Energy & Utilities


  • An aerial view of the 200-MW Big Elm solar project in Bell County, Texas
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of MIT Office of Sustainability
    Image attribution tooltip

    11 Boston-area institutions partner on renewable energy virtual power purchase agreements

    Cambridge, Massachusetts, is among the participants in the Consortium for Climate Solutions, which will help develop renewable energy projects in Texas and North Dakota.

    By Brian Martucci • Dec. 2, 2024
  • A person in a suit and tie stands behind a partially transparent podium with a microphone attached to it.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Ysabelle Kempe/Smart Cities Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    AI could help cities tackle climate change, but only if it solves ‘real problems’: NYC climate chief

    “We don’t need AI or big data to tell us with much greater detail how screwed we are as a city or as a planet,” Rohit Aggarwala said at Cornell Tech’s Urban Tech Summit last week.

    By Nov. 26, 2024
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline
    Image attribution tooltip
    jamesteohart via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • A skyline of New York City
    Image attribution tooltip
    TomasSereda via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    New York City faces potential electricity resource shortfalls in 2033, 2034, system operator says

    Transportation and building electrification, along with commercial projects like data centers and chip fabrication, are driving peak demand higher, according to the New York Independent System Operator.

    By Robert Walton • Nov. 26, 2024
  • Engineers in helmets install a solar panel system on a roof.
    Image attribution tooltip
    anatoliy_gleb via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    IRS finalizes direct pay rules, increasing access to IRA’s clean energy tax credits

    Direct-pay-eligible entities like local governments, public school districts, churches and hospitals will more easily be able to jointly invest in clean energy projects under rules released Tuesday.

    By Diana DiGangi • Nov. 21, 2024
  • Aerial shot of roads running through a dense urban area on the waterfront
    Image attribution tooltip
    Jacob Boomsma via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Thermal energy networks can decarbonize neighborhoods. Meet the US cities giving them a shot.

    With federal dollars, cities want to leverage heat from waste sources and the ground to move buildings away from burning fossil fuels on-site.

    By Brian Martucci • Nov. 18, 2024
  • The Como Park Conservatory in St Paul, Minn.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Magnus Manske. (2006). "Como Park Zoo and Conservatory-2006" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Automation, efficiency upgrades at Minnesota zoo could save city up to $1.8M over 3 years

    Groundwater-based geothermal heat pumps and building automation systems are among the changes at St. Paul's Como Park Zoo, which a city official said accounts for about 25% of total energy use among city properties.

    By Brian Martucci • Nov. 15, 2024
  • The facade of the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. with a reflection of the U.S. flag
    Image attribution tooltip
    Timothy Epple via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Local decarbonization, energy efficiency projects get over $17M from DOE

    The “highly flexible” grant program allows communities to pursue a broad range of projects, from home energy efficiency rebate programs to workforce training initiatives, according to the Department of Energy.

    By Nov. 15, 2024
  • Four voting booths are lined up, filled with people.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sarah Rice via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    State infrastructure ballot initiatives see mixed results

    Approved bond funding and climate resiliency-focused state ballot measures could provide new ways for municipalities to fund improvements.

    By Joe Burns • Nov. 13, 2024
  • FirstEnergy's 1,100-MW coal-fired Fort Martin power plant in Maidsville, West Virginia, along the Monongahela River.
    Image attribution tooltip
    BackyardProduction via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Trump taps former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead EPA

    The Trump administration will likely roll back EPA regulations affecting fossil-fuel power plants, said the president and CEO of a trade group for owners of coal-fired plants.

    By Ethan Howland • Nov. 12, 2024
  • Two people stand next to flames in a barbecue with their hands stretched out over the fire. One person is wrapped in a blanket.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Go Nakamura via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Heat pumps could save these Texas households money, reduce grid strain: ACEEE

    The state should focus on deploying heat pumps in homes that currently use inefficient electric resistance heaters, say the authors of a paper from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

    By Nov. 11, 2024
  • President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena on November 04, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Trump win is ‘setback’ for climate protection, but clean energy advocates say progress will continue

    “Most U.S. state, local, and private sector leaders are committed to charging ahead,” said Dan Lashof, U.S. director of the World Resources Institute.

    By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2024
  • A photo illustration of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump shoulder to shoulder facing away from each other. The background is a purple wave with a grid gradient.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Photo illustration: Industry Dive; Joe Readle/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

    Image attribution tooltip

    How EV policy could be impacted by the election results

    Electric vehicle infrastructure projects, like charging stations, are likely to maintain support, even under another Trump presidency, one expert says. EV tax credits, however, could be on the chopping block.

