Thanksgiving bird, makes it to your table using eight…

California CCAs achieve 2,000-megawatt milestone for new renewables

November 18, 2018

Grace Kaufman

ccas

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“The California Community Choice Association (CalCCA) is pleased to announce that community choice aggregators (CCAs) in the state have signed long-term contracts with new renewable energy facilities totaling more than 2,000 megawatts (MW), reflecting a strong commitment by CCAs to drive clean energy and economic development in California and help the state achieve ambitious decarbonization…

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