Advanced Energy Perspectives

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Arizona has some of the most abundant solar resources in the country. The state’s renewable energy standard (RES) of 15 percent by 2025 has helped Arizona generate more solar power than any state in the country save California, and the most solar energy per capita. Rooftop solar is particularly popular in Arizona because of the 30 percent distributed generation (DG) carve-out, half of which is reserved for residential rooftop solar. The thriving solar market in Arizona has benefited from a combination of the state’s unique RES and robust competition among many solar companies active in the state. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) plan to regulate carbon emissions is just the latest challenge facing the U.S. electric power system. Technological innovation is disrupting old ways of doing business and accelerating grid modernization. Earlier this year, AEE released Advanced Energy Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Reduction, a report detailing the use, application, and benefits of 40 specific advanced energy technologies and services. This post is one in a series drawn from the technology profiles within that report.

A building envelope consists of all the elements of a building that separate its interior from the exterior environment. This includes external walls, insulation, windows and roofing. Technological advancements in envelope materials have lowered building operating costs. Examples include high-performance insulation, reflective surfaces, air sealing, and efficient windows. The International Energy Agency estimates that heating and cooling loads across the globe can be reduced by as much as 40% simply by using efficient building envelope technologies.

Although it’s been a while since the term “utility death spiral” has been trotted out in the media, there’s no doubt that utilities are under pressure to modernize and innovate their business models. This week we saw several significant moves from utilities that may move us toward to a 21st Century electricity system, from an Arizona utility looking to install residential solar panels — for free — to a report that embraces electric vehicles for future utility growth. Plus, a New York utility has filed a rate case that includes distribution automation, microgrids-as-a-service, and community solar.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held regional hearings on its draft rule for carbon emissions from the electric power system – called the Clean Power Plan – this week, and AEE, our Partners, and our members were well represented. As incumbent energy interests decried imagined impacts and environmental groups touted health and climate benefits, AEE and its allies testified that EPA’s emissions targets would be “easy to achieve” with advanced energy technologies – and spark investment to modernize the electric power system for the 21^st century and spur economic growth.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) plan to regulate carbon emissions is just the latest challenge facing the U.S. electric power system. Technological innovation is disrupting old ways of doing business and accelerating grid modernization. Earlier this year, AEE released Advanced Energy Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Reduction, a report detailing the use, application, and benefits of 40 specific advanced energy technologies and services. This post is one in a series drawn from the technology profiles within that report.

A Building Energy Management System (BEMS) is an integrated system of software, hardware and services that controls energy use through information and communication technology. Used primarily in commercial buildings, BEMS technology works by monitoring, automating, and controlling building systems such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, thermostats, and lighting to increase building energy efficiency and improve comfort. Adoption of cloud technology has expanded BEMS from traditional energy visualization and energy analytics to include demand response and property management.[1] Campus-wide energy management systems, often called enterprise energy management systems (EEMS) are being deployed by universities, governments, and store chains. The state of Massachusetts invested in an EnerNOC EEMS system in 2010 to reduce energy costs at 470 state buildings, with an anticipated annual savings of $10 million, or 5% to 15% reduction in energy usage.