Christopher Haley finally has a place to cut his rocks.

The science professor at Virginia Wesleyan College jokes about it, but teaching his geology students how to prepare samples properly is an important part of education, he says.

It’s one of the reasons he is excited about the nearly 40,000 square foot Greer Environmental Sciences building opening on campus.

It’s about 60 percent complete and will be ready for use in time for the fall 2017 semester. It’s now closed to the elements, so any work done over the winter will be done inside.

The building is being paid for by an anonymous donor, and the cost also is not disclosed, but it will be the most significant building on campus since the Jane P. Batten Student Center, which was completed in 2002.

Along with a host of state-of-the art labs, study spaces and classrooms, the building itself will be a learning tool.

Read more (The Virginian-Pilot)

A panel of influential voices from across Virginia came together Tuesday to discuss climate change and public opinion, how it shaped the 2016 election, and policy efforts to reduce carbon pollution at George Mason University’s Center for Climate Communications.
The panelists discussed what 2017 – a critical year for climate action – may bring. The shift to a clean-energy economy in Virginia is already underway, driven by consumer demand and aided by market forces. Clean energy is cheaper than ever and public opinion strongly favors clean, renewable energy over dirty fuels like coal and fracked gas.

Read the full story. (Augusta Free Press)

Energy efficiency is a strong marketing point for home sales in the Fresno area, according to an analysis by real estate website Zillow.

In fact, out of 100 U.S. cities, Fresno ranks at No. 3 in terms of percentage of home listings with energy-efficient terms such as “solar panel” or “wind power.”

About 14.2 percent of Fresno home listings include such terms, according to Zillow. San Jose was No. 1 on the list with 24.1 percent.

The analysis also looked at the average carbon footprint of homes in each city, using data provided by University of California, Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network. Fresno’s average carbon footprint came in at 40.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted by a typical household each year.

San Jose’s average carbon footprint was 53.4 metric tons.

“Climate change is top-of-mind in California, and whether homeowners are reacting to environmental ethics or high energy costs, they are most likely to market energy-efficient technology when selling their homes,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “Between density and drought, Californians have a lot of reasons to find ways to make their homes more efficient – for the sake of the environment and their pocketbooks, too.”

Read more (The Business Journal)

Energy auditors across the U.S. are looking beyond leaky windows and outdated appliances in pursuit of a more holistic approach toward assessing building performance.

There’s long been a link between a building’s physical state, its energy consumption and the health of its occupants, experts say. Energy assessors are increasingly looking to tap into that intersection of needs in order to better serve their customers and to seek new funding streams.

“Over the course of the last 20 years, it’s always been energy or comfort that has driven the contractors and low-income weatherization programs … but at the same time, there were these … secondary benefits like comfort and health,” says Matthew Anderson, client relations director at the Building Performance Institute (BPI), which issues building performance credentials and standards for energy auditors and other assessors.

“While that was never really a major selling point, it was always noted that — in most cases — people were getting more comfortable [and] healthier.”

Read more (Midwest Energy News)

The Portland City Council voted 6-3 to become the first community in Maine to require large businesses and residential buildings to report their energy usage to the city.

The vote comes after South Portland rejected a similar measure, citing privacy concerns.

City Councilor Jon Hinck, who chairs the Energy and Sustainability Committee, said the proposal is consistent with previous environmental initiatives the city has signed onto, some of which date to 2005.

“It’s 2016 – we haven’t made that much progress,” Hinck said.

Councilors Nicholas Mavodones, David Brenerman and Edward Suslovic voted against the measure. They supported the goal of tracking energy usage for buildings, but they were concerned that the city had not done enough outreach to affected property owners.

Read More (The Portland Press Herald)

For forty years, the Energy Department’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) has advanced greater energy efficiency in low-income households for the elderly, disabled, and families through grants to states, territories, and Native American tribes. It is estimated that more than 50 million homes are eligible for weatherization improvements. To date, the federal program has helped weatherize more than 7 million homes, helping to improve the health and safety of occupants while reducing energy bills. Home energy costs can be especially high during cold winter months.

WAP services every political subdivision in the country through a strong network of 59 grantees: 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and three select Native American tribes. These grantees contract with a network of almost 800 community action agencies, nonprofits, and local governments to install cost-effective energy conservation measures in homes.

Weatherization upgrades typically enhance insulation, air sealing, heating and cooling systems. Recently solar PV installations were also added to the program. These improvements reduce carbon pollution, save families money, and prevent low-income Americans from having to choose between food, medicine, and heat for their home.

Read more (Energy.gov)

Smart meters are now the rule, rather than the exception, for U.S. electric utilities. According to a new report from the Edison Foundation, a utility-funded think tank, the country had installed 65 million smart meters as of 2015, and that figure is projected to rise to 70 million by the end of 2016, making up more than half of all households in the country.

Edison’s latest data on the blooming U.S. advanced metering infrastructure market only includes meters that can “measure and record electricity usage data hourly, or more frequently, and allow for two-way communication between the electric companies and their customers.” That excludes so-called “drive-by” meters, or automated meter reading (AMR) systems, which account for tens of millions more customers across the country.

Since they now outnumber their AMR or electromechanical ancestors, “smart meters are the new business as usual” for utilities, the report declares. “Electric companies across the U.S. are leveraging smart meter data to better monitor the health of the energy grid, more quickly restore electric service when outages occur, integrate distributed energy resources, deliver energy information to customers, and provide smart pricing options to customers.”

Read More (Greentech Media)

On Sept. 22, our two organizations participated in an event with significant implications for families and businesses throughout the region. The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, which recognizes that clean energy delivers real economic benefits to the businesses and communities of Southwest Virginia, hosted Governor McAuliffe and business leaders, including Trane, at a Clean Energy Business Roundtable. The discussion highlighted how clean energy businesses can bring economic development and job growth to communities in Southwest Virginia. Governor McAuliffe’s presence demonstrated his strong commitment to building a robust clean energy sector as part of the New Virginia Economy.

At the roundtable, the chamber, Trane and other attendees talked about how growth in renewable energy and energy efficiency services is a win-win for the region and the state, bringing economic development and a bright future for workers today and for future generations. Renewable energy and energy efficiency companies, including both producers and consumers on a residential and industrial scale, had the opportunity to show the governor and other elected leaders the considerable economic impact we are having on the region.