Efficiency posts, articles, and infographics

Four Smart Grid Innovations that are Utility Painkillers

February 7, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 324 views

The electricity value chain of generation, transmission, distribution and consumption has a number of challenges, or pain points, to overcome to deliver all Smart Grid benefits. Electric utility Smart Grid investment decisions are made on the basis of what reduces or eliminates pain. There is no “one size fits all” answer in... [read more]

Decarbonizing California requires relying more on electricity, once it's low carbon

February 4, 2012 by Karen Street
with 195 views

A 2006 California law, Assembly Bill 32, obligates the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (30% below business as usual), and to 80% below that level by 2050 (90% below business as usual). How is it to done? A team from UC, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and elsewhere examines this... [read more]

How to Go Green Without Going Crazy

February 3, 2012 by Benjamin Lack
with 225 views

Utilities worry about a lot of things, such as keeping the lights on, earning a return for investors, and making regulators and customers happy with their service.Now there is a new worry: How can they protect customers from what one utility refers to as “mental fatigue?”In this particular case, the utility raises the issue as it... [read more]

D.C. Auto Show Focused on Efficiency

February 1, 2012 by Geoffrey Styles
with 252 views

Last week I attended the media preview of the Washington Auto Show. With its dual focus on cars and energy policy, this is always a high point of the winter for me, even if this year's display lacked a draw of the magnitude of the pre-production Chevrolet Volt I drove at the 2010 show. Instead, I was pleased to find that the emphasis on... [read more]

How Smartphones Can Help You Make the Right Energy Choices

January 31, 2012 by Carrie Nash
with 326 views

In a recent blog post, Penni McLean-Conner of NSTAR, highlighted the tremendous innovation spurred on by the new EISA standards enacted on January 1. The standards have truly brought about the biggest evolution in the lighting industry since Edison was around. Some of this change has not been so welcomed. In her post... [read more]

Neglecting Heat Efficiency

January 30, 2012 by Benjamin Lack
with 341 views

With all the talk about energy efficiency lately, where does heat efficiency comes into the equation? Do we need to move away from thinking just about electricity in terms of efficiency? [read more]

Industrial energy efficiency for sustainable wealth creation

January 27, 2012 by Charles Arthur
with 265 views

A recently published report by the UN Industrial Development Organization addresses the role of industrial energy efficiency in sustainable industrial development. [read more]

MA Governor Patrick: The Green Communities Act is Working

January 24, 2012 by Carrie Nash
with 163 views

Recently, Massachusetts’s landmark energy efficiency law, the Green Communities Act of 2008, has come under criticism for raising energy costs and harming state businesses at the expense of its utility companies. Governor Deval Patrick, though, reminded the people during his State of the Commonwealth speech that one of the nation’s... [read more]

The Environmental State of the Union

January 24, 2012 by Frances Beinecke
with 143 views

The annual State of the Union Address is a time for taking stock. Tonight President Obama will assess our nation's progress on a range of urgent issues of urgent issues, but today I want to look closely at one critical indicator of America's well being: the health of our environment. Is America's air getting safer to breathe than... [read more]

Green Chemistry and Clean Energy

January 23, 2012 by David Levy
with 170 views

In December, the University of Massachusetts, Boston (where I work) hosted three leading proponents of green chemistry for a panel discussion of the potential and challenges of the field. John Warner, widely considered the father of green chemistry, is a former chair of the UMass-Boston chemistry department and is currently the president... [read more]

How Bainbridge Island Cut Peak Power Consumption

January 23, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 312 views

The 23,000 citizens of Bainbridge Island in Washington State are showing how a combination of transparent price signals, online social networking and old fashioned community organizing can make a big difference in reducing energy consumption. Located in Puget Sound, Bainbridge Island has been a major energy hog — with residents consuming... [read more]

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader About Your Electricity Data Privacy?

January 23, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 223 views

Saturday, January 28 is International Data Privacy Day. It’s a great opportunity to think about new data created as a result of the modernization of our electrical grid into the Smart Grid, and what this means for our privacy. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is credited with the quote: “Knowledge is power.” Agreed.... [read more]

Scotland, Abu Dhabi Team Up On Clean Energy

January 22, 2012 by Nino Marchetti
with 151 views

The company responsible for the “city in the desert” is partnering with the most renewable-energy focused country in Europe: Scotland. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week to sign an agreement with the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar corporation to formally collaborate on developing “green... [read more]

Ben Franklin – America’s First Proponent of Energy Efficiency

January 16, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 811 views

Ben Franklin, the first American genius, achieved fame and notoriety for his electricity research, which included that famous kite-flying experiment. But did you know that he first described the concept of treating energy efficiency as an energy resource? He memorably stated “A penny saved is a penny earned,” back in the... [read more]

New Energy-Efficient Lighting Puts People to Work

January 15, 2012 by Rocky Kistner
with 471 views

Deep in the heart of America’s rust belt a new generation of companies is riding a wave of job-creating lighting technologies as new federal lighting efficiency standards are phased in starting next month. In Ohio, the birthplace of Thomas Edison and home to light bulb manufacturers GE and TCP... [read more]