    By Robert Walton • Nov. 4, 2024
  • Puget Sound Energy's Encogen Generating Station located next to the Bellingham District Energy Utility
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from Corix on October 30, 2024
    Image attribution tooltip

    Low-carbon district energy system launches in a Washington city’s waterfront neighborhood

    The system, which captures waste heat for districtwide heating and cooling, is expected to help the buildings served meet Washington state energy code requirements, the Port of Bellingham says.

    By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 31, 2024
  • An aerial view of a Texas Oil Refinery
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC comptroller proposes stopping pensions’ private market investments in fossil fuels

    The funds would be the first U.S. public pension plans to have exclusions on investing in fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals.

    By Lamar Johnson • Oct. 25, 2024
  • A person wearing a uniform and hard hat looks down at a device in their hands. Behind the person are pipes and industrial equipment silhouetted against the sunset.
    Image attribution tooltip
    halbergman via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    California’s first carbon capture and storage facility gets local approval

    The decision follows heated debate among community members about the project’s economic and health impacts.

    By Oct. 24, 2024
  • A street lined with trees, cars and manufactured homes
    Image attribution tooltip
    eyecrave productions via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    What does it take to decarbonize a manufactured home community?

    A community-scale retrofit project in Colorado offers a path toward lowering power bills for a population that faces high levels of energy insecurity.

    By Leslie Nemo • Oct. 18, 2024
  • A red Cadillac Lyriq in a garage plugged into a GM Energy residential charger.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of General Motors
    Image attribution tooltip

    EV owners can store more energy from the grid with GM Energy’s new ‘PowerBank’

    The stationary energy storage unit can provide power to a home during an outage or help offset higher electricity rates during peak times. 

    By Eric Walz • Oct. 17, 2024
  • Sustainable glass office building with trees for reducing carbon dioxide.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Fahroni via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How to address a key building decarbonization barrier: the ‘split incentive gap’

    While landlords and developers foot the bill for efficiency upgrades, tenants benefit from lower energy costs. A Sustainable Markets Initiative road map outlines policies and other ways to address the mismatch.

    By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 11, 2024
  • Aerial shot of people inside a large indoor space. People sit on folding chairs and lay on mats on the floor.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Gas utility faces climate deception lawsuit by Oregon county

    It's the first time a U.S. community has sued a gas utility for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate impacts of fossil fuels, advocates say.

    By Oct. 10, 2024
  • Power crews work on the lines after Hurricane Helene
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    1.6M customers still without power after Helene; some local grids must ‘be completely rebuilt’

    Multiple utilities say they will need to completely rebuild, rather than repair, electric systems in the hardest-hit areas. 

    By Robert Walton • Oct. 1, 2024
  • Crowds of people walk on a city street
    Image attribution tooltip
    rarrarorro via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    2025’s top smart city conferences

    Smart city technology, housing, climate action, road safety and more will take center stage at events already announced for next year.

    By , Oct. 1, 2024
  • Aerial shot of buildings on a sunny day
    Image attribution tooltip
    Alex Potemkin via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Affordable multifamily housing owners would get decarbonization help in NYC proposal

    Building owners purchasing “offset certificates” to help meet Local Law 97’s greenhouse gas emissions-reduction requirements would pay into the fund.

    By Sept. 30, 2024
  • An electric vehicle at a Tesla EV charging station.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Customer satisfaction with public EV charging is improving: JD Power

    Electric vehicle owners are particularly satisfied with the speed of public fast chargers. But public charging infrastructure isn’t keeping up with the number of EVs in service, a J.D. Power executive said.

    By Kalena Thomhave • Sept. 27, 2024
  • A man in a red uniform repairing a heat pump.
    Image attribution tooltip
    welcomia via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Seattle boosts electric heat pump incentives with goal to eliminate oil-heated homes

    With the city's new rebate, income-qualified households can access up to $8,000 each to switch from oil heat to an electric heat pump.

    By Sept. 24, 2024
  • Electric vehicles at an EV charging station.
    Image attribution tooltip
    EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Biden administration proposes expanding tax credits for EV charger installations

    The proposed rule would expand on January guidance from the Treasury Department, allowing the tax credit to be accessed per individual charging port installed.

    By Robert Walton • Sept. 20, 2